Lay the groundwork

• How to create a cottage-style garden
• Lay the groundwork
• Use ground cover
• Get the colour scheme right
• Choose the right plants
• Where to buy

Look after your soil

The secret to the cottage garden look is healthy strong plants, but undernourished soil cannot sustain an abundance of flowers and foliage.

Improve soil fertility and moisture retentiveness with well-rotted farm manure, homemade compost or sacks of ready-made soil conditioners.

Fork slow-release fertilisers into the soil early in the year around large shrubs and climbers to give individual plants a boost all season long.

Don't forget to water

"Summer for most plants is a time for rapid growth. In order to sustain this, the plants need plenty of light and food, and copious amounts of water. In very hot weather that may mean watering twice each day to prevent wilting." Steven Bradley, A Year in the Garden (14.99, Ryland Peters & Small).

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