Garden designs can be very personal. Some are structured with hedges and figurines; others are filled with roses or herbs. I love a woodland garden, but my favorite is a cottage garden.

The wonderful, colorful haphazardness of the plants makes me smile. But I know that although it may look like a happy accident, there was thought and planning in the design.

Originally surrounding English cottages, over the decades, the gardens have evolved from mostly vegetables and herbs with a few colorful plants scattered in between to mostly plants and shrubs.

To achieve the cottage garden look, the plantings should be a mix of flowering shrubs, perennials, and annuals. Some will be fragrant, but all will be delightful and, as an added bonus, attract pollinators to the garden.

Bee Balm (Monarda) grows 14-18 inches tall and loves full sun. The red or pink flowers begin blooming in the summer and will continue through the first frost. This perennial needs consistent watering to produce prolific blooms.

Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) is instantly recognizable. The yellow petals surrounding the dark center on almost 3-foot stems will multiply in the garden over the years. They are a deer favorite, but that’s a topic for another day.

Coneflowers (Echinacea) have a daisy-like vibe with pink petals surrounding a green center. I don’t head these after they bloom. I leave the dried flowers to self-seed and feed garden birds and bees.

Yarrow (Achillea) is another perennial of the cottage garden esthetic. When planted in full sun, they will reach 2 feet high and have flat top blooms, often in yellow, but there are pale pink varieties. Don’t be surprised to see pollinators resting and feeding on the flat-top flowers.

If you are looking for border plants and have good soil drainage, try lavender (Lavandula). This plant needs full sun. I have tried to grow lavender in several spots of my garden. I have had the most success planting it in a sloped rock garden where the sun is strong most of the day.

Another border choice is Coral Bells (Heuchera), which can reach 10 inches in height. Although this plant blooms in late summer, the foliage is the main attraction. Varieties can be found with purple, bronze, silver or green leaves.

Smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) with their big, floppy, white balls of blooms scream tradition and cottage gardens. These bushes reach 4-5 feet tall and wide. They like full sun, and the blooms may become too heavy for the stems, so they need support to stand upright.

The butterfly bush (Buddleia) is another cottage-garden staple. This deciduous shrub needs a hard pruning in the early spring, but new growth will appear quickly, producing long, spike-like blooms through the fall.

Add in your choice of annuals. Try Phlox and Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia), which are both lovely and will bloom through the fall season. Of course, annuals can be planted in the ground or, for a twist, planted in containers placed in the garden. This will add color and variety to your established design.

Although most of these cottage-garden plants are easily identified by their common names today, I used the scientific name when describing these plants. The scientific name is how the plants are listed in my new favorite plant guide.

I encourage you to visit Gritt’s Farms at the Capitol Market or Valley Gardens to pick up the new West Virginia plant guide showcasing 500 plants commonly used in or recommended for West Virginia. This publication is a must-have to learn more about shrubs, perennials and evergreens.

The West Virginia Nursery & Landscaping Association compiled this resource guide, which is 80 pages of color photos, descriptions of plants, maps, and a glossary of common botanical terms. When you stop in for your Landscaping Guide, be sure to talk with the staff; they have a wealth of knowledge. This is also a good time to support local retailers and pick up spring garden must-haves.