Expert Gardening Tips
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Best poppies to sow in your garden
Spread a little happiness with a sprinkle of poppy seeds. John Hoyland selects the best poppies to grow at home.
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How to make a compost cake
The Land Gardeners — aka Bridget Elworthy and Henrietta Courtauld — share their tips on how to make compost without a compost heap.
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Best strawberries to grow at home, and how to make sure they keep producing fruit all summer
Expert fruit farmer Mark Diacono chooses the best strawberries, picking out varieties which will keep you in fresh strawberries all summer.
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Alan Titchmarsh: The garden blunder that caught me out — and how it's going to cost me than I can admit to my wife
Alan Titchmarsh thought his 'old friends' growing peacefully in their pots would be safe. He was wrong.
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Arthur Parkinson: 'It’s a crime that we have forsaken our wildflower meadows for petrol lawnmowers and Flymos'
The gardener Arthur Parkinson speaks to Country Life about his garden inspirations, keeping chickens and why
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What to plant to create a bold, romantic scheme in a classic British garden
Andrew Cannell, Head Gardener at American Museum and Gardens in Bath, shares his recommendations for Bold Romantic plant combinations for a British garden.
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Japanese Quince: The spectacular red flowers that should be on every gardener's to-grow list
Steven Desmond pours praise on the flowers of genus chaenomeles — also known as japonica, or Japanese quince — and explains how to make sure they thrive in your garden.
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Charles-Quest Ritson: 'Gardens are like people — most of them don’t age well'
Charles Quest-Ritson reminisces on his younger days and laments the passing years — not least our shared tendency with gardens to become 'rather seedy in old age, which is when they need constant attention to stay looking good'.
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Alan Titchmarsh: 'Their goal is quantity rather than quality; of boastfulness rather than the innate delight in seeing a plant that is loved'
Our columnist takes aim at the plant collectors whose desire to hit bigger numbers overtakes their love of gardening — but he pours praise on the honourable exceptions who manage to balance both impulses.
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Should you mow your lawn?
Monty Don ruffled a few feathers recently when suggesting that we should just let our grass grow as long as it likes. Is he right?
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How to grow your own salad: 'Whether it’s a single-leaf salad or a tumble of colours, no salad is better than the one you grow yourself'
Mark Diacono offers his top tips to sow, grow and cut your own salad and shares his favourite varieties.
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The ultimate guide to planting your own orchard: 'Getting it right is easy; sadly, so is getting it wrong'
Mark Diacono has planted dozens of orchards — he shares his wisdom on how to go about it.
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Alan Titchmarsh: Why I relish the worst jobs in gardening
Alan Titchmarsh admits that it's not just gardening's most challenging tasks, but also its the mundane chores that 'give me a deep sense of pleasure'.
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Noel Kingsbury: How to make a bonfire that doubles as a spectacular natural firework display
Garden designer Noel Kingsbury on the joy of a good bonfire.
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Grow your own pepper, even in Britain: The varieties that are fragrant, exotic and almost indecently easy to cultivate
Normal black peppercorns need more heat than you'll get in Britain — but there are extraordinary alternatives which will spice up your cooking and even save you a fortune, as Mark Diacono explains.
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Alan Titchmarsh: 'I treasure still the letters that I received from him, not simply for their horticultural content, but their companionship'
The gardener, writer and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh reminisces about the gardening letters he's received — and despairs at the thought of what might have become of them if they'd been sent by e-mail.
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How to grow vegetables which look as good as they taste
Vegetable needn't be drab or dull — all you have to do is pick the right varieties. Steven Desmond shares some of his best tips.
