These 9 Summer Blooms Are Dripping with Cottage Charm

Text by Bethany Adams

From the late days of spring to the first frost, summer showcases an abundance of beautiful views, and nowhere is more stunning than the iconic cottage garden! Vibrant shades, climbing vines, and more provide never-ending charm—we’ve collected just a few of our favorites to help inspire you to appreciate everything the season has to offer!

Sunflowers

Does anything say summer quite like a field overflowing with sunflowers? Even if you don’t have acres of land available for flower farming, these cheerful blooms are perfect for a personal garden. Near-endless varieties offer a wide range of shades and sizes depending on your tastes, and you can even choose between annuals and perennials. Depending on the variety you choose, you can see blooms throughout the summer and into early fall!

Gerbera Daisies

Color lovers need look no further than the wide spectrum of shades that gerbera daisies contribute to cottage summer gardens. Depending on the zone they’re planted in, these bold blooms can be either annuals or perennials, and they have a long blooming season that provides vibrant color for weeks at a time from early spring through autumn. They’re also perfect for bringing the summer views indoors, as the cut flowers are long lasting and beautiful no matter your décor style.

Black-Eyed Susans

While these sunny charmers can take a while to establish themselves, they’re well worth the wait! Growing to about 2 to 3 feet tall, they bloom in the summer but can sometimes be convinced to put on another show in the fall with care and deadheading.

Lavender

No French cottage is complete without the fragrance of lavender wafting through the windows! Another option that comes in a nearly endless amount of varieties, lavender plants are a great choice for gardeners, depending on when the elegant blooms are most desired—from early spring to late summer. Some varieties will also offer a second blooming, but regardless of the choice, they’re guaranteed to provide plenty of sweet sophistication to the view outside.

Zinnias

Alongside gerbera daisies, zinnias create bold and beautiful displays wherever they’re planted, with the added bonus of attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden. Their long blooming season, lasting from late spring until the first frost, offers plenty of time for these multicolored lovelies to fill the garden with summer cheer.

Hydrangeas

Nothing is more classic when it comes to a cottage garden than hydrangea plants dripping with pink, purple, blue, and white blooms swaying in the summer breeze. As each type of hydrangea has a different bloom time, a well-planned garden can offer these iconic flowers all summer long, from late spring and into early fall.

Climbing Roses

For unparalleled romance in any cottage garden, climbing roses can’t be matched! Dripping from lattices, arbors, porches, or wherever else a little extra elegance is needed, they can offer gorgeous displays multiple times throughout the summer and fall. For an uninterrupted show all summer, look to ever-blooming varieties specifically bred to brighten up your cottage until the first frost.

Coneflowers

Native to North America, these perennials have a long blooming season that stretches from early to late summer and, like zinnias, they’re perfect for a butterfly garden! Growing from 28 to 36 inches tall, they’re lovely additions to the meadow-style gardens that so many cottage dwellers adore.

Petunias

Ideal for amateur gardeners, petunias are famous for being easy to grow and offering picturesque blooms from spring to fall! Every cottage container garden or window box deserves to play host to these abundant beauties—and with so many types offering so many shades, it’s easy to find a variety to complement any home!