Expert Gardening Tips
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Charles Quest-Ritson: I hate almost all alliums — their colour is hideous, their smell is disgusting — but there's one I've fallen hopelessly in love with
Charles Quest-Ritson loves almost all flowers. And the emphasis this week is very much on 'almost'.
By Charles Quest-Ritson Published
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Tend to your raspberries now — you'll thank yourself next summer
Pick the right varieties and next year you could be enjoying fresh raspberries for months instead of weeks, explains Mark Diacono.
By Mark Diacono Published
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Clematis: Don't plant climbers — plant clamberers
John Hoyland, the gardens adviser at Glyndebourne in East Sussex, on clematis.
By John Hoyland Published
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Alan Titchmarsh: Everyone loves tulips — but make sure you plant the good ones
It's the time of year to plant tulips if you want an explosion of colour next Spring. Alan Titchmarsh picks out some of his favourite tulip varieties which go well beyond the usual suspects.
By Alan Titchmarsh Published
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How to grow your own pears (spoiler alert: it's not easy)
Mark Diacono shares his advice on one of the trickier fruit trees to get right: the pear tree.
By Mark Diacono Published
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'The king and queen of rewilding's new head gardener : 'It could be quite challenging — everybody loves a lawn'
The new head gardener at Knepp in West Sussex talks to Flora Watkins about a different direction for the rewilding pioneers — and why gardeners need to unclench. Photograph by Philip Sowels.
By Flora Watkins Published
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Wildflower meadows are the most labour-intensive gardening you'll ever do — but they're also the most rewarding
Gardener and writer Mary Keen shares her thoughts on gardening's answer to herding cats: trying to get a wildflower meadow to behave.
By Mary Keen Published
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Sarah Raven: The flowers I have that are flourishing superbly, despite the battering heat of this summer
Gardener and writer Sarah Raven on the flowers that haven't wilted in the heat.
By Sarah Raven Published
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Charles Quest-Ritson: All gardening is habitat destruction, but gardens have a purpose — and rewilding is an absurd fantasy
The 19th century's hugely successful cultivation of plants on the once-barren Ascension Island has lessons for us today, says Charles Quest-Ritson.
By Charles Quest-Ritson Published
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Why every garden needs an iris (and why there's an iris for every garden)
Charles Quest-Ritson on the irises to plant, the ones you'll never manage to grow in Britain, and the ones to avoid unless you're happy for them to take over half of your garden.
By Charles Quest-Ritson Published
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Alan Titchmarsh: The immutable truth of gardening? You only get out what you put in
In gardening, there are no shortcuts says Alan Titchmarsh: you only get out what you put in.
By Alan Titchmarsh Published
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John Hoyland: The tree planting blunder that kicked off my long line of gardening mistakes
When it comes to trees, says John Hoyland, the more the merrier — but only within reason.
By John Hoyland Published
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Mark Diacono: How to grow your own hazelnuts (and why you'll find it rather easy)
Our resident grow-your-own expert Mark Diacono gives his tips on the surprisingly easy hazelnut.
By Mark Diacono Published
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Mary Keen: How to make a garden pond that's perfect for swimming
Gardening writer Mary Keen shares expert tips for minimising the algae and maximising the fun.
By Mary Keen Published
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Comfrey: What you need to know about the plant that 'looks like borage a couple of gins into a long weekend'
Mark Diacono on the beautiful and untamed joy of comfrey.
By Mark Diacono Published
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Alan Titchmarsh: The best plants to grow in a boggy garden
Alan Titchmarsh doesn't like soggy socks, but there are plants that love standing around in the damp all day.
By Alan Titchmarsh Published
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The best flowers named after monarchs, from the Queen's latest rose to the regal daisies that were almost named after Kaiser Wilhelm
With a new rose named ‘Queen Elizabeth II’ being launched for the Jubilee, Steven Desmond looks back at the history of naming plants after monarchs.
By Steven Desmond Published