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Restraint, repetition and 'an unflinching critical eye': The keys to the garden at Craichlaw HouseRestraint, repetition and refinement of planting over three decades have created the spectacular garden at Craichlaw House, Kirkcowan — home of Andrew and Mary Gladstone. Kirsty Fergusson reports; photography by Andrea Jones.
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Cuttings not cakes: The sublime story of the Secret Orchard NurseryArthur Parkinson visits a favourite plant nursery in Derbyshire, which has gained a reputation for the quality and range of its plants.
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Bountiful, blowsy and scented: The gravity-defying walled garden at the Palace of Bishop AucklandThe gardens of the Palace of Bishop Auckland, Co Durham — home of Jonathan and Jane Ruffer — have undergone extensive garden restoration and creation work overseen by Pip Morrison. Mary Keen paid a visit to one of its highlights: the steeply-sloped walled garden, returned to full production since 2024. Photographs by Andrea Jones.
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The Somerset house that brought 'jungle gardening' to the EnglishEast Lambrook Manor in Somerset — home of Andrew and Alison Johnson — where Margery Fish’s exuberant ‘jungle gardening’ style took shape, is flourishing once again under new custodianship. Charles Quest-Ritson paid a visit; photography by Jonathan Buckley.
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'If you garden like this, it is almost impossible to get help — it’s more akin to doing a painting or an embroidery': The exotic and wonderful Copper House garden in KentSuccessional planting is one of the trickiest skills to master, but the results in this intensively and brilliantly planted new garden speak for themselves. Kathryn Bradley-Hole paid a visit to the garden at The Copper House in Cranbrook, Kent — home of Stephen and Eleanor Cochrane — to find out more.
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'Mystery, subtle magic, and strange, elusive charm which must be felt but cannot wholly be understood': The exquisite Italianate gardens of Renishaw HallRenishaw Hall in Derbyshire is one of the earliest and finest gardens to appear in Country Life. The Anglo-Italian landscape created by Sir George Sitwell — and now home of Alexandra Sitwell and her husband, Rick Hayward — continues to enthral visitors with its elusive charms over a century later. Main photography by Clive Nichols.
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On top of the world: The spectacular clifftop garden at ChygurnoLife on a Cornish clifftop presents particular challenges, but also bountiful rewards for Robert and Carol Moule, the intrepid owners of the garden at Chyrgurno. Kirsty Fergusson finds out more; photography by Mark Boulton.
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It is like 'rush hour for foxes and badgers' every night: A Sussex garden with timeless views and perfect harmonyHarmony and sympathy with the surroundings are the watchwords in the charming East Sussex garden at Underhill House, nestled between the South Downs and the sea. Kathryn Bradley-Hole paid a visit; photographs by Mimi Connolly.
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'I thought I had taken pretentiousness to a new level, but actually it has gone down well': The magical gardens at Broadwoodside, full of the humour of their irrepressible creatorsThe grounds of Broadwoodside in East Lothian — a 17th-century Lowland farmstead that's the home of Robert and Anna Dalrymple — are a testament to the endlessly inventive imaginations of the couple who have shaped them over a quarter of a century. Caroline Donald explains more; photographs by Andrea Jones.
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A billionaire's walled garden amid the most undisturbed and beautiful countryside in the west countryGeorge Plumptre visits the one-acre walled garden that forms the centrepiece of the 12 acres of new gardens at Lasborough Park, Sir Hans Rausing's home in the Cotswolds, where Tom Stuart-Smith has worked wonders.
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'He arrived with three bunches of flowers and told me to shut my eyes': From curation to creation, the story of the garden at Holme Hale HallOne of the great garden designers of his generation created a masterpiece at Holme Hale Hall near Swaffham in Norfolk — but what happens when the great man moves on? Tilly Ware spoke to the owners, Delia and Simon Broke, to find out. Photography by Richard Bloom.
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'The garden has run away and found its soul... It’s like being on a horse that’s ever so slightly out of control': Ferne Park's magical journey from dereliction to maturityThe transformation of Ferne Park, Wiltshire — home of Lord and Lady Rothermere — from derelict estate into a mature garden with surrounding parkland is nothing short of miraculous. Tiffany Daneff tells its story; photography by Jonathan Buckley.
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Queen Charlotte, Queen Victoria and the bluebells that erupt in a hidden pocket of wilderness at Kew GardensWhen Queen Victoria left an area of wilderness by the Thames at Kew to the nation, it was on condition that it be preserved in its natural beauty. After decades of abandonment, it is now being gently restored, writes Kendra Wilson.
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The Victorian world lost for 140 years, rediscovered and restored in DevonLost until a chance discovery in 2009, the Victorian fernery at Canonteign Falls in Devon has not only been restored, but now houses two National Collections. Charles Quest-Ritson visits; photography by Mark Bolton.
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Mount Congreve: The exquisite Irish garden on an unimaginable scaleEven superlatives are dwarfed by the scale and quality of the garden of Mount Congreve, in Co Waterford, Ireland. Charles Quest-Ritson traces its story. Photographs by Jonathan Hession.
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'It's not nature being a pain; all of the problems we have with pests and diseases are because of us': The trailblazing gardener who's creating a 'food forest' in DevonFormer head gardener Josh Sparkes’s pioneering methods of growing fruit and vegetables at Birch Farm in Devon are achieving excellent results. Kendra Wilson went there to find out more. Photographs by Jason Ingram.
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The garden at Cogshall Grange: 'A modern work of art, combining shapeliness and serenity'Layers of fresh new foliage — lime-green hornbeams underplanted with bronze and copper-leaved perennials — are set off with a brilliant selection of tulips in the garden at Cogshall Grange. Kathryn Bradley-Hole paid a visit; photography by Clive Nichols.
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Penns in the Rocks: The East Sussex garden created by Vita Sackville-West, with a little help from the huge boulders that stood here when dinosaurs walked the earthIt’s not only the pre-historic rocks that set apart the garden of Penns in the Rocks, near Tunbridge Wells, says George Plumptre. It's the fact that the layout was created by two horticultural legends: Vita Sackville-West and Lanning Roper. Photography by Jason Ingram.
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William Robinson, the visionary gardener 150 years ahead of his timeA century and a half before the word 'rewilding' entered the gardening lexicon, a pioneering gardener named William Robinson was advocating for a more natural approach to our green spaces. Tiffany Daneff examines his legacy, and his home at Gravetye Manor.
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The railway station gardens that bring a touch of bucolic bliss to an ordinary train rideGently tended by devoted staff, the railway station garden has become a rural idyll in its own right, says Andrew Martin.
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Country Life's top 10 garden stories of 2025, from Alan Titchmarsh's hardy annuals to David Beckham's Cotswolds paradiseWe look back at the most-read architecture stories on the Country Life website in 2025.
