The cottage garden's abundant, informal style is rooted in Victorian dreams of a perfect country life, but has found new expressions from the Arts and Crafts movement to the present day. This book showcases many cottage gardens both famous and obscure, including writer Thomas Hardy's cottage in Dorset; the flower-filled cottage garden created at Sissinghurst, Kent, by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson; Beatrix Potter's Cumbrian home, Hill Top, and the picturesque Alfriston Clergy House in East Sussex. Practical advice on creating your own cottage garden is also offered, including key plants and techniques.