Expert Gardening Tips

Charles Quest-Ritson: no chain, no gain — how using a chainsaw will improve your garden

Gardeners can be reluctant to take a blade to a healthy tree, but sometimes a severe pruning will leave both plant and garden in better health.

Clive Nichols: Secrets from the king of garden photography

Britain's top garden photographer Clive Nichols joins the Country Life podcast.

Alan Titchmarsh: The art and craft of the head gardener

There are a healthy number of estates whose gardening staff are a vital part of their continued existence — Alan Titchmarsh pays tribute.

11 glorious dahlias to plant in your garden, as chosen by the experts at the National Dahlia Collection

The experts at the National Dahlia Collections told Kirsty Fergusson the best varieties they’d suggest for the typical country garden in Britain.

Mark Diacono: Chips, mash, roasted or dauphinoise — all better with your own potatoes

The versatile varieties of the potato make it a great crop to experiment with and, no matter what, nothing beats the taste of home grown

Where art meets biology: How Anne Wright has bred some of the world's most covetable snowdrops

At Dryad Nursery near York, botanical artist Anne Wright has been breeding some highly collectable snowdrops, writes Mary Keen. Photographs by Clive Nichols.

Alan Titchmarsh: Change your plants, buy a greenhouse, erect a shed — do something to shake up your garden this winter

Spring will be here before you know it, so why not shake up your garden before the bloom? Alan Titchmarsh offers some suggestions on how to do just that.

How to create a sweet-smelling winter garden

Fragranced plants may be harder to come across in winter months, says Lia Leendertz, but a little effort will reap deliciously sweet-smelling rewards both inside and outside the home.

'Giving a gardener a tree for Christmas is akin to offering a kitten or a puppy'

Wondering what to give a green-fingered friend or family member for Christmas? John Hoyland, gardens adviser at Glyndebourne, has some advice.

Alan Titchmarsh: The most spectacular flowers of spring are easy, guaranteed to flower — and now is the time to plant them

Alan Titchmarsh doesn't like tulips. He loves them.

Inside the National Trust's secret nursery

Charles Quest-Ritson was invited in to the National Trust's top-secret plant nursery. Here's what he discovered.

How to grow broad beans: How to plant them, how to look after them, and the best varieties for your garden

Mark Diacono names the best broad beans for flavour, reliability, tenderness and the beauty of the plant itself.

Alan Titchmarsh: The plants that I simply can't ever grow

Unless you're lucky enough to have a garden with medium loam soil, chances are that there are plants which you'll always struggle — but you're not alone, says Alan Titchmarsh.

Plastic pots revolutionised gardening in the 1960s — but field-grown plants are the future

John Hoyland always opts for bare-root plants if he can — and here's why you should too.

The spectacular flowers that will thrive on chalky soils

There are 7,000 varieties of apple out there — and you've probably tasted less than a dozen. Here's how to put that right.

Our grow-your-own expert columnist Mark Diacono shares his advice on how to branch out in to the wonderful world of apple varieties.

The gardening jobs to enjoy with secateurs in one hand — and a glass of wine in the other

Gardening does need hard work, says John Hoyland — but not all the time.

How the Leyland Cypress went from botanical accident to taking over the world

The near-ubiquitous Leyland Cypress — or leylandii — is an evergreen with an extraordinary back story. Martin Fone explains.

Charles Quest-Ritson: The 'devastating consequences' when two of Britain's greatest-ever gardeners met for afternoon tea

A single meeting between Graham Stuart Thomas and Gertrude Jekyll shaped the career and thinking of the 'greatest gardener ever', says Charles Quest-Ritson. But at what cost?

Curious Questions: Why do leaves change colour in Autumn? And why do some go yellow while others are red, purple or brown?

The riotous colours on the trees around us are one of the highlights of the year — but why do leaves change colour in Autuumn? Mark Griffiths explains.