The Cottage Border (gouache style)

The cottage garden began as a practical plot, where rural households grew herbs, vegetables, fruit and flowers side by side. Victorian writers romanticised it, and gardeners such as William Robinson and Gertrude Jekyll drew on its relaxed, crowded planting for grander gardens. Later, Margery Fish at East Lambrook Manor in Somerset kept the style alive in the twentieth century. Plants are set closely so no bare soil shows, with tall spires at the back and self-sown annuals filling the gaps.

Start in April by staking delphiniums before they reach full height, and watch for slugs on the new shoots. Cut delphinium spikes back after the first flush in June or July and you'll often get a second flowering in late summer. Deadhead roses through the season. Let foxgloves drop their seed before pulling them out. In autumn or March, lift and divide crowded perennials, and mulch the whole border in spring. Leaving some seed heads standing over winter feeds birds.

Delphiniums, foxgloves and roses spill over a brick path in this border. All three are in flower together, which happens around the start of summer, when a cottage border is at its fullest. Plants tumbling onto the bricks show the generous, slightly untidy look of a full summer border.