Expert Gardening Tips
-
John Hoyland: The flowers to grow to create your own dye — just as they do at Glyndebourne
John Hoyland, gardens advisor at Glyndebourne, on the extraordinary dye garden that is now being used to create costumes for the famous outdoor opera.
-
The 12 best flowering shrubs to plant for year-round colour in your garden
For year-round structure, intrinsic beauty and sheer usefulness, shrubs–the original low-maintenance plant–are hard to beat. Charles Quest-Ritson applauds their return and picks out a dozen to ensure interest in your garden all year round.
-
Alan Titchmarsh: Of all the fragrant plants in my garden, this is the one I most look forward to enjoying
The gardener, writer and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh shares his favourite flowers for early in the season — including one with a simply unbeatable fragrance.
-
Charles Quest-Ritson: Why nothing matches the colour or beauty of the simple primrose
Sometimes the simplest flowers are the best, says Charles Quest-Ritson, as he looks at primroses, cowslips and their wonderful hybrids.
-
Why you shouldn't grow onions on your allotment — but if you do, go for these really exceptional ones
Mark Diacono takes a look at allotment logic, and shares his formula for what you should and shouldn't spend your time and energy growing.
-
The beautiful plants to look out for as Spring bursts through across Britain
Expert gardener and gardening writer Steven Desmond picks out some of his favourite sights as the winter begins to give way.
-
Alan Titchmarsh: The old wives' tales of gardening that are total rubbish — and the ones with a grain of truth
There is often more than a grain of truth in gardening wisdom that comes from folklore.
-
Planting big trees: What you need to know
The old advice always used to be to plant small and wait, but recent innovations mean that gardeners can plant outsize trees with confidence, says Charles Quest-Ritson.
-
Alan Titchmarsh: The best gardening books in my library of 5,000 volumes
The best of Alan Titchmarsh's gardening books have helped shape his career — he takes a look at some very special items in his library.
-
Charles Quest-Ritson: The secret to enjoying gardens in beastly cold, deepest winter
Our columnist has a suggestion for enjoying January, albeit one that doesn't involve staying put in England.
-
What you need to know about training fruit trees, from fans and spirals to arches, palmettes and beyond
Trained fruit trees are beautiful as well as bounteous. Mark Diacono explains what you need to know if you wish to get started.
-
Alan Titchmarsh: 'Only God’s earth — in the garden and the countryside — is capable of coming up with the goods with reliability equal to that of St Nicholas'
Alan Titchmarsh's Christmas column looks at all the plants of the festive season.
-
A gardener's guide to winter, from late autumn to the end of February
Tiffany Daneff shares her winter gardening tips.
-
How to grow spectacular winter flowers that will make your garden smell wonderful until Spring
It's possible to plant flowers that offer beautiful sights and smells throughout winter. Steven Desmond suggests some of the best.
-
Best climbing plants for conservatories
Nothing beats the sun glinting through the conservatory windows on a chilly winter day, but what to plant inside? John Hoyland recommends the finest climbers.
-
Noel Kingsbury: Why it's time to reassess 'one of the great triumphs of the 20th-century English garden'
Everything from climate change to the whims of gardening fashion shape what we plant, but is it time to remember our traditional strengths, asks Noel Kingsbury.
-
The six varieties of poppy every gardener needs to know
From common poppy and the poum poppy to the bright yellow Welsh poppy, Jack Watkins takes a look at these exquisite natural flowers.
