While the French are known for their potager gardens, the English are known for their cottage gardens. The first cottage gardens were planted during the 1800s by workers for food, herbs and flowers and from a revived interest in wildflower gardens.

A cottage garden is a charming, casual, informal garden of flowers and herbs abundantly and tightly planted together featuring an explosion of brilliant color when everything growing is in full bloom. The cottage garden is most commonly bordered with a fence or hedge. Traditionally, stone paths, sun dials and a weathered wooden seating bench are found in cottage gardens.

One of the easiest ways to discover which aromatic flowers and herbs you might like to include in your cottage garden, is to visit local nurseries in your area and smell the herbs and flowers in bloom. Another is to visit a flower and garden show.

There are many attractive and sweet smelling wildflowers and herbs found in a cottage garden. Some, but certainly not all, include: Aster, bachelor's button, bee balm, black-eyed Susan, blue phlox, butterfly bush, calendula, canterbury bells, carnations, catnip, climbing roses, coneflower, cornflower, cosmos daisies, delphinium, forget-me-nots, gardenia, hollyhock, heliotrope, hibiscus, hollyhocks, hostas, hydrangea, hyssop, iris, jasmine, lilac, lily, larkspur, lavender, milkweed, morning glory, nasturtium, pansies, petunias, poppy, pot marigolds, Queen Anne's lace, snapdragons, sweet peas, wild roses, witch hazel and zinnia. All herbs are fragrant.