Planting Dahlia Raised Beds: My Cottage Garden Layout with Dahlia Beach Collections

This year I’m rebuilding my cottage garden from the ground up - and I thought it might be helpful to share exactly how I’m planning and planting each my raised beds, step by step.

If you’re creating your own cut flower garden, you might even want to bookmark this blog and borrow some of these planting combinations...

My Raised Bed Layout

In my cottage garden I have six raised beds, which form the focus of our outdoor space. Each bed measures 183cm long x 91cm wide.

They were built using 6ft x 3ft scaffold boards stacked two deep and filled with good, free-draining compost, which is ideal for growing dahlias and annual flowers. Raised beds work brilliantly for cut flower gardens because they:

• Improve drainage

• Warm up more quickly in spring

• Make planting and spacing easier to manage

  
  

How I Space Dahlias and Annual Flowers

One of the questions I get asked most often is how closely I plant my dahlias. In these beds I follow a simple spacing plan:

• Dahlias - planted 30cm apart

• Annuals – planted 20cm apart

With this layout I can fit roughly 10 dahlias and 10–15 annual flowers per bed, in this formation:

Some varieties grow larger than others, but this spacing creates the full, abundant look I love in a cottage garden like mine.

Raised Bed One: Our 'Barbados' Dahlia Collection

The first bed will feature our Dahlia Beach Barbados Collection, which is filled with bundles of A flambouyant burst of bright pinks and apricots. The dahlia varieties in this collection include:

• Labrynth

• Temple of Beauty

• Burlesca

• Cornel Bronze

• Salmon Runner

And, alongside the dahlias in this bed, this year I’ll be planting:

• Scabiosa Tall Double Rose

• Agastache Navajo Sunset

• Antirrhinum Chantilly Light Salmon

• Helichrysum Salmon Rose

• Nicotiana Bronze Queen

• Pennisetum villosum

These companion plants help soften the planting and add texture and movement between the dahlias.

Raised Bed Two: Our 'Santorini' Dahlia Collection

The second bed will be planted with the Dahlia Beach Santorini Collection, which has softer pastel tones and delicate pale pink textures. The dahlia varieties in this collection include:

• Cafe au Lait

• Wizard of Oz

• Arbatax

• Ping Pong

• Sweet Nathalie

And, alongside the dahlias in this bed, this year I’ll be planting:

• Antirrhinum Opus Lavender

• Thlaspi arvense

• Scabiosa Fata Morgana

• Cobaea scandens

• Hordeum jubatum

• Phlox Creme Brûlée

I'm aiming to create a light, airy bed with these companion annuals, that contrasts beautifully with the pink dahlias.

Raised Bed Three: Our 'Valencia' Dahlia Collection

Bed three is going to be dedicated to the Dahlia Beach Valencia Collection, which brings bundles of warm, glowing tones into the garden. The dahlia varieties in this collection include:

• Rancho

• Happy Single Date

• Ivanetti

• Yvonne

• Sylvia

And, alongside the dahlias in this bed, this year I’ll be planting:

• Rudbeckia hirta Cherokee Sunset

• Scabiosa stellata Sternkugel

• Setaria italica Red Jewel

• Helianthus Astra Rose

• Celosia cristata Act Verde

• Rudbeckia Sahara

I'm looking to add structure, seed heads and lots of interesting textures to this bed with these chosen companion annuals - and aiming for some wonderful for cut flower arrangements come summer!

Raised Bed Four: Our 'Lisbon' Dahlia Collection

The fourth raised bed will showcase the Dahlia Beach Lisbon Collection, which features a combination of plum, lemon, apricot and raspberry dahlias... as delicious as it sounds! The dahlia varieties in this collection include:

• Mondrian

• Seniors Hope

• Diva US

• Wine Eyed Jill

• Yvonne

And, alongside the dahlias in this bed, this year I’ll be planting:

• Phlox Cherry Caramel

• Rudbeckia Cherry Brandy

• Cerinthe purpurascens

• Helianthus Ruby Eclipse

• Celosia Act Ziva

• Nigella Albion Black Pod

I'm pairing more delicate annuals here alongside the bold dahlia shapes to create a layered planter.

Trial Raised Beds: Experimenting With New Combinations

The final two beds are my experimental beds, where I like to play around with new colour palettes and flower combinations each year. So, in raised bed five I'm going planting another mix of individual dahlias including some of my favourite varieties like PG Wodehouse, Rina Bredie and Wine Eyed Jill. I'll then pair these with annual flowers including Antirrhinum Potomac Lavender, Veronica Pink Shades and Setaria italica Lowlander, creating a plot that feels full, textural and layered.

For the sixth and final bed I'll lean into deeper, richer tones, with dahlias such as Dusty Beauty, Mary Evelyne and Kingsblood bringing warm berry and crimson shades into the mix. These will be softened with companion plants like Linaria Canon Went, dramatic Amaranthus Love Lies Bleeding, and airy cosmos varieties to add movement and contrast.

I always love having a couple of beds dedicated to experimentation - they’re often where the most exciting combinations appear and where I get inspired for future Dahlia Beach Collections 🌸

Where I Buy My Annual Flower Seeds

Another question I'm often asked is where I source the annual flower seeds that I grow alongside my dahlias. Over the years I’ve built up a small list of favourite suppliers whose seeds I trust and return to each season. Many of the varieties in these beds will come from Chiltern Seeds, who have an incredible range of unusual and heirloom flowers. I also love sourcing seeds from Marlston Farmgirl -whose selection is beautifully curated for cut flower gardens - and Alma Proust, who offer some really special varieties. Between these three suppliers, I can usually find exactly the colours and shapes I’m looking for when planning new planting combinations.

If you're planning your own cut flower garden, these suppliers are wonderful places to explore for interesting annual flower seeds in the UK, particularly if you're looking for varieties that pair beautifully with dahlias.

My Next Steps

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be potting up my dahlia tubers and sowing seeds in the greenhouse - so watch this space (and join me over on Instagram) for lots of exciting updates. It might look a bit bare now, but, come summertime, I'm determined that this garden is going to be thriving once more!

As we head further into the year and my tubers and seedlings move from greenhouse to garden (my favourite part!) I’ll be sharing more tips on things like:

• Transferring your plants from pot to ground

• Slug and pest control (groan!)

• Maintaining a cut garden

I’ll also be planning the containers for my new garden office deck, which I’m very, VERY excited about.

Rebuilding the garden wasn’t exactly part of the plan this year - but it does mean I get the chance to start fresh and create something even better. And by summer these beds will be overflowing with flowers again.

I’ll be sharing every step along the way 🌸