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'Ornamental, colourful and filled with good ideas': A glowing autumnal garden in YorkshireThe garden at Littlethorpe Manor near Ripon, North Yorkshire, is a consummate achievement. Charles Quest-Ritson paid a visit; photography by Clive Nichols.
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'Gardeners don't get discouraged. If we lose a plant, we look for an even better one to replace it. It's the triumph of hope over experience'The grass might have browned and died, but roses had 'the best season that I can remember', says Charles Quest-Riston — and like all gardeners, he gets knocked down, but he gets up again.
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How can anything so small be so bewitching? The huge joys of the tiny cyclamenCharles Quest-Ritson on the effortless beauty of the autumn cyclamen. Photographs by Clive Nichols.
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'The Versailles of the north': Meet the duchess who's created gardens of joy, wonder — and rather a lot of deadly poisonAs the garden at Alnwick Garden celebrates its 25th anniversary, Charles Quest-Ritson talks to Jane Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, about its making and her plans for its future.
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Hydrangea paniculata: The bold, brave flowers that can stand up to whatever the British climate can throw at themNo garden should be without Hydrangea paniculata, which can bloom until the end of October. Charles Quest-Ritson sums up the results of the recent four-year trial at RHS Bridgewater near Manchester; photographs by Clive Nichols for Country Life.
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How Kew planted an American prairie in the heart of SussexSwathes of American prairie plants are being trialled at Kew Wakehurst in an effort to search for drought-tolerant species for our gardens. Charles Quest-Ritson reports. Photographs by Mimi Connolly.
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A slice of heaven for fruit lovers: One of the world's greatest apple displays is about to take place in DevonEuropom — one of the great celebrations of the fruit grown across Europe — will be taking place this year at RHS Rosemoor. Charles Quest-Ritson can't wait.
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We're heading for an autumn of unparalleled colour — but why?If the days stay warm and the nights are cold, Charles Quest-Ritson is optimistic.
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Beautiful, impressive, mature: The high-summer splendour of Cedar HouseNew collections of trees and shrubs, colourful herbaceous plantings and dedication to its development have transformed the six acres of the garden and arboretum at Cedar House in Wasperton, home of David and Sandra Burbidge. Charles Quest-Ritson paid a visit to a place that has become a major showpiece; photography by Clive Nichols.
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The Somerset house that brought 'jungle gardening' to the EnglishEast Lambrook Manor in Somerset — home of Andrew and Alison Johnson — where Margery Fish’s exuberant ‘jungle gardening’ style took shape, is flourishing once again under new custodianship. Charles Quest-Ritson paid a visit; photography by Jonathan Buckley.
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Charles Quest-Ritson: Today’s best young gardeners are well educated, well qualified, and well underpaid. No wonder they're voting with their feetUp and coming gardeners are dotting from job to job like the journeymen gardeners of late-Victorian and Edwardian times, says Charles Quest-Ritson.
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'A dream of England': The Hampshire rose garden that's one of the finest in private handsA thousand English roses now bloom in the restored walled garden that forms the heart Dummer House, Hampshire, home of Sir Crispin and Lady Davis. Charles Quest-Ritson visits this beautiful 27-acre estate; photography by Mimi Connolly.
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Charles Quest-Ritson: The 'Sir David Beckham' rose is so good that one day he'll be better remembered as a flower than a footballerFrom spectacular South African blooms to a home-grown marvel, Charles Quest-Ritson shares his favourite plants from the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
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The ancient trees that laugh in the face of climate change and dinosaur-killing asteroidsCharles Quest-Ritson meets the 'living fossil' trees that survived mass extinctions.
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The Victorian world lost for 140 years, rediscovered and restored in DevonLost until a chance discovery in 2009, the Victorian fernery at Canonteign Falls in Devon has not only been restored, but now houses two National Collections. Charles Quest-Ritson visits; photography by Mark Bolton.
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Mount Congreve: The exquisite Irish garden on an unimaginable scaleEven superlatives are dwarfed by the scale and quality of the garden of Mount Congreve, in Co Waterford, Ireland. Charles Quest-Ritson traces its story. Photographs by Jonathan Hession.
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Pretty little things: How the double primrose continues to hold us in its thrallCharles Quest-Ritson looks into the history and the origins of these delightful flowers.
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'Ugly, pointless and potentially lethal': Why dead hedges are a gardening fad too farCharles Quest-Ritson takes aim at the phenomenon of the 'dead hedge'.
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The Italians think it's a laxative and the Germans say it leeches your bones, but rhubarb is a true British wonder. Here's how to do it justiceRhubarb is one of the easiest and most generous plants to grow. Charles Quest-Ritson digs into its history and recommends the best kinds; photographs by Jonathan Buckley.
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No garden should be without a winter-flowering daphne, so we've picked the bestThere is no such thing as a disappointing daphne, Charles Quest-Ritson
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'I was utterly bewitched': The heartwarming success story of one of Britain's greatest rose-growersCharles Quest-Ritson talks to Trevor White, whose Norfolk rose nursery is sought out by enthusiasts for the quality and variety of its stock. Photographs by Richard Bloom.
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Beautiful, rewarding, unpronounceable: Chaenomeles, the spectacular shrub that grows happily in gardens where azaleas will never bloomSo many new types of Japanese flowering quince are now available that they have been the subject of a four-year trial by the RHS. Charles Quest-Ritson picks his favourites; just don't ask him to say their names out loud.
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English country gardens once dotted the French Riviera. Now the last of them is about to slip away foreverCharles Quest-Ritson laments the final closure of the English Edwardian garden at Le Clos.
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Exclusive: The King's remarkable resurrection of the gardens and parkland at SandringhamThe King took over the running of the 21,000-acre Sandringham estate in 2017 — and in the last three years has transformed it beyond recognition.
