Expert Gardening Tips
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How to grow a nut tree
Country Life's expert grow-it-to-eat-it gardener Mark Diacono shares his tips on how to grow a nut tree — or even better, an entire nuttery — in your garden.
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What to do with sweet chestnuts, from roasting over an open fire to adding zip to burgers and brownies
Mark Diacono says that autumn is synonymous with sweet chestnuts — and he has all sorts of ways to make the most of a seasonal treat.
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Nine unusual berries that you should be growing in your garden, from boysenberries to wineberries
There’s a wealth of juicy deliciousness beyond the standard fruit-cage fare of strawberry, raspberry and blackberry. Mark Diacono explores all the other berries we should be growing, too.
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Alan Titchmarsh: How to force Christmas bulbs to ensure fresh, beautiful seasonal flowers
Writer and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh generally enjoys the patience and anticipation of gardening, but is happy to make an exception when it comes to forcing bulbs for Christmas. Here's how he does it.
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How to plant the perfect pot of tulips
Pots look simple, but it takes a bit of planning to create a balanced display for five weeks of colour in spring. Designer Angel Collins shows how to do it.
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Mary Keen: The secrets of vertical gardening
Gardener and author Mary Keen on why you should think up to make the most of your garden.
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Alan Titchmarsh: How to grow exotic flowers in English country gardens
Alan Titchmarsh shares his tips on bringing exotic blooms to life in the gardens of Britain.
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Best tulips: The bulbs to buy now to light up your garden throughout next summer
Charles Quest-Ritson once looked down on tulips, something he deeply regrets. Don't make the same mistake, he says, as he names his favourite tulips of the summer and suggests you look to buy bulbs now.
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Alan Titchmarsh: 2021 was the slowest-starting Spring of my life — but my garden has given me more pleasure than ever before
Frost, deluges, heatwaves... the weather this year has been nothing short of madness, but Alan Titchmarsh has come through the other side and is enjoying his garden like never before.
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Fuchsia jam, rowan brandy liqueur and the curiosities you can make from an English country garden
Charles Quest-Ritson looks at some of the berries in the typical English garden which you might never even have thought of as edible.
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Arthur Parkinson: 'Chicken company and chat is underrated. Chickens will accompany you around the garden, happily running to greet you'
Arthur Parkinson shares his tips on keeping both garden and hens happy.
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Iford Manor: How to introduce modern touches into a historic garden
Nowhere are Harold Peto’s talents as a gardener and architect more apparent than the gardens and grounds of Iford Manor, so new additions need to respect the spirit of the place.
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Alan Titchmarsh: 'I share my patch with all manner of animals, birds, bees and butterflies, and creepy-crawlies — they have every right to be there, but so do I'
We should stop beating ourselves up and cultivate responsibly for wildlife and the environment, but also enjoy the pleasure of a well-mown lawn.
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Everything you need to know about Foxgloves: Beautiful, useful, poisonous — and a dream for bumblebees and plant-breeders alike
Charles Quest-Ritson celebrates one of the most striking flowers of this time of year, and offers his tips on how to make the most of them.
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How the 'greatest gardener ever' helped make British roses as we know them today
Charles Quest-Ritson, author of The RHS Encyclopedia of Roses, on Graham Stuart Thomas, how he nurtured British roses, and why now is the time for a proper national collection.
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How to grow blackberries that are 'consistently plump, reliably sweet and almost laughably juicy'
Blackberries are a gardener's dream, says expert fruit grower Mark Diacono. And while they grow plentifully in the wild, there are vigorous and unfussy domestic varieties than can be even better...
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What to deadhead and what to leave alone
We delve into the Country Life archive to revisit Mark Griffiths's tips on deadheading — and in particular being careful about what you take and what you leave.
