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'I'm the expert who wrote the RHS's guide to roses — here's why pruning them right now is almost certainly a terrible mistake'More roses die from over-pruning than any other cause so what’s the reasoning underpinning this horticultural habit? Charles Quest-Ritson, the garden expert who wrote the RHS Encyclopedia of Roses, takes a closer look.
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Forsythia: The spring flower that's a ray of sunshine — and a foolproof option for novice gardenersForsythia are often sniffed at for being too brassy, but there is a lot more going for them, says Charles Quest-Ritson, although don’t plant them next to clashing pink-flowering currants.
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John Morley: A brush with the artist who changed the world of snowdropsTilly Ware meets the artist and galanthophile John Morley in his Suffolk garden, home to the oldest snowdrop nursery in the country.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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‘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.
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'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.
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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.
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The winter vegetable that's 'the prince of accompaniments to a joint of meat'Steven Desmond on the joy of parsnips.
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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.
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'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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Alan Titchmarsh: 'A stately pile in my part of Hampshire has been on the market for years — but one buyer didn't even make it to the door before getting back in his helicopter'Silence is golden — and more readily accessible at this time of year than any other, says Alan Titchmarsh.
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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.
