Gardens
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11 glorious dahlias to plant in your garden, as chosen by the experts at the National Dahlia Collection
The experts at the National Dahlia Collections told Kirsty Fergusson the best varieties they’d suggest for the typical country garden in Britain.
By Kirsty Fergusson Published
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Floral fireworks: The treasures you’ll find at the National Dahlia Collection
The National Dahlia Collection in Cornwallwas scheduled to be grubbed up in 2020, but was saved in the nick of time. Kirsty Fergusson visits the 1,700 dahlias now happily settled in their new home and finds out the best to order now for late-summer colour. Photos by Mimi Connolly.
By Kirsty Fergusson Published
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Mark Diacono: Chips, mash, roasted or dauphinoise — all better with your own potatoes
The versatile varieties of the potato make it a great crop to experiment with and, no matter what, nothing beats the taste of home grown
By Mark Diacono Published
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Where art meets biology: How Anne Wright has bred some of the world's most covetable snowdrops
At Dryad Nursery near York, botanical artist Anne Wright has been breeding some highly collectable snowdrops, writes Mary Keen. Photographs by Clive Nichols.
By Mary Keen Published
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Alan Titchmarsh: Change your plants, buy a greenhouse, erect a shed — do something to shake up your garden this winter
Spring will be here before you know it, so why not shake up your garden before the bloom? Alan Titchmarsh offers some suggestions on how to do just that.
By Alan Titchmarsh Published
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Long Barn Gardens, Kent: The place where Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson learned how to make a garden great
The garden at Long Barn, near Sevenoaks — the home of Lars and Rebecca Lemonius — shares many of the elements that make Sissinghurst Castle famous, says Christopher Stocks. Photographs by Clive Nichols.
By Christopher Stocks Published
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The gardens at Rockcliffe: Cold comforts that even Britain's worst winters can't spoil
At 600ft above sea level, the garden at Rockcliffe in Gloucestershire —the home of Simon and Emma Keswick — suffers in harsh winters. But as Tiffany Daneff writes, even the worst weather cannot subdue its many charms. Photographs by Clive Nichols.
By Tiffany Daneff Published
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Figs, wisteria, and the roses that 'are ridiculously easy to grow': Country Life's 10 best gardens stories of 2023
We take a look back at Country Life's most popular gardening features and articles of the year.
By Toby Keel Published
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George Harrison's Garden: How the Beatle and his wife turned a 'tangled jungle' into a magnificent garden
When George Harrison first saw the famous Topiary Garden at Friar Park in Oxfordshire, it was a tangled jungle of overgrown yews. The work he began has been continued by his wife, Olivia, and, now, the display is back to its full glory, finds Charles Quest-Ritson.
By Charles Quest-Ritson Published
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24 hours in Oxford, from the Botanic Garden to the Bodleian Library
Oxford’s unique mix of history, art, nature and architecture make it the ideal place for a short break. Our gardens editor Tiffany Daneff paid a visit to the famous Botanic Garden — and found she still had time to fit in several more of the city’s great treasures.
By Tiffany Daneff Published
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'Giving a gardener a tree for Christmas is akin to offering a kitten or a puppy'
Wondering what to give a green-fingered friend or family member for Christmas? John Hoyland, gardens adviser at Glyndebourne, has some advice.
By John Hoyland Published
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Five of the best eating apples to grow in your garden
The gardeners of The Newt in Somerset share their pick of the best eating apples to grow and enjoy in your own garden.
By Charles Quest-Ritson Published
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The Newt, Somerset: An 18th-century walled garden with the finest display of trained apples
Nowhere else in the country has a finer display of trained apples than the 18th-century walled garden at The Newt in Somerset, writes Charles Quest-Ritson. Photographs by Clive Nichols.
By Charles Quest-Ritson Published
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Alan Titchmarsh: The most spectacular flowers of spring are easy, guaranteed to flower — and now is the time to plant them
Alan Titchmarsh doesn't like tulips. He loves them.
By Alan Titchmarsh Published
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Tangier's greatest secret: Exploring the city's hidden gardens
Exotic, bohemian and cosmopolitan Tangier has long drawn travellers to explore its narrow streets but the greatest secret of this wonderful city, writes Kirsty Fergusson, is its hidden gardens.
By Kirsty Fergusson Published
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Inside the National Trust's secret nursery
Charles Quest-Ritson was invited in to the National Trust's top-secret plant nursery. Here's what he discovered.
By Charles Quest-Ritson Published
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The Garden at Standen Barn, Kent: A garden that ties together house and landscape
Formal elements have provided firm foundations in the garden at Standen Barn, near Biddenden, Kent — the home of Prof Roland Rosner and Prof Denise Lievesley. But it is also a garden that is planted for wildlife and surrounded by newly established woodland, reports Tiffany Daneff. Photographs by Jason Ingram.
By Tiffany Daneff Published