We want to hear all about your garden - whether it is a couple of pretty pots on a patio or a prize-winning two acres. Our first readers' garden is Malcolm and Carol Skinner's Eastgrove Cottage, Little Witley.

Who?Malcolm and Carol Skinner.

Where?

Eastgrove Cottage Garden, Sankyns Green, near Shrawley, Little Witley, WR6 6LQ.

How Long?

"We bought the cottage and gardens in 1970. Eventually moved in five years later. In the meantime, we travelled from Birmingham every weekend via three buses and a 20-minute walk with two children in tow."

Type of Garden?

Cottage plus a two-acre arboretum.

Soil Type?

Sandy loam, slightly alkaline.

Favourite Plant?

Viola Eastgrove, blue-scented.

Describe Your Garden

"Eastgrove is an English cottage garden. When we first came across it in 1970 we were living in Birmingham and were completely bowled over by the feeling it immediately gave us, the sweet perfumes, the peace and the remoteness.

"The garden is forever changing and developing. Tumbling abundance is our overriding aim and the need for a cottage garden to be all of a piece'.

"Our cottage has no straight lines and so it is surrounded by a very curvy garden. Every enterprise has to continually change and develop and we now seem to be veering evermore strongly into hardy subjects and our tender perennials, of which we have a wonderful collection, are mostly in the succulent area.

"Two years ago, we took over an adjoining cow pasture and planted two acres as an arboretum complete with a ride and grass labyrinth, which has added an exciting extra dimension."