In its centenary year, Ramster’s reputation continues to grow, together with its magnificent woodland garden, says Charles Quest-Ritson.
Sometimes the simplest flowers are the best, says Charles Quest-Ritson, as he looks at primroses, cowslips and their wonderful hybrids.
The old advice always used to be to plant small and wait, but recent innovations mean that gardeners can plant outsize trees with confidence, says Charles Quest-Ritson.
Our columnist has a suggestion for enjoying January, albeit one that doesn't involve staying put in England.
Charles Quest-Ritson looks at invasive plants and what to watch out (or look for) in our gardens.
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.
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.
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.
Charles Quest-Ritson looks at some of the berries in the typical English garden which you might never even have thought of as edible.
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.
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.
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'.
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.
Charles Quest-Ritson takes a look at the surprisingly tricky world of growing holly.
Our expert columnist Charles Quest-Ritson — who literally wrote the book on roses — reveals that his 2020 crop was the greatest of his lifetime.
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.
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.
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.
Reminiscing on an encounter with a group of garden tourists gives our columnist pause for thought about the nature of horticultural beauty.
