Got hot for summer!

The magic of garden design isn’t simply in the plants you choose, it is the way you combine them in the borders.

Numerous plants native to South America, South Africa and other parts of the world have been happily adopted by British gardeners and are now considered classic cottage garden plants.

Among them are Fuchsias, Dahlias, Agapanthus, Alstroemerias, Salvias, Lobelias, Crocosmias and Kniphofias, all of which are superb for summer colour.

With a few tweaks you can set yourself apart from the crowd by going bright and bold and bringing a taste of the tropics to your own back garden for the summertime.

Keep pastels and whites to a minimum and embrace the varieties with stronger tones of reds, oranges, yellows, blues and magentas.

Planting will be less dense than in a cottage garden border but at the same time you want a feeling of lusciousness.

Hostas, Canna Lilies, Fatsias and ferns can all give you that big leafy effect. Add drama with sword-like upright leaves from Phormiums, Cordylines and Hemerocallis (aka day lilies).

Foliage from shrubs and perennials can provide extra impact if you use varieties with plum, gold and variegated leaves.

Choose some evergreens and you can have interest and structure all year round.

In this part of Suffolk we generally have free-draining soils - meaning roots, bulbs and tubers are less likely to rot in winter wet - as well as mild temperatures, which means most of the plants mentioned should survive our winters without any mollycoddling.

But if you really want to feel like you are on holiday at home, enhance the look with annuals that will take you through to the frosts.

Top picks include half-hardy Salvias, Rudbeckias, Lantanas, Osteospermum, Cleomes, Cupheas and Pelargoniums.

• Get inspired at www.katiesgarden.co.uk/holiday-at-home