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Alan Titchmarsh: Patience is in short supply today, but learning when to crack on and when to leave well alone will do your garden wonders
Alam Titchmarsh cannot wait to get to work in his brand new garden, but acting too soon could have long-lasting ramifications.
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Alan Titchmarsh: I'm always asked about 'creating a sensory garden', and my answer is always the same
From the chirruping of the birds to the sweeping of a broom, Alan Titchmarsh shares the sounds that all our gardens have in common.
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Beautiful, rewarding, unpronounceable: Chaenomeles, the spectacular shrub that grows happily in gardens where azaleas will never bloom
So many new types of Japanese flowering quince are now available that they have been the subject of a four-year trial by the RHS. Charles Quest-Ritson picks his favourites; just don't ask him to say their names out loud.
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Three plants to grow in 2026 that are as delicious as they are pretty, from Siberian chives to 'Turkish warty cabbage'
Our grow-your-own expert Mark Diacono has sound advice for those feeling adventurous in the garden in 2026.
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Alan Titchmarsh: Everything you think you know about ivy is probably wrong
The oft-maligned ivy is no parasite, says Alan Titchmarsh: it's a plant that does little harm and much good.
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Country Life's top 10 garden stories of 2025, from Alan Titchmarsh's hardy annuals to David Beckham's Cotswolds paradise
We look back at the most-read architecture stories on the Country Life website in 2025.
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The plants to give for Christmas which will keep flowering for years
John Massey of Ashwood Nurseries grows thousands of Christmas plants each year — making him one of our Christmas heroes. Here are his tips for the best ones to give.
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How to create spectacular arrangements for your Christmas table
Candles, crabapples and a Champagne bucket are all your need to transform your Christmas table, says Amy Merrick. Just don't mention cut flowers.
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What trees taught me about perfect planting — Alan Titchmarsh
Sense and patience is key to growing healthy trees, as a certain Mr Mackenzie showed a young Alan Titchmarsh
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'A dream of Nirvana... almost too good to be true': The sweet peas of Easton Walled Gardens, and how you can replicate their success at home
Ursula Cholmeley, who has spent 25 years restoring Easton Walled Gardens, recommends sowing sweet peas now for stronger plants that will better withstand the weather.
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How to choose the perfect rose this bare root season
Looks can be deceiving: bare root roses are hardier and more sustainable than potted ones, says Tabi Jackson Gee, who moved to a cottage in Wiltshire and went about finding the perfect plant. You just need patience.
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The trees that are as fine to eat as they are to look at
Mark Diacono doesn't grow many trees for the sake of the bounty they provide — but these are the notable exceptions.
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'My family wore wool at a time when everyone else had cast it off in favour of manmade fabrics': The knitwear pioneer who is one of David Beckham's countryside champions
Julie Harding speaks to Rachel Carvell-Spedding the founder of British knitwear brand Navygrey, and one of David Beckham's countryside champions.
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James Alexander-Sinclair: Making a new garden for someone is 'thrilling', but we need more sensitive and skilled gardeners to look after them
Pay your gardeners properly, says James Alexander-Sinclair as, without them, you will have no garden.
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'Seeing the work that people are doing all around the world has given me hope for the future': The young naturalist who is one of David Beckham's countryside champions
Julie Harding speaks to Ramandeep Nijjar, a young naturalist who has made an impact on the world even before finishing university, and one of David Beckham's countryside champions.
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Poppy Okotcha, the model turned gardener who is one of David Beckham's countryside champions
Poppy Okotcha, the 29-year-old ecological community grower, garden content creator, author — and also one of David Beckham's countryside champions — speaks to Julie Harding.
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How Harper Beckham created the perfect gardener's birthday present for her father's 50th — with a little help from David Austin Roses
When Harper Beckham wanted to commission a rose for her father’s birthday, there was only one man for the job, says Charles Quest-Ritson, as he takes a closer look at the science behind creating a new David Austin bloom.
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Alan Titchmarsh: 15 years ago we planted a hedge — today, it's 10ft tall, 6ft deep and a joy throughout the year. Here's how we did it
15 years ago, Alan Titchmarsh planted a hedge; today, it's 10ft tall, 6ft deep, he and his wife absolutely love it, 'and so do all the creatures with whom we share our garden.'
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The one website about trees and shrubs that everyone needs to know about
'Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles' has been digitised, making one of gardening's most important works free and at your fingertips.
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'Nature's loo roll': Verbascum, one of the most curious — and useful — plants you'll find in an English country garden
With its ability to rouge cheeks, settle stomachs and operate as Nature’s loo roll, verbascum is as surprisingly useful as it is pretty, discovers Ian Morton.
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'There is only a handful of fruit trees I’d grow for their non-edible charms — quince is one'
A versatile fruit that's superb in jams and with booze, quince also doesn't make you work too hard for all that pleasure.
