Gardens
Britain's best gardens, and advice on how to transform your own with seasonal advice from leading gardeners & Country Life experts.
-
Alan Titchmarsh: I went a bit mad ordering bulbs — and I'm not even a little bit sorry I didOur columnist's splurge in the autumn is now paying off with spectacular irises across his garden.
By Alan Titchmarsh Published
-
Dawn Chorus: How to travel around the world in 19 flowers and the Mini Moke that took St Moritz by stormWhat do Charles Dickens, Henry VIII and Ellen Willmott all have in common? They all appear in a new book chronicling 19 flowers and the people responsible for bringing them to the UK. Find out how to get your hands on it, plus, we reveal why a rare Beach Boys-inspired Mini Moke turned up in a Swiss ski resort and a few of India Knight’s favourite things.
By Rosie Paterson Published
-
How to make a gloomy city garden into a haven of colour and natureTiffany Daneff discovers how to transform a typically dark London back garden into a light-filled green haven that is always in use. Photographs by Clive Nichols.
By Tiffany Daneff Published
-
The daffodil full of 'simple, dotty charm' that's the most generous of all Narcissus speciesCharles Quest-Ritson looks at the endlessly cheerful hoop-petticoat daffodil, Narcissus bulbocodium.
By Charles Quest-Ritson Published
-
‘It can take three days to paint one leaf’: The extraordinary, painstaking lives of Chelsea Physic Garden’s Florilegium Society artistsIt sounds like a secret spy agency, but the Florilegium Society is actually a part of one of London’s oldest botanical gardens and they’re on an ambitious quest to record 5,000 plants.
By Catriona Gray Published
-
The real language of flowers, or how to decode your Valentine's day bouquetOn Valentine's Day, Martin Fone takes a look at the true meaning behind flowers, decoding what each individual bloom says about the receiver - or the sender.
By Martin Fone Last updated
-
'I followed a lorry for miles just so I could ask the driver if I could buy his pot': How Beth Tarling put together her dream terracotta pot collectionOrdinary terracotta flowerpots have been made in their millions and yet, as collector Beth Tarling tells Tiffany Daneff, there is very little on record about them. Photographs by Mark Bolton.
By Tiffany Daneff Published
-
Isabel Bannerman: The year’s first and most abundantly cheery, uplifting and undemanding of winter flowersCyclamen coum is one of the plants that lights up our gardens at this time of year.
By Isabel Bannerman Published
-
Totally tropical Tresco: The English country garden that brings the tropics to the British IslesA warm reception awaits visitors to Tresco Abbey Garden — the home of Robert and Lucy Dorrien-Smith — where the year-round temperate climate has created an extraordinarily colourful garden–even in winter. Tiffany Daneff reports, with photography by Clive Nichols.
By Tiffany Daneff Published
-
'There seems to be little sympathy, understanding or respect for the kind of work that goes on in the world’s leading horticultural charity': Alan Titchmarsh calls for RHS Wisley compensationThe RHS estimates that it will lose £11 million from ongoing roadworks on Junction 10 of the M25 — enough to fund 15 NHS wellbeing gardens.
By Annunciata Elwes Published
-
Dawn Chorus: What our gardens can tell us about our culture, climate and historyHow to get tickets to Monty Don’s upcoming talk on his latest BBC TV series, Britain’s lost trees and our quiz of the day round out today’s very green-themed Dawn Chorus.
By Rosie Paterson Published
-
Alan Titchmarsh: The neat planting trick which means I almost never have to do any weedingAlan Titchmarsh yields to no-one in his striving for garden perfectionism — and he's helped in his task by a cunning strategy that helps him avoid weeding almost completely.
By Alan Titchmarsh Published
-
Country Life 15 January 2025Country Life 15 January 2025 marvels at the gardens of Tresco, the medieval heart of Warwick and the incredible strength of the ox.
By Country Life Published
-
The ultimate joy of winter gardening? Heading for sunnier spots knowing that your garden won't suffer from your absenceCharles Quest-Ritson shares his Mediterranean winter dreams.
By Charles Quest-Ritson Published
-
G&T to Gravetye and 'the David Attenborough of garden visiting': The Garden tours to book in 2025One of the best ways–often the only way–to visit the finest privately owned gardens in the country is by joining an exclusive tour. Non Morris tags along.
By Non Morris Published
-
Taste explosions: How to grow micro leaves that pack a serious punchSmall in size and quick to mature, these seedlings of coriander, rocket, radish and more are bursting with flavour that belies their size.
By Mark Diacono Published
-
Villa Frere: The centuries-old garden created by an English diplomat, reclaimed by Nature, and now once again restored by ManRubble and ruin were all that remained of the early-19th-century Villa Frere and its gardens, planted by the English diplomat John Hookham Frere, until a group of dedicated volunteers came to its rescue. Josephine Tyndale-Biscoe tells the story of the gardens of Villa Frere in Pietà, Malta.
By Country Life Published
-
Country Life's top 10 gardens articles of 2024From the gardens of A-listers and crazed plant hunters to tips on compost, we covered it all in 2024.
By Toby Keel Published
-
Charles Quest-Ritson: Walnuts are one of the gardener's greatest pleasures — but you'll have to be ready for the squirrelsOnce you are hooked by walnuts and want to grow more varieties, you find an extraordinary amount of choice. Charles Quest-Ritson explains more.
By Charles Quest-Ritson Published
-
The special magic of a frozen garden in winterWaking up to discover the garden transformed by a short, sharp hoar frost is a magical experience. Tiffany Daneff looks at how to make the most of it, and shares five of the best to visit over the holiday period.
By Tiffany Daneff Published
-
Mark Diacono: How to grow savory both summer and winterThe grow-your-own gardening expert on summer savory and winter savory, and making sure that whenever you can't enjoy one, you'll be able to call on the other.
By Mark Diacono Published


