Country Life's top 10 gardens articles of 2024
From the gardens of A-listers and crazed plant hunters to tips on compost, we covered it all in 2024.

‘Within a month, one was eaten by a tiger, one was burned alive, five disappeared and the sole survivor emerged with 7,000 specimens’
Charles Quest-Ritson admitted in April that he never fell for orchids the way he has for roses — but the devotion they inspire is legendary.
‘My God! What’s he done?… look at it!’: How George Harrison left The Beatles, turned his hand to gardening, and created a masterpiece
The garden at Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames — the Oxfordshire home of the late Beatle George Harrison and his wife Olivia — came under the microscope in September.
The garden fruit that’s a blend of strawberry, blueberry and kiwi — and it grows beautifully in Britain
The Chilean Guava was Queen Victoria's favourite fruit — so why don't we grow more of them, asked Mark Diacono in October.
Alan Titchmarsh: I’ve been looking for the answer to peat-free compost — and now I think I’ve found it
Alan Titchmarsh delved into the history of compost, and found something that can replace the brilliant but environmentally unsustainable peat-based formulae.
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
How to grow lovage — and the reasons why you’d want to bother
As well as its culinary uses, lovage was once taken to treat everything from fever to jaundice, used in bath water and placed in shoes to clean and deodorise.
The best garden designers and landscape architects in Britain
Our completely revised and updated list of the finest garden designers and landscape architects, all of whom understand that the surroundings of a beautiful country house are as important as its buildings.
Romancing the stone: How one man has taken the craft of dry-stone walling and turned it into an art
Tom Trouton's works at The Newt and elsewhere set him apart as a master of one of our oldest heritage crafts, as Annie Gatti detailed.
Why the RHS decided to rip it up and start again at Wisley
RHS Wisley’s daring reinvention of one of its most famous plantings.
How to grow broad beans: How to plant them, how to look after them, and the best varieties for your garden
Right at the end of last year, Mark Diacono named the best broad beans for flavour, reliability, tenderness and the beauty of the plant itself.
‘Prepare to be amazed’ by a cathedral of autumn in the heart of Herefordshire
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire, an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs garnered over two centuries.
Toby Keel is Country Life's Digital Director, and has been running the website and social media channels since 2016. A former sports journalist, he writes about property, cars, lifestyle, travel, nature.
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The dream home that never was for one of Britain's greatest film stars, back on the market for the first time in half a century
Anna White takes a look at the beautiful Wallers Mead, in the Buckinghamshire village full of links to Hollywood movies from James Bond to Star Wars.
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Country Life Quiz of the Day, September 16, 2025 gets Brutal(ist)
Divisive architecture is among the themes of today's quiz questions.
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Rare species: Meet the young gardeners destined for greatness
Sam Finch is the youngest head gardener at the National Trust.
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What Britain's top garden designers are planting now to create dazzling spring meadows around their homes
Non Morris reveals the techniques behind the contemporary take on William Robinson’s original idea of naturalising bulbs in long grass, creating an effect even more dazzling than a meadow.
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'The best bulbs are those that give maximum pleasure for minimum effort — and these are the ones which will keep delivering for years'
Now is the time to decide what bulbs to plant to make the most of next spring. Charles Quest-Ritson offers his advice.
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This restoration of a Cliveden garden honours the original vision of Norah Lindsay’s 1930s design
A biodiverse climate-friendly planting scheme replaces the annual bedding displays at this National Trust garden in Buckinghamshire.
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'Why do I allow the fuchsias in my garden to live on? Because, despite their visual shortcomings, I am a fool for edible pleasure'
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The best flower borders in Britain, and how they work their magic
We may have invented the flower border, but planting them remains one of the trickiest things to get right. Charles Quest-Ritson looks at the secrets behind the very best.
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The enchanting world of Christian Dior’s gardens
Christian Dior’s love of gardens and gardening is celebrated in a new book and exhibition at his family home.
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Inverewe: The making of 'The Oasis of the North' in a wind-battered corner of north-west Scotland
Innovative 21st-century composting and mulching techniques combined with a 19th-century shelterbelt ensure that the famous gardens of Inverewe in Wester Ross continue to thrive. Caroline Donald explains more; photographs by Andrea Jones.