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The 12 best flowering shrubs to plant for year-round colour in your garden
For year-round structure, intrinsic beauty and sheer usefulness, shrubs–the original low-maintenance plant–are hard to beat. Charles Quest-Ritson applauds their return and picks out a dozen to ensure interest in your garden all year round.
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The greatest rhododendron garden in Britain? A visit to Ramster, the 'woodland garden that looks as if it's existed since time began'
In its centenary year, Ramster’s reputation continues to grow, together with its magnificent woodland garden, says Charles Quest-Ritson.
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Charles Quest-Ritson: Why nothing matches the colour or beauty of the simple primrose
Sometimes the simplest flowers are the best, says Charles Quest-Ritson, as he looks at primroses, cowslips and their wonderful hybrids.
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Planting big trees: What you need to know
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.
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Charles Quest-Ritson: The secret to enjoying gardens in beastly cold, deepest winter
Our columnist has a suggestion for enjoying January, albeit one that doesn't involve staying put in England.
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How letting invasive plants jump the garden fence could land you in court
Charles Quest-Ritson looks at invasive plants and what to watch out (or look for) in our gardens.
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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
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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.
