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What you need to know about privet hedges: The good, the brilliant, the quirky... and the one that all my visitors ask me about
Privet can be dull, admits Charles Quest-Ritson — but it needn't be, if you plant the right varieties. Our expert shares his knowledge of a plant so ubiquitous that we rarely stop to think about it.
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Charles Quest-Ritson: 'Our beautiful lawns are the envy of the world... and the idea of rewilding your garden is nonsense'
The neat stripes of British gardens, such as Rockcliffe Garden in Gloucestershire, are an art form that is admired across the world and weeds have no place there.
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Best tulips: The bulbs to buy now to light up your garden throughout next summer
Charles Quest-Ritson once looked down on tulips, something he deeply regrets. Don't make the same mistake, he says, as he names his favourite tulips of the summer and suggests you look to buy bulbs now.
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Fuchsia jam, rowan brandy liqueur and the curiosities you can make from an English country garden
Charles Quest-Ritson looks at some of the berries in the typical English garden which you might never even have thought of as edible.
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Everything you need to know about Foxgloves: Beautiful, useful, poisonous — and a dream for bumblebees and plant-breeders alike
Charles Quest-Ritson celebrates one of the most striking flowers of this time of year, and offers his tips on how to make the most of them.
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How the 'greatest gardener ever' helped make British roses as we know them today
Charles Quest-Ritson, author of The RHS Encyclopedia of Roses, on Graham Stuart Thomas, how he nurtured British roses, and why now is the time for a proper national collection.
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Why you should plant a woodland garden
Woodland gardens are rewarding to make and, once planted, are easy to care for and make for a rewarding place to walk in.
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Charles-Quest Ritson: 'Gardens are like people — most of them don’t age well'
Charles Quest-Ritson reminisces on his younger days and laments the passing years — not least our shared tendency with gardens to become 'rather seedy in old age, which is when they need constant attention to stay looking good'.
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Japanese Acers: The ultimate guide to what to grow, how to grow it and the best acer varieties for your garden
Charles Quest-Ritson watches the leaves unfurl in one of spring’s most glorious sights — the reawakening of Japanese maples in all their infinite variety — and picks out best acer varieties to grow in your garden.
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The best holly to grow in your garden — and how to make sure it's the right sex
Charles Quest-Ritson takes a look at the surprisingly tricky world of growing holly.
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Charles Quest-Ritson: 2020 was terrible in so many ways — but at least it was the best year I can remember for roses
Our expert columnist Charles Quest-Ritson — who literally wrote the book on roses — reveals that his 2020 crop was the greatest of his lifetime.
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How some of the finest 'English' rose gardens are in the hills of Lazio and Umbria
Gardeners like plants that do well for them and, for the Italians, there is no flower more adored than the rose. They have become connoisseurs, creating some of the finest rose gardens in the world. Charles Quest-Ritson explains more, as well as taking the wonderful photographs on this page.
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Winkworth Arboretum, the 'Museum of Trees' that celebrates the art of planting for autumn colour
When Dr Wilfrid Fox began his arboretum in 1938, he envisaged not simply a collection of tree species, but planting on such a scale as to create its own landscape. Under its new manager, this extraordinary place is, at last, being given the attention it deserves, reveals Charles Quest-Ritson.
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Mulberries: Firmer than a blackberry, juicier than a raspberry, and squirtier than any other fruit
Charles Quest-Ritson lavishes praise on the all-too-easily-overlooked mulberry, and explains how to grow them in your garden. You'll thank him.
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Charles Quest-Ritson: English gardens are the envy of the world, but the countryside is even greater
Reminiscing on an encounter with a group of garden tourists gives our columnist pause for thought about the nature of horticultural beauty.
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Charles Quest-Ritson: Why every gardener in Britain should be growing philadelphus
Charles Quest-Ritson's list of flowers that every garden should own includes the usual names — rose, daffodil, clematis. But he'd also add the less-well-known philadelphus. Here's why.
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Charles Quest-Ritson: What English country gardeners can learn from their German counterparts
Charles Quest-Ritson has spent years making trips to Germany to gather ideas and new plants — but is puzzled that nobody back in Britain has been able to replicate their most famous garden style.
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Charles Quest-Ritson: Moving back to an English country garden has been a joy — but we do miss the cheese
Giving up life on the Cherbourg peninsula to return to England has brought huge happiness to Charles Quest-Ritson — but there are still a few things he misses.
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The national collection of rambling roses at Moor Wood, 'one of midsummer’s most beautiful and romantic gardens in England'
Charles Quest-Ritson visits the National Collection of rambling roses, which shows these most romantic of plants at their very finest. Photographs by Britt Willoughby-Dyer for the Country Life Picture Library.
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The truth about bees: 'I'm a hopeless fan... but plants are cleverer than insects. They have to be.'
Charles Quest-Ritson looks at the fascinating interplay of plants and their pollinators, explaining how what really goes on in your garden is far more fascinating than the stories you might have been led to believe.
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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.
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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.
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Le Clos du Peyronnet, France: The legendary English Riviera garden of William Waterfield
Charles Quest-Ritson visits the best English garden on the French riviera. Photographs by Claire Takacs.
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How to choose and appreciate your apples with the same care you'd use for a decent bottle of wine
Charles Quest-Ritson loves apples — but laments the fact that we simply don't have the same vocabulary to describe the fruit as we do for wine.
