Cottage Garden plans for the clueless

[ChocClare]

The thatcher has just finished replacing our roof and has finally got rid of the mountains of manky straw which were all over the garden, so now I can take stock and what I've been thinking is that I would like a cottage garden, as I live in a cottage

I don't want anything too big - I'll start in one corner, as I'm far more interested in growing fruit and veg. I work in what used to be a stately home, so I have envelopes full of seeds from all the nice Gertrude Jekyll-y plants which grow in the mixed borders there - hollyhocks, astilbe, penstimon, all sorts of daisy-y things, agapanthus, cosmos, scabious, pinks, foxgloves, delphiniums, lupins, aquilegia blah di blah di blah.

My problem is that I have absolutely no design sense at all. OK, so tall plants should presumably go at the back - I can manage that. Does anyone have any brillo ideas about where to start, or any decent websites with planting "recipes" on them? I am going to be starting with bare soil - do I need to put any shrubs in so it isn't just bare soil again in the winter?

I realise that this is a design question rather than a flower question, but if any of you could point me in the right direction, I'd be very grateful.

[Alice]

Well Clare, you and I are in the same boat - minus the thatched roof. We moved in here a year ago. I started with the kitchen garden. I started by deciding which area would be the kitchen garden, then looked at it and decided how the kitchen garden would be screened off, and with what. Then what the entrance to the property would look like.
The house is (in English) Daisybank, so we decided on daisy type flowers everywhere we could put them.
There's still a chunk to do (most of the ornamental work) but yes, I think you do need to put in a skeleton of evergreen shrubs to stop the place dying into mud in the winter. Still planning that bit.
I would say, take your time and do it bit by bit.
The plan will evolve by itself and follow on from the bit you have done before.
Just enjoy and make it your own.

[Two_Sheds]

I've just got a new garden ... not huge, but it's all lawn, which I am gradually digging up and planting.

I have scooped out a couple of small areas and got in some winter shrubs: camellia, viburnum, pyracantha, roses, holly, elder.

Some bulbs for spring colour: daffs, tulips etc.

I'm going to try some grasses for the first time this year, thanks to the generosity of our Seed Swappers.

Next some annuals to fill in the gaps ... you've got lots.

I don't design on paper, I just can't. I have a vague idea of what I want, then I find a spot that will suit it (hellebores in shade, sunflowers in sun, etc)
I stick to a fairly rigid colour palette, because I hate garish. It'll be blue & white this year, for Mr Sheds' team.

[nick the grief]

get hold of Geoff Hamiltons Cottage garden DVD (or better yet the boxed set) it will tell you all you need to know.