You Can't Have A Cottage Garden Without This Staple Flower

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

If you've been fantasizing about lush and mysterious cottage gardens, maybe you've decided that this is the year you're going to grow your own. That means it's time to choose the perfect plants to include in your space. You might want to take a traditional approach and include both edible plants and ornamentals, such as lavender (Lavandula spp.) and mock orange (Philadelphus spp.). Whatever else you plant, just don't forget to add hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) as part of your landscaping palette. This dreamy, tall flower is easy to grow, and it's an absolute essential for a cottage garden.

With numerous varieties to choose from, these lofty flowers are available in many different colors, including blue, yellow, white, pink, peach, red, burgundy, purple, and even black. You may want to grow some of each if you have the space — however, there are a few things you should know before planting hollyhocks. 

This native of Turkey grows best in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9, needs full sun, and is adaptable to different soil types, including those that are moist or sometimes dry. Most of these summer-blooming plants are biennial, so you'll have to wait until year two to see their gorgeous blooms in your cottage garden — unless you choose a variety that flowers in its first year, such as Indian Spring mix from Eden Brothers.

With their unordered layers of texture and color, cottage gardens are made up of drifts of low, medium, and tall flowers growing around pathways. Hollyhocks are a perfect choice for adding giant spires of blooms to the design. These plants can reach up to 8 feet tall, which makes them essential for the tall layer of the garden. However, there are many varieties that reach different sizes, so check the type — and make sure you aren't going to engulf nearby plantings in the shade of these towering flower spikes. If you have limited space and want to cultivate a cottage garden on a patio, you can even grow hollyhocks in large, sturdy pots.

It isn't just their height that makes these plants perfect for these spaces. Cottage gardens are intended to be simply brimming with flowers. Since hollyhocks are covered with blooms, they fit in perfectly. These relatives of hibiscus and okra bear large, funnel-shaped blossoms on very tall spikes held above a base of large, lobed leaves. Those flowering spires look gorgeous against the sky, a privacy fence, or a backdrop of an exterior wall or backyard shed. 

And if you're hoping to draw in pollinators to your cottage garden, you'll be happy to know that butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees are attracted to these beautiful plants. Plus, hollyhocks are among the self-seeding flowers that will effortlessly fill your yard with color, so those big, gorgeous blooms will pop up in random places over the years, completing the unplanned effect of the garden.