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'Ornamental, colourful and filled with good ideas': A glowing autumnal garden in YorkshireThe garden at Littlethorpe Manor near Ripon, North Yorkshire, is a consummate achievement. Charles Quest-Ritson paid a visit; photography by Clive Nichols.
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'A garden that dazzles by its colour and orderly perfection': Highnam Court's 30-year labour of loveThe gardens of Highnam Court in Gloucestershire — the home of Roger Head — were unused, eroded, neglected and overgrown 30 years ago. Since then they have undergone a miraculous transformation, says Timothy Mowl. Photographs by Clive Nichols.
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'The Versailles of the north': Meet the duchess who's created gardens of joy, wonder — and rather a lot of deadly poisonAs the garden at Alnwick Garden celebrates its 25th anniversary, Charles Quest-Ritson talks to Jane Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, about its making and her plans for its future.
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'More is more has always been my mantra': The visionary who made the Eden Project from an abandoned clay pit in CornwallTwenty-five years ago, Sir Tim Smit created a series of futuristic plant-filled biomes: the Eden Project. James Alexander-Sinclair says we should expect even more brilliant surprises in the coming quarter century. Photographs by Clive Nichols.
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'I’m not after perfection; I’m after feeling. If people walk through here and feel joy, I’ve succeeded’: Matthew Rice on his gorgeous garden at Ham CourtIt’s impossible to resist the charms of the garden at Ham Court, Oxfordshire, home of Matthew Rice. Tiffany Daneff visits this bustling, colourful garden, which reaches its zenith in late summer. Photographs by Clive Nichols.
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The garden at Mount St John: Tom Stuart-Smith's contemporary pleasure groundThe starting point for making the magnificent garden at Mount St John in North Yorkshire — home of Chris and Jill Blundell — was its awe-inspiring views, writes Kendra Wilson. Photographs by Clive Nichols.
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How Kew planted an American prairie in the heart of SussexSwathes of American prairie plants are being trialled at Kew Wakehurst in an effort to search for drought-tolerant species for our gardens. Charles Quest-Ritson reports. Photographs by Mimi Connolly.
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Beautiful, impressive, mature: The high-summer splendour of Cedar HouseNew collections of trees and shrubs, colourful herbaceous plantings and dedication to its development have transformed the six acres of the garden and arboretum at Cedar House in Wasperton, home of David and Sandra Burbidge. Charles Quest-Ritson paid a visit to a place that has become a major showpiece; photography by Clive Nichols.
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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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Generations of owners at Fonthill destroyed the house and neglected the gardens — today, they're simply perfectOver the past 20 years, the long since dilapidated Arts-and-Crafts garden at Fonthill House in Wiltshire — the home of Alastair Morrison, Baron Margadale — has been gently coaxed into its resplendent new guise. Christopher Stocks paid a visit; photography by James Stopforth.
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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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'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.
