A biennial is a plant that grows vegetatively in its first year,flowers in its second year and then (usually) dies.There are a number of common plants of this catergory that are essential to any garden let alone cottage garden.

First of all there is the foxglove(Digitalis purpurea)whose pure white relative is so beloved by plantsmen.The problem with this is that the white gene is recessive so you wont have white foxgloves for long before the revert to pink.Personally I think the pink foxglove is very lovely despite not being as recherche as the white one.Not only that but it self sows readily(I find it in many of my clients gardens) and is beloved by bees.However, it can often be mistaken for the pernicious weed of london garden alkanet.Simply rub the leaves-if its soft its a foxglove but if its furry its alkanet.I should add that some people like alkanet and use it in difficult situations but i consider it such a thug and i have pulled thousands up that we do not have a great working relationship!

Another key plant is the forget me not.It readily seeds once in a garden but will rarely find its way in by itself.I introduced it into my garden combined with tulips for a spring show and it works well-reseeding itself very readily but coping with shading from summer bedding.Its flowers are a charming light blue although you can buy white or pink(im not sure if they revert).Forget me nots like foxgloves will tolerate shade or sun having no real preference for either but like most plants native to the uk(like its citizens)enjoy a good drink.

A plant I have been using for some time now which as it turns out is more of a perennial is Salvia sclarea var.turkestan.its a beautifully statuesque plant which to my taste has a smell a bit like BO.Dont let that put you off though!It flowers for a long time-perhaps june to august and it has those lipped salvia flowers that i am a sucker for.

A plant i dont use but is very popular in mixed borders is verbascum.It has furry leaves and in most cases yellow flowers but like the salvia it grows very tall (about 3-4 feet) and therefore is what i would describe as an architectural plant.This means thats it is its structure and form that provides interest as opposed to the flowers on their own.

Ofcourse the most classic cottage garden biennial is the hollyhock.In an array of colours swaying beside a cottagers wall full of self seeded weeds they can look tremendous but they are susceptible to rust which can be problematic.

Wallflowers are a spring bedding plant that can be a deep red or yellow.As with tulips they combine well with forget me nots for a spring show.Plant them in the autumn amongst the forget me nots to create this.

I hope all this helps you with your own mixed border or cottage garden!