4 English Cottage Garden Ideas for Allentown, PA | Zone 6b Lehigh Valley Borders
Native plants from the Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests (Zone 6b) — Humid continental (hot summer) climate
Why Cottage/English Gardens in Allentown?
Allentown already has the backdrop a cottage garden needs. The Victorian rowhouses of Old Allentown and Old Fairgrounds, the 1920s to 1940s brick and stone houses on the tree-lined streets of the West End, and the twins of the East Side and South Side all sit close to the sidewalk, so a deep border, a rose over the gate and a narrow brick or bluestone walk read clearly from the street. The city also has its own reference planting: the Malcolm W. Gross Memorial Rose Garden in Cedar Creek Parkway, a short walk from many West End homes, is the best place in the Lehigh Valley to see which roses look good here in August, not only in June.
Zone 6b winters set the first limits. January nights average about 22°F at Lehigh Valley International Airport, the coldest night of a normal winter falls somewhere between about -5°F and 2°F, and the record is -15°F from January 1994. Around 33 inches of snow and roughly 47 inches of total precipitation a year mean wet, freezing crowns are a bigger threat than drought. Most of the English list survives: Rosa 'New Dawn', Rosa 'Olivia Rose Austin', Nepeta × faassenii 'Walker's Low', Geranium 'Rozanne' and Lavandula × intermedia 'Phenomenal' all take the cold. The classic that disappoints is the old-wood bigleaf hydrangea: a hard February often kills its flower buds, so plant Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' or Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight', which bloom on new wood, and treat true Delphinium elatum as a short-lived plant that sulks through humid July highs near 86°F.
Much of Allentown sits on the limestone and dolomite of the Great Valley, so garden soil is often a silt loam closer to neutral than the acidic clays farther south, commonly somewhere around pH 6.0 to 7.0. That suits roses, lavender, catmint and Phlox paniculata 'Jeana' well, and it is one reason the cottage style works so easily here. Old city lots carry a lot of fill, brick and ash, though, so get a Penn State Extension soil test before you plan, and raise the beds 6 to 8 inches where water sits in spring. Carbonate bedrock also means sinkholes are a real local issue, so spread roof water across a rain garden rather than sending every downspout into one hole.
Allentown bills a stormwater fee of $20 per 500 square feet of impervious surface, and patios count, so a dry-laid brick or gravel path is cheaper to own than poured concrete, and a managed rain garden can earn a fee credit. If your house is in the Old Allentown, Old Fairgrounds or West Park historic districts, exterior changes go through the Historical Architectural Review Board and City Council, so settle a front fence or arbour with the City before you build it.
4 Cottage/English Design Ideas for Allentown
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The Rowhouse Rose Gate
$20–38/sqftA narrow Old Allentown or Old Fairgrounds rowhouse front gets a black iron gate with a slim steel arch over it carrying a climbing rose, and a straight brick walk of 15 to 20 feet to the stoop. Both sides of the walk hold a two-layer border: lavender and catmint along the edge, roses and phlox behind, with a clipped box ball at each corner. The house usually faces the street on an east-west axis, so put the rose on whichever side of the arch gets the afternoon sun.
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The West End Porch Border
$22–45/sqftA 1920s brick or stone foursquare on a tree-lined West End street gets a curving Pennsylvania bluestone walk from the sidewalk to a deep front porch, with a three-layer border sweeping along the foundation. Tall foxglove and hollyhock stand against the porch rail, roses and hydrangea fill the middle, and hardy geranium spills over the stone edge. The big street trees shade the west end of the bed in the afternoon, so the hydrangea and foxglove go there and the roses take the open, sunny end.
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The Twin House Picket Garden
$14–28/sqftAn East Side or South Side twin with a small front lawn trades the grass for a low white picket fence, a simple cedar arbour at the gate and a gravel path straight to the door. Shrub roses and catmint fill the sunny bed against the fence, salvia and coneflower take the middle, and a single panicle hydrangea anchors the corner by the porch. It is a cheap, fast build that looks finished in its second summer, and the gravel path does not add to the stormwater bill the way a poured walk would.
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The Backyard Rose Arbour and Bench
$12–30/sqftA deeper back lot gets a cedar arbour with a built-in bench at the far end, a mown grass path through the middle and wide borders on both sides that run from roses in the sun to hostas and ferns where the neighbor's maple casts shade. A small rain garden at the low corner takes the downspout water, planted with Joe Pye weed and blue flag iris so it looks like part of the border. The money goes into plants rather than stone, which keeps the full cottage look on a budget.
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Featured Trees & Shrubs for Cottage/English Gardens
Browse all 243 plants for Allentown
Annabelle Hydrangea
Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'
grows to 5 feet, white blooms in summer. Pollinator-friendly.
Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum
medium-sized at 10 feet, white blooms in spring. Pollinator-friendly.
Blackhaw Viburnum
Viburnum prunifolium
medium-sized at 12 feet, white blooms in spring. Pollinator-friendly.
Carolina Rhododendron
Rhododendron carolinianum
grows to 5 feet, pink blooms in spring. Attracts butterflies.
Featured Grasses & Groundcovers for Cottage/English Gardens
Creeping Phlox
Phlox subulata
low-growing ground cover, multi blooms in spring. Attracts butterflies.
Pennsylvania Sedge
Carex pensylvanica
low-growing ground cover, blooms in spring.
Broad-leaf Bamboo
Sasa palmata
medium-sized at 7 feet, blooms in none. Evergreen year-round.
Deer Grass
Muhlenbergia rigens
grows to 3 feet, yellow blooms in fall. Evergreen year-round.
Featured Flowers & Perennials for Cottage/English Gardens
American Alumroot
Heuchera americana
low-growing ground cover, white blooms in spring. Pollinator-friendly.
Bee Balm
Monarda didyma
grows to 3 feet, red blooms in summer. Attracts hummingbirds.
Bellwort
Uvularia grandiflora
low-growing ground cover, yellow blooms in spring. Pollinator-friendly.
Bishop's Cap
Mitella diphylla
low-growing ground cover, white blooms in spring. Pollinator-friendly.
Zone and sun checks come from our database — confirm with your local nursery before you buy.
Bloom Calendar for Allentown
spring
American Alumroot, Bellwort, Bishop's Capsummer
Bee Balm, Black Cohosh, Black Cohoshfall
Limited bloomswinter
Limited bloomsDesign Tips for Allentown (Zone 6b)
- Get a Penn State Extension soil test before you buy plants: limestone-derived Allentown soils often sit near pH 6.0 to 7.0, which suits roses and lavender, but old city lots full of brick, ash and fill can read anywhere
- Raise lavender, catmint and rose beds 6 to 8 inches with grit worked in: roughly 47 inches of precipitation and freeze-thaw winters kill more cottage plants here through wet crowns than through cold
- Skip old-wood bigleaf hydrangeas that lose their flower buds in a Zone 6b February, and plant Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' or Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight', which bloom on new wood every year
- Set paths and pavers on 6 inches of compacted stone, and check the frost depth the City requires before setting arbour or fence footings, so the freeze-thaw cycle does not heave them
- Spread downspout water into a shallow rain garden instead of a single dry well: the carbonate bedrock under much of the Lehigh Valley is prone to sinkholes, and concentrated water makes them worse
- Choose dry-laid brick, bluestone on stone dust or gravel over poured concrete, because Allentown bills its stormwater fee by impervious area and a managed rain garden can earn a credit
- Mound soil or mulch 8 to 10 inches over rose grafts in early December and pull it back in April, after the last frost, to carry grafted roses through a winter that can touch -5°F
Where to Source Plants in Allentown
Skip the big-box stores. These independent Allentown nurseries specialize in the plants that make cottage/english gardens thrive in Zone 6b.
Lehigh Valley Home & Garden
West Allentown (Crackersport Road)
Large independent garden center with roses, trees, shrubs and evergreens, weekly perennial deliveries, greenhouse annuals and herbs, and bulk mulch, soil and stone
Herbein's Garden Center
Emmaus
Family-owned garden center since 1974 with annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs, bulk mulch and topsoil, pottery, and design consultations
Tall Timbers Nursery
West Allentown (Huckleberry Road)
Nursery and landscape firm with plants, pond supplies and fish, plus landscaping, hardscaping and water garden installation
Edge of the Woods Native Plant Nursery
Orefield
Native trees, shrubs, vines and perennials of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, including hard-to-find species, pollinator plant lists, and meadow and woodland installation
Cottage/English Landscaping Costs in Allentown
| Project Scope | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
| Front cottage border on a rowhouse or twin frontage (200–400 sqft) | $5,000 – $14,000 |
| Pennsylvania bluestone or brick walkway (100–200 sqft) | $3,000 – $9,000 |
| Cedar picket fence with gate arbour (40–60 linear ft) | $3,500 – $8,000 |
| Rose arch or arbour with bench, built and stained | $1,500 – $5,000 |
| Rain garden for downspout runoff (100–200 sqft) | $1,500 – $4,500 |
| Full back cottage garden: paths, arbour, rain garden, deep borders | $18,000 – $50,000 |
| AI visualization (ProScapeAI) | Free to start |
Estimates based on Allentown, PA-area contractor rates as of 2026. Actual costs vary by site conditions, materials, and contractor.
Allentown Climate & Growing Zone
USDA Zone 6b
Hardiness zone for Allentown
Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests
Native ecoregionFrequently Asked Questions
How much does a cottage garden cost in Allentown, PA?
Lehigh Valley landscape labor usually runs about $55–80 per hour, below Philadelphia and North Jersey rates. A planted front cottage border on a rowhouse or twin frontage (200–400 sqft) typically costs $5,000–14,000 installed. A Pennsylvania bluestone walk runs about $28–45 per square foot and a brick walk on a proper base about $25–40. A cedar arbour or rose arch is $1,500–5,000 built. A full back garden with paths, an arbour, a rain garden and deep borders commonly lands at $18,000–50,000. Buying Rosa 'New Dawn', Nepeta 'Walker's Low' and Lavandula × intermedia 'Phenomenal' in one-gallon pots and planting them yourself brings a border under $10 per square foot.
Which roses survive Allentown winters and humid summers?
Pick hardy, disease-tolerant roses over classic hybrid teas. Rosa 'New Dawn' is the dependable climber, Rosa 'Quietness' (a Griffith Buck rose bred for Iowa winters) and Rosa 'Bonica' are close to bulletproof, and the David Austin roses Rosa 'Olivia Rose Austin' and Rosa 'Darcey Bussell' hold their leaves well in a wet Lehigh Valley summer. Give every rose six hours of sun with morning light so the leaves dry early, water at the base, and mound soil or mulch 8 to 10 inches over the graft in December. Walk through the Malcolm W. Gross Memorial Rose Garden in late July to see which ones still look good after the heat.
Can I grow English lavender and delphinium in Zone 6b?
Lavender, yes, if the bed drains. Lavandula × intermedia 'Phenomenal' is the most reliable here, and Lavandula angustifolia 'Munstead' and 'Hidcote' also take the cold, but all of them die from wet crowns, not from -5°F. Plant them on a 6 to 8 inch raised edge with grit worked in and a gravel mulch. Delphinium is harder: Delphinium elatum survives the winter but often collapses in humid July and August, so treat it as a two or three year plant, or get the same blue spires from Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna' and Veronica 'Royal Candles', which last.
When is the best time to plant a cottage garden in Allentown?
Early September to mid-October is the best window: the soil is warm, rain returns and roots grow for six weeks before the ground freezes. Mid-April to late May is the second window, once the last frost (usually in late April) has passed. Plant bare-root roses in April as soon as the soil can be worked. Sow or plant foxglove and Alcea rosea 'Halo Blush' in late summer so they flower the following June. Avoid planting through the July heat unless you can water deeply twice a week.
Do I need approval for a fence or arbour in Allentown?
If the house is in the Old Allentown, Old Fairgrounds or West Park historic districts, exterior changes need a Certificate of Appropriateness. Applications go to the Historical Architectural Review Board, and its recommendations go to City Council for final approval. A HARB approval covers only the historic side, so you still need any regular City permits. Outside the districts, fence height and setback rules still apply. Settle the design first, then check the review path with the City before you build, and call PA One Call (811) before digging any post holes.
Does a new patio or path change my stormwater bill?
It can. Allentown charges a stormwater fee of $20 per 500 square feet of impervious surface, and buildings, driveways, sidewalks and patios all count. Gravel can count too if it sits over a base that does not absorb water. The City runs a credit program that reduces the fee for the impervious area a stormwater practice, such as a rain garden, actually manages. A cottage design built from dry-laid brick, bluestone on stone dust and planted beds keeps that number down.
How do I keep deer and spotted lanternfly out of the garden?
Deer pressure is heaviest near the parks and creek corridors, such as Cedar Creek Parkway, Trexler Park and the Little Lehigh. Hosta, tulips and roses go first. Build the frame from plants deer leave alone: Nepeta 'Walker's Low', Lavandula 'Phenomenal', Digitalis purpurea, Salvia 'Caradonna', Geranium 'Rozanne' and Alchemilla mollis. Spotted lanternfly is established across Lehigh County; it rarely kills perennials, but it gathers on tree of heaven, so remove any Ailanthus seedlings along the fence line and scrape egg masses off the arbour posts in winter.
