Expert Gardening Tips

The power of flowers — how they accompany us, heal us and ‘make us gasp with pleasure’

‘Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower,’ wrote Hans Christian Andersen. Jay Griffiths explores their emotional pull.

Rage against the buttercups: How to wage war on the weeds in your garden

Charles Quest-Ritson loves plants — but in his garden, he only wants the ones he chooses.

Jason Goodwin: 'Tend your vines and crush the horror'

Jason Goodwin has turned his eyes inward during social isolation – not just to his mental health, but to his garden.

Alan Titchmarsh: How to master the fine art of pottering

As time opens up for all of us to spend more time in the garden, Alan Titchmarsh offers his tips on how to make sure you do it right.

12 foods you can forage from the great outdoors – no panic buying required

No need to panic buy – the land will provide everything you need, or, at least, a few bits and pieces to supplement a diet. John Wright rounds up his favourite foragable treats.

The 'underground treasures' which are like a gardener's game of chicken — hold your nerve, and the pay-off is spectacular

Growing plants specifically to harvest their roots takes faith, patience and nerve, explains Mark Diacono, but it's well worth the effort.

Mark Griffiths: How to grow a money plant in your own back garden

The best garden designers and landscapers in Britain

A beautiful country house is as much about its surroundings as its bricks and mortar, something that the best garden designers in Britain all understand. We've completely revised and updated our list of the finest of them all.

The curious reason why we just don't give daffodils enough credit for being the amazing flower that they are

Charles Quest-Ritson's on the joys of this stupendously hardy little flower, how one particular variety came to bear his name — and why we'd think an awful lot more of them if they didn't grow so easily.

Dan Pearson: A garden has to have boundaries — but they need to be blurred if we're to connect with nature

How do you make a garden that fits its landscape? It's a question pondered by plantsman-designer Dan Pearson in the first of a new series of articles for Country Life, with photography by Huw Morgan.

How to grow asparagus, the 'mini-vegetable orchard' which pokes its head out in Spring, looking for love

April Fool's Day occasionally brings the first sight of lustful asparagus, but to save a few quid you'll have to wait...

Alan Titchmarsh: Why I had to cut down my decades-old hedge — and how it's worked out better than I could ever have hoped

Even the most well-established gardens can take unexpected turns, says our columnist Alan Titchmarsh. But if you're prepared and flexible, you might end up being delighted with the change to the status quo.

Curious Questions: Why do we say it with flowers?

Post-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.

Gardening's oddest minefield: How naming and re-naming plants can send botanists, gardeners and writers into a spin

Mark Griffiths delves in to the world of plant names, unearthing quirky stories, scientific discovery — and an unfortunate case of imbecilic inaccuracy.

Curious Questions: How the Monkey Puzzle tree get its name?

One of the most curious trees you'll see in Britain is also one of the most curiously-named: the Monkey Puzzle tree. But how did it get its name?

Michael Heseltine: How the creation of my English country garden proceeded mistake by mistake

Michael Heseltine recounts the trials, tribulations and delights of creating a dream garden.

What's the ultimate way to train roses?

Val Bourne explores whether Asthall Manor has cracked the ultimate way to train a rose wall.

Alan Titchmarsh: The stunning midwinter trees whose bark is better than their bite

Our columnist Alan Titchmarsh chats through the winter plants which will light up your garden like fireworks.

Plums to grow, plums to show, and plums to pop in your gin

Mark Diacono picks his favourite plums — and their close relatives, damsons, mirabelles, bullaces and gages.

Your month-by-month checklist of what to do in the garden and when in 2020