-
How Kew planted an American prairie in the heart of SussexSwathes of American prairie plants are being trialled at Kew Wakehurst in an effort to search for drought-tolerant species for our gardens. Charles Quest-Ritson reports. Photographs by Mimi Connolly.
-
A slice of heaven for fruit lovers: One of the world's greatest apple displays is about to take place in DevonEuropom — one of the great celebrations of the fruit grown across Europe — will be taking place this year at RHS Rosemoor. Charles Quest-Ritson can't wait.
-
Beautiful, impressive, mature: The high-summer splendour of Cedar HouseNew collections of trees and shrubs, colourful herbaceous plantings and dedication to its development have transformed the six acres of the garden and arboretum at Cedar House in Wasperton, home of David and Sandra Burbidge. Charles Quest-Ritson paid a visit to a place that has become a major showpiece; photography by Clive Nichols.
-
Restraint, repetition and 'an unflinching critical eye': The keys to the garden at Craichlaw HouseRestraint, repetition and refinement of planting over three decades have created the spectacular garden at Craichlaw House, Kirkcowan — home of Andrew and Mary Gladstone. Kirsty Fergusson reports; photography by Andrea Jones.
-
Cuttings not cakes: The sublime story of the Secret Orchard NurseryArthur Parkinson visits a favourite plant nursery in Derbyshire, which has gained a reputation for the quality and range of its plants.
-
Bountiful, blowsy and scented: The gravity-defying walled garden at the Palace of Bishop AucklandThe gardens of the Palace of Bishop Auckland, Co Durham — home of Jonathan and Jane Ruffer — have undergone extensive garden restoration and creation work overseen by Pip Morrison. Mary Keen paid a visit to one of its highlights: the steeply-sloped walled garden, returned to full production since 2024. Photographs by Andrea Jones.
-
A summer of prickles and rashes, splinters, scrapes and scratches, a season of stings: Nature is biting backJason Goodwin reflects on a summer of bites, pricks and stings.
-
The Somerset house that brought 'jungle gardening' to the EnglishEast Lambrook Manor in Somerset — home of Andrew and Alison Johnson — where Margery Fish’s exuberant ‘jungle gardening’ style took shape, is flourishing once again under new custodianship. Charles Quest-Ritson paid a visit; photography by Jonathan Buckley.
-
'If you garden like this, it is almost impossible to get help — it’s more akin to doing a painting or an embroidery': The exotic and wonderful Copper House garden in KentSuccessional planting is one of the trickiest skills to master, but the results in this intensively and brilliantly planted new garden speak for themselves. Kathryn Bradley-Hole paid a visit to the garden at The Copper House in Cranbrook, Kent — home of Stephen and Eleanor Cochrane — to find out more.
-
'Stately, spacious and much more enjoyable': The RHS garden show that outdoes ChelseaA visit to RHS Badminton left Mary Keen impressed.
-
'Mystery, subtle magic, and strange, elusive charm which must be felt but cannot wholly be understood': The exquisite Italianate gardens of Renishaw HallRenishaw Hall in Derbyshire is one of the earliest and finest gardens to appear in Country Life. The Anglo-Italian landscape created by Sir George Sitwell — and now home of Alexandra Sitwell and her husband, Rick Hayward — continues to enthral visitors with its elusive charms over a century later. Main photography by Clive Nichols.
-
Alan Titchmarsh: Beautifying your bordersThe gardener, writer and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh shares his tips on making the most of your flower borders.
-
On top of the world: The spectacular clifftop garden at ChygurnoLife on a Cornish clifftop presents particular challenges, but also bountiful rewards for Robert and Carol Moule, the intrepid owners of the garden at Chyrgurno. Kirsty Fergusson finds out more; photography by Mark Boulton.
-
Charles Quest-Ritson: Today’s best young gardeners are well educated, well qualified, and well underpaid. No wonder they're voting with their feetUp and coming gardeners are dotting from job to job like the journeymen gardeners of late-Victorian and Edwardian times, says Charles Quest-Ritson.
-
It is like 'rush hour for foxes and badgers' every night: A Sussex garden with timeless views and perfect harmonyHarmony and sympathy with the surroundings are the watchwords in the charming East Sussex garden at Underhill House, nestled between the South Downs and the sea. Kathryn Bradley-Hole paid a visit; photographs by Mimi Connolly.
-
Mark Diacono: The plant that becomes a friend — and it's the perfect thing to put in your Pimm'sBorage is a plant that should be in every garden.
-
Rooms with a view: The new Oakwrights garden pavilion collectionSponsor Content Created With Oakwrights
A new collection of garden pavilions from Oakwrights offers hand-crafted structures designed for those who want to spend more time in their own great outdoors.
-
The timeless books that will change the way you think about your house and garden, as recommended by Britain's leading interior and garden designersWe all stand on the shoulders of giants, and the interior designers, architects and landscape designers in the Country Life Top 100 are no exception. They spoke to Amelia Thorpe to share the timeless books that have been enduring sources of inspiration in their work.
-
Generations of owners at Fonthill destroyed the house and neglected the gardens — today, they're simply perfectOver the past 20 years, the long since dilapidated Arts-and-Crafts garden at Fonthill House in Wiltshire — the home of Alastair Morrison, Baron Margadale — has been gently coaxed into its resplendent new guise. Christopher Stocks paid a visit; photography by James Stopforth.
-
'I thought I had taken pretentiousness to a new level, but actually it has gone down well': The magical gardens at Broadwoodside, full of the humour of their irrepressible creatorsThe grounds of Broadwoodside in East Lothian — a 17th-century Lowland farmstead that's the home of Robert and Anna Dalrymple — are a testament to the endlessly inventive imaginations of the couple who have shaped them over a quarter of a century. Caroline Donald explains more; photographs by Andrea Jones.
-
When is a weed not a weed? When it's a wildflowerIf cultivated plants are a sign of orthodoxy and order, are weeds symbolic of anarchy and wildness? Who really decides whether flora is wildflower or weed, asks John Lewis-Stempel.
