We can’t get enough of our gardens at Country Life magazine. We love to visit gorgeous English country gardens at any time of year – and more and more are opening for longer, as you can see from our piece on beautiful gardens to visit all year around.
At the same time, different gardens are best at certain times of year. For instance we know the best places to see snowdrops, where to see bluebells, and the best gardens for afternoon tea in the summertime.
We have guides to our flowering trees, and our ultimate guide to British wildflowers, as well as tips on overcoming box blight and other garden pests.
Read on, and find out whether we are running any of our exclusive garden tours, which take readers to see some of the most impressive private gardens in Provence and Tuscany twice a year.
Charles Quest-Ritson on the buddlejas that help see him through the winter — and the plant breeding idea that could help you grow a small fortune.
England, Africa, Italy or China — it’s possible to travel the world without leaving this imaginatively designed garden, which divides into four distinct geographical sections, each with a resonance for the owners. Caroline Donald reports from the garden at Seend Manor in Wiltshire, home of Amanda and Stephen Clark.
The Chilean Guava was Queen Victoria's favourite fruit — so why don't we grow more of them, asks Mark Diacono.
The anticipation of cheerful spring bulbs can keep the gardener going through the dull winter months. John Hoyland advises on what to plant for every situation, from gravel to orchards, sun, shade or in pots.
They grow on our roadsides and most taste pretty ordinary. But some are 'humdingers'.
No, it's not the name of a new quiz show featuring our columnist as host (although that *would* be a hit, surely) but instead it's Alan Titchmarsh on the increasingly tricky issue of getting the right kind of compost for the right kind of planting.
Coates Barn in Warwickshire — home of the Sonneborn family — presented a challenge: how to lay out this exposed north-Cotswold site so as to protect new planting from the elements, and simultaneously provide a garden that three generations of residents could enjoy. Tiffany Daneff explains how they did it; photographs by Britt Willoughby Dyer.
Alan Titchmarsh delves into the history of compost, and has finally found something that can replace the brilliant but environmentally unsustainable peat-based formulae.
Isabel Bannerman shares her thoughts on making a garden that makes people feel at home.
The garden at Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames — the Oxfordshire home of the late Beatle George Harrison and his wife Olivia — is breathtaking. The ‘Gardening Beatle’ did a spectacular job of reviving an historic alpine garden in the shadow of the ‘Henley Matterhorn’, and Olivia has enhanced what was Britain’s largest rock garden with her exceptional and imaginative planting schemes. Charles Quest-Ritson reports.
John Hoyland celebrates the renewed popularity of the irrepressibly cheerful pelargonium.
Ideas for growing and enjoying houseplants, selected by Amelia Thorpe.
Associated with warmer climes than these, you can cheat geography and bask in the sense of glorious impossibility if you choose the right varieties.
The anticipation of cheerful spring bulbs can keep the gardener going through the dull winter months. John Hoyland advises on what to plant for every situation, from gravel to orchards, sun, shade or in pots.
Those wishing to enjoy what might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see flowers such as the lady’s slipper orchid should probably start planning now.
Lavandula x intermedia ‘Phenomenal’ has lived up to its name, defying everything the weather has thrown at it. Kathryn Bradley-Hole writes in praise of this hardy, happy lavender.
A garden with a church as its focal point is both movingly effective and mellow, with nods to a horticultural hero and a ruby wedding anniversary.
The answer is: you can't have too many.
If you know where to look, a tiny suburban garden can yield as much pleasure as views across open countryside, believes Jonathan Notley.
From stew ponds and medieval moats to a miniature Mount Parnassus, water has flowed through the history of British gardens, often in ruinously expensive fashion.
