I live in s.e. FL and we have a couple of clumps of palms and one palm standing alone. I just work around them. We have unique gardens living in our warm climates, in that we can have 'tropical' cottage gardens. I try to go with what looks cottagey and will grow here as we can't grow a lot of what are true cottage garden flowers. Have fun and don't stress. Be creative working with your new gardens.

FlowerLady

Cottage gardens should reflect the locality they are in. My garden includes agaves and things that I consider California Cottage. I'm sure you can create a beautiful and unique garden despite of or because of the palms.

If you look at the traditional English cottage garden, first of all, it was a mixture of flowers and food plants. The plants chosen were those native to a climate with a lot of summer water.

The tropical and semi-tropical plants that can grow outdoors in CA were so highly prized that wealthy people built huge greenhouses tended by servants to house them. They were expensive exotics not available to the masses.

Any good gardener adapts to the soil and climate where they live. If the English had been able to grow palms, tibouchina, canna lilies, and orchids in their gardens, believe me, they would do it in a second!

A more important consideration in SoCal gardening is poor soil and alkaline water. Fix your soil, mulch, put in either drip irrigation or soaker hoses (your roses will LOVE soakers), and you'll be able to grow anything you want as long as you site it correctly. Which, BTW, means remembering that in California, "full sun" elsewhere in the country often means "partial sun" here.

I grow hydrangeas in rich compost with mulch and don't water them more than once a week in the hottest weather. My roses can go two weeks between watering.

As a last resort, look in the Yellow Pages or talk to a local nursery. Grown palms are worth a LOT OF MONEY. There are companies that specialize in buying them because they are in such demand. They will come and remove them for you.

I agree with what has already been said, although I live in a climate where I can have what people refer to as a typical english cottage garden, I grow a lot of borderline and some tropicals which have to go into the greenhouse for the winter.
My interpretation of a cottage garden is casual, overflowing :o), full of the plants I love. It's more about the feeling I get when I'm in my garden not what I have planted. IMO this type of garden, regardless of what you have planted gives one a place to slow down, relax and smell the flowers. Become one with nature.

Annette

Guys, thanks so much for your ideas! I feel much more confident now.

Look past the ornamental grass and you will see 2 spaced Washitonian (sp?) palms that I planted. The future plan is to build a pergola that will be draped with climbing roses between the palms. These palms will get big, towering over the pergola further accenting the structure vertically. Palms and cottage gardening go hand in hand in Louisiana.

Clint

I have a Pindo and a Sago (not a true palm, but looks tropical) in my garden. They fit in with my "cottage" plantings just fine.

Renee

I have banana trees growing over my fence from the neighbors. They don't exactly scream cottage, but they still add interest. Done right, I think your palms will play folly in your cottage garden. There's nothing like the unexpected to take the edge off a strong theme.

Now get out there and train a climbing rose up that palm tree :-)

Steven

Cool, I wish I could grow palm trees where I live. Just be creative! There are tons of really pretty tropical plants! Crinum
Brugmansia
agave
cactus
Banana trees
Citrus trees
Oleanders
Gingers
I have a dwarf pomegranite bush, that would make a great cottage garden plant! bright green leaves, with neon orange blooms, even gets fruit (very small) but cute!
cannas
Bougainvilla- a nice climbing vine type plant, might look good with your roses
Bird of paradise
Hibiscus
anthuriums
Plumerias
desert rose-caudiciformis
Orchids
Gardinia
evergreen daylilies
the list goes on, and on....gee, I could go crazy in your zone! Im sure your garden will turn out lovely, there are so many choices for you in your zone! Have fun!! -Jessica

Clint, I was thinking the same thing. When I think cottage, in my mind many are the coastal cotages.

Here's a little inspiration:

Flax, cannas, erysimum 'Bowles Mauve', helichrysum petiolare "Limelight"
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See the palm under the calla lilies? It's now twice that height and width. Planted from one of those "houseplant palms" they sell in stores, I have no idea how big this is going to get!
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And what English cottage gardener wouldn't sell their soul to be able to grow this Melianthus major outdoors without protection? Big striking leaves and the weirdest flowers you've ever seen!
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Guys, I can't believe it..I have one of those Melianthus above too! I had no idea b/c it's not flowering now!
Thanks so much to all of you again... you have no idea how much this is helping me! I am more and more excited about these palms!

I think cottage gardening is more of a style or attitude towards gardening than anything else. Plus, you have to work with what grows best in your climate, so I think palms and tropicals can work perfectly in a cottage garden.

Did you notice how many zone 8-9-10 cottage gardeners are responding to this email? :-) I can almost guarantee that we are all growing things that are semi-tropical or tropical in our cottage gardens.

I bet your house - plant palm will do fine outdoors, jkom. A few years ago I started planting spider plant babies,pothos and philodendrom in my garden just as an experiment. All 3 survive from year to year, which I honestly was not sure would happen.

Marilyn

robcorreia, here's a composite photo of the beginning flower head on the melianthus - I think it looks like a weird alien chicken head!
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