The 10 best shrubs for your garden, by the legendary gardener who’s dedicated his life to them
The revered gardener Peter Catt has bred and grown some of the finest shrubs in Britian. He told Val Bourne about his ten favourites.
Alan Titchmarsh: A foolproof guide to growing wisteria
The plant might not be evergreen, but Alan's advice for how to make it thrive certainly is.
The ultimate guide to planting your own orchard
‘Getting it right is easy,' explains Mark Diacono. 'Sadly, so is getting it wrong.’
The best garden designers and landscapers in Britain
Not all garden designers understand that a country house and its surroundings must work in harmony. Here's our list of the very best who do.
Kylemore Abbey Gardens: An Irish garden that ‘is one of earth’s wonders’
Last winter's lockdown was still in force when we ran this piece telling the story of the determination of the resident community of Benedictine nuns and their eight-acre garden at Kylemore Abbey Gardens in Connemara, Ireland.
Your month-by-month checklist of what to do in the garden and when
Simply brilliant advice, given to us by Becky Crowley, formerly in charge of the cutting garden at Chatsworth.
Japanese Acers: The ultimate guide to what to grow, how to grow it and the best acer varieties for your garden
We're delighted to see how well-received this piece was — we've a true soft-spot for these most delicately pretty of trees.
Monty Don: The point of gardening
It’s to find solace, to be happy, to make beauty, have fun and muck about. How you do it doesn’t matter.' Monty's interview actually wentup on the site in late 2020, yet was still being read many months later.
The best herbs to grow in your garden aren’t the ones you use the most. Here’s why.
I recently moved to a new garden,' says Mark Diacono in this piece. 'Thankfully, it came with a house attached.' Now that's the mark of a true gardener.
Drummond Castle Gardens in winter: The winter beauty of the gardens made famous by Outlander
In the depths of winter at Drummond Castle is a garden made famous by the Outlander TV series. Caroline Donald told its story, with wonderful pictures by Clive Nichols.
Monty Don: How to stop worrying and learn to love gardening in November
November can be a depressing time for gardeners – but not if you dive in and make the best of it,
Credit: Getty Images
Carla Carlisle: 'I’m about to expand on my belief that reading fertilises our memories and allows us to visit our past without getting hurt when I see her eyes wander off towards Monty Don'
Books create a powerful connection with the home of your youth, finds Carla Carlisle.
The Gardens at The Manor, Priors Marston: A house bought on a same-day impulse that became a 20-year labour of love
The inspiration for the garden of The Manor, Priors Marston, Warwickshire, was to create a landscape to meander through, with
Carla Carlisle: 'I felt a surge of gratitude and hopefulness that’s hard to describe. You could call it Thanksgiving.'
A visit to St Paul's Cathedral provokes a flood of feelings in Carla Carlisle.
Arthur Parkinson: 'It’s a crime that we have forsaken our wildflower meadows for petrol lawnmowers and Flymos'
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The deaths of Romeo and Juliet: Country Life Quiz of the Day, June 12, 2025A Rolling Stone and a familiar-sounding place find their way into Wednesday's Quiz of the Day.
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How to make Eton mess strawberry blondiesOur kitchen garden cook Melanie Johnson shares a mouthwatering recipe bringing together two of the greatest foodstuffs on the planet: strawberries and meringue.
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Wakehurst: 500 years of history, 2.4 billion seeds, 500 acres of planting, and scientists who might just save us allCharles Quest-Ritson takes a look at the amazing work that's been done to update Wakehurst, Kew's trailblazing outpost in Sussex.
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A dozen slices of al fresco inspiration from the best designers in BritainAmelia Thorpe shares her pick of the most beautiful outdoor furniture and accessories to help you make the most of summer.
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'Victorian magnificence skilfully simplified and distilled': A peek at the restoration of Somerleyton Hall gardensRecent works have retained the former theatrical splendours of these gardens near Lowestoft, Suffolk, finds Tilly Ware.
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Alan Titchmarsh: I've tried every slug control known to man, and these are the only things that have ever worked for meAlan Titchmarsh is as charming, warming and friendly a man as anyone you'll ever meet. Unless, of course, you're a slug... in which case you'll awaken his ruthless side.
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One of the most spectacular rose gardens in England has come in to bloom two weeks earlyIt's time to head to Mottisfont — come for the roses, stay for the fascinating exhibition shedding new light on the history of this beautiful Hampshire house.
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The first new botanical gardens to be created in the UK in almost 200 years is celebrating its 25th birthdayThe National Botanic Garden of Wales helped put Carmarthenshire on the map and its Great Glasshouse, designed by modernist architect Sir Norman Foster, was once the largest single-span glasshouse in the world.
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Chelsea Flower Show 2025: Take a peek behind-the-scenes of the Country Life standDiscover how interior designer Isabella Worsley and landscape designer Hugo Elwes brought the Country Life Chelsea Flower Show stand to life.
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'The few days on the show ground are exhilarating, but it’s the garden’s legacy that truly excites us': What happens to the gardens after Chelsea Flower ShowRHS Chelsea is now only a stop along the way, before the gardens end up somewhere where the trees, the structures and the idea have a further life.
