Landscaping Ideas for a Cottage Front Porch

English Cottage Style

• European cottage gardening styles combine beauty and simplicity in small areas. Among the numerous styles of plantings is the English cottage garden, which uses many perennials. Roses, irises, delphiniums, larkspur, foxglove, coral bells, oxalis and herbs can be planted all around the porch, with taller plants nearer the house and smaller ones below the level of the porch. Add climbing vines such as clematis or jasmine, or even kiwi fruit, to porch posts. This look will frame the porch and the house, but can extend to cover your entire yard.

Inviting Entrances

• Line walkways leading to the porch with low growing shrubs or boxwood hedges. Place lighting along the path, too. Low solar-powered lamps can lead up to and be placed around the porch. Plants with fragrance are good to put around areas where you might sit, so a honeysuckle vine on one end works well. Add lavender and lemon balm across the front of the porch, planted in the ground and between lights, and fill in stones around the porch with creeping thyme.

On the Porch

• Potted plants are great for porches. But you won't want them to be very tall ones to block any views. Some vegetables, such as patio tomatoes, are good to grow in pots if the porch faces the sun the better part of each day. Other pots can include herbs and annuals such as snapdragons, marigolds and pansies. Fill hanging pots with lobelia, small-leafed ivy, and petunias, and hang them in places where people won't bump their heads against them.

Other Options

• Plantings to either side of the porch should block unwanted views and enhance your yard's overall appearance. You can place evergreen and fruit trees away from the actual house to grow and shade the porch. Small ponds or fountains make excellent focal points to view from the porch. Vegetable and herb gardens to one side are easily accessed from a porch. Add a couple of wind chimes, wind socks or hummingbird feeders, and enjoy summer evenings sitting outside.