You don't say where you are, but in many areas there are botanical gardens that have good examples. Within a few hours of me in New England there is the Coast of Maine Botanical Garden and Tower Hill, both of which have gardens that will give good ideas.

Generally speaking, do a web search for potager. They often have a physical structure of beds and paths, but the plantings are cottage in feel. I've seen rectangular ones with rectangular beds, ones that are wheel-like with the paths as spokes, and ones with other structures, but the important thing is that they have paths that give access to plants for harvest of veggies, herbs and flowers. The physical structure makes it feel less random while still allowing for a wealth of different types of plants.

I have found that planting perennials separately from annuals (regardless of whether they are veggies, herbs or flowers) makes my life easier since I don't like to disturb the roots of my perennial plants when planting annuals. So my aggressive perennial edibles (mint, Jerusalem artichoke, horseradish) each has its own bed with walls or a mowing strip to contain it. An old clay chimney tile is great for containing horseradish or aggressive herbs. My non-aggressive perennials (rhubarb, lovage, blueberries, some garlic) are planted in with the perennial flowers, shrubs and clematis. I may tuck an annual or three into the perennial garden where there's a space, but generally I like them separate.

Nutritionally, plants with flowers and fruits want less nitrogen and more of the P and K while plants that are planted for leaves like a more balanced fertilizer. I don't worry too much about it, though, and just give everything compost and mulch unless it's a plant that prefers lean growing conditions and drier soil. I plant those in a separate section as well.

I'm in zone 4 and you can grow a lot of things! Just stick to perennials that can take a cold winter and annuals that don't need a long growing season.

First, roses. There are so many roses that have done well in our garden. Most are old-fashioned roses like gallicas and damasks with some rugosas and Canadian Explorer roses. There are also some centifolias that will do well, too. Some of my favorites are Belle de Crecy, Celsiana, Snow Pavement, Fantin Latour, Madame Hardy and John Cabot. If you want to try one that's more of a hardy zone 5, plant it near the house on the south or east side, out of the winds. Bleu Magenta and David Austin's Cottage Rose are both good choices.

Okay, perennials, shrubs and bulbs. We have deer problems, so most of the ones I'll mention are also deer resistant or we plant them with plants deer don't like. Peonies, lilacs, coneflowers, daffodils, hyacinths, tullips (these are not deer resistant so plant them behind the previous two) daisies, barberry, butterfly bushes (more zone 5 but good in a protected area) phlox, coral bells, woodland phlox, well there are a lot of choices.

Herbs...this is one of my favorite groups. All these look good with roses and other plants. Lavender (Hidcote English lavender is the most hardy I've tried) Walker's Low catmint, bee balm, mints or all kinds (but you have to plant them in a buried pot or they'll take over your garden) pineapple mint is lovely, sweet woodruff and strawberries (okay not really herbs, but great ground covers) but these are just a few of the possible plants that will do well in your zone 4 garden.

Vegetables...I have mine in a separate kitchen garden, but it's easy to add lettuce, spinach, garlic, chives (although these can spread) bush beans, and even climbing beans or peas on an arch. For a longer flowering vine, think clematis or honeysuckle, since they'll come back every year and take no effort, at least in our garden.

I don't baby my roses or any other plants. I get the ones that should do well in our zone and if they don't...they are an annual and it was a learning experience. Best of luck with your garden!

Oh, I mentioned our kitchen garden/potager. We have a lot of space and got a bit carried away, but there are many ideas online and in books : )

And here's a picture from years back of roses and lavender with some daisies, lobelia and white alyssum...and a few cosmos I think in the back.

And some roses blooming later in the year...I think this is Celsiana but just starting to bloom next to the bird bath, above.

Not my pictures, but they look like this as more open and the older ones start to get lighter.

I have a cottage garden as you describe, with everything mixed in. It is due to lack of space, mainly. I recommend getting this excellent book,Christopher Lloyd's The Cottage Garden. It is out of print now but there are many used copies on Amazon starting at 50 cents! It is wonderful for planning and envisioning ideas.

The thing I learned from the book mostly, is that cottage gardens are not really "planned". Historically they came from people just accepting whatever plants they could get their hands on and planting wherever they had the space. Things were tucked here and there, leaving a lush and overflowing effect. The look also comes from "cottagers" having limited space and a day mainly devoted to work, often outside the home. These were not pleasure gardens, but functional labours of love and collecting. Aesthetics were not the primary goal.

So I suppose the advice I would give to you, is to not be afraid of getting it "wrong" and go forward and put together whatever combinations you may desire. There is no right or wrong in your own garden (except making your paths too narrow or planting rampant Chinese Lanterns!)

Thanks, everyone! I really appreciate all the advice and insight! I'll definitely look for "Potager," (instead of cottage garden, which seems to only pull up combinations of flowers and maybe some herbs), and I love the specific guidelines on what kind of combinations to look for. Thanks a ton!

I didn't set out to plant a cottage garden when I moved here in 2005 but that's what I've ended up with. My goal, originally, was and still is to sustain pollinators--bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Along the way, I learned a very great deal about gardening fundamentals. Considering the garden is only as robust as the soil from which it grows, it seems appropriate.

Many years ago I was given a book called 'Trowel &Error' by Sharon Lovejoy. In it she documents a plethora of basic, common-sense techniques and strategies to garden organically, incorporating low-impact ideas such as setting a recycled mailbox on a post near a garden bed in which to store gloves & tools. Hello! Have you ever walked across your garden area and realized you'd left what you needed back in the garage? Yeah...me too.

Sharon L. also set me on the worm poop trail as a way to sustain/fertilize my perennials/shrubs/trees. It's organic, low-impact, natural and doesn't introduce toxic chemicals into the earth.

I'm guessing Round-Up has it's uses in extreme climates. I don't live in one so I choose alternate (organic) means of weed-control. Where I am, carefully applied vinegar does the weed-control rather than Monsanto chemicals.

I made a list of perennials/shrubs to grow from seed via winter sowing based on the plants that sustain pollinators (bees, butterflies & hummingbirds). The information is available online so it wasn't much of a stretch to isolate those things that would thrive in my zone and do what I expected them to do.

Fast forward a decade and my cottage garden is thriving, despite a recent infestation of gypsy moth caterpillars. The don't seem interested in my perennials but the mature oak trees are completely stripped of foliage as I write. Yeah, it's sad and depressing.