The flowers that look spectacular when the frost starts to bite
Resist the urge to tidy the garden and, come the frosts, you will be rewarded with a glorious display of glittering seedheads, says Steven Desmond.
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In Focus: Lucian Freud's plant portraits, from the tiny to the vast, all years in the painting
Steven Desmond visits the Lucian Freud exhibition at the Garden Museum, bringing a horticulturalist's eye to works by one of Britain's great 20th century artists.
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The best flowers named after monarchs, from the Queen's latest rose to the regal daisies that were almost named after Kaiser Wilhelm
With a new rose named ‘Queen Elizabeth II’ being launched for the Jubilee, Steven Desmond looks back at the history of naming plants after monarchs.
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Gardeners' Question Time: 75 years of the great hardy perennial of radio broadcasting
However unlikely it seemed 75 years ago, Gardeners’ Question Time has become one of the most reliable and quietly popular of perennials in radio broadcasting. Steven Desmond looks back at the personalities that made it.
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The Botanical painters whose artworks are a celebration of nature's endless diversity
Expert gardener and gardening writer Steven Desmond shares three of his favourite botanical painters whose works have inspired him.
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The beautiful plants to look out for as Spring bursts through across Britain
Expert gardener and gardening writer Steven Desmond picks out some of his favourite sights as the winter begins to give way.
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The revival of Chatsworth's great wooded bank: 'A mountainous place of woods, springs and birdsong'
It has taken three years and more than a quarter of a million plants to bring brilliant new life to the great wooded bank at Chatsworth in Derbyshire, finds Steven Desmond. Photographs by Clive Nichols.
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How to grow spectacular winter flowers that will make your garden smell wonderful until Spring
It's possible to plant flowers that offer beautiful sights and smells throughout winter. Steven Desmond suggests some of the best.
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Japanese Quince: The spectacular red flowers that should be on every gardener's to-grow list
Steven Desmond pours praise on the flowers of genus chaenomeles — also known as japonica, or Japanese quince — and explains how to make sure they thrive in your garden.
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Humphry Repton: How the legendary gardener embodied the spirit of his age
The leading garden-maker at the turn of the 19th century, Humphry Repton (1752–1818) was a man of feeling, as well as business. Steven Desmond charts the fortunes and misfortunes of one of the best-loved luminaries of English gardening’s history.
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How to grow vegetables which look as good as they taste
Vegetable needn't be drab or dull — all you have to do is pick the right varieties. Steven Desmond shares some of his best tips.
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The best Cox's apple varieties to eat and grow — including one you'll never see in a supermarket
Steven Desmond takes a look at the various members of the Cox apple family, and suggests some to look out for.
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Parceval Hall: Tucked away in a corner of the Yorkshire Dales, a great garden that's perfectly restored
Steven Desmond visits the early-20th-century garden created at Parcevall Hall in Skyreholme, North Yorkshire, by Sir William Milner and now triumphantly restored. Photographs by Richard Bloom.
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Medwyn Williams, king of giant vegetables: 'A living monument... the greatest of our show growers, a king of long carrots and immaculate cauliflowers'
Steven Desmond meets Medwyn Williams, the man who knows more than anyone about growing and showing giant vegetables.
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The magnificent walled garden at Gordon Castle, a 'miraculous proof of life after death' that is 'the future of the kitchen garden'
Steven Desmond looks at Gordon Castle Walled Garden at Fochabers in Morayshire, and applauds a ground-breaking restoration that balances productivity with beauty. With photographs by Britt Willoughby-Dyer.
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How to win show prizes with your fruit and vegetables, by a former champion-turned-judge
Steven Desmond has seen it all — and done most of it, too — when it comes to fruit and veg shows. He shares some of the tricks and tips he's picked up along the way.
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How to grow a giant gooseberry, and other top tips from the 219th Egton Bridge Old Gooseberry Show
Ahead of this week's Egton Bridge Old Gooseberry Show, Steven Desmond spoke to competitors at this centuries-old event.
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Across Britain, bizarre fruits have appeared – thanks to the freezing snows and blast-furnace heat of 2018
Britain's brutally-cold winter followed by a scorchingly hot summer have caused all manner of wonders to appear in our gardens, even months after the weather has returned to normal. Steven Desmond explains how it's happened.
