Latest From Gardens Illustrated
A great planted pot for winter and autumn using succulents with architectural texture
Designer Jo Thompson creates a stylish display to see you through the colder months using aloe and other succulents
Nigel Slater on savouring the end of autumn
For Nigel Slater, one of the great joys of autumn is the sight of golden, bronze and rich-red leaves gently falling – a slow dance that completes the circle of life.
Illustration: Paul Wearing, Portrait: John Campbell
You can have a sustainable garden that's also beautiful - here's how to design stylish ecological gardens
Charlotte Harris explains how to design gardens that are ecological and beautiful in her expert guide to sustainable garden design
Leave your leaves: Here's why you don’t need to tidy up those garden leaves
Gardeners mean well, but the act of gardening can be a hindrance to increasing biodiversity. Maybe, says Rebecca McMackin, we need to let leaves be. Illustration Rosanna Morris
Make strawflower garlands for beautiful natural Christmas decorations this season
Bex Partridge offers this elegant but easy way to decorate your home with strawflowers at Christmas
Win the top 14 gardening books of the year
Gardens Illustrated 's Editor's choice
The best gardening gifts: top gift ideas for gardeners in 2024
Here's our selection of fantastic gardening gifts in 2024, tailor-made to suit the gardener in your life.
Watch Nigel Slater's exclusive tour around his own small garden and discover why he wouldn't want a bigger one
While Nigel Slater might occasionally dream of a larger garden, the joy he feels cocooned in his tiny basement courtyard has convinced him size isn’t everything.
Illustration: Paul Wearing, Portrait: John Campbell
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Gardens Illustrated events
Save 20% when you book a series ticket for the Gardens Illustrated Masterclass series
GI Masterclass: Maximising small spaces with designer Stefano Marinaz
GI Masterclass: Rose sculpting and training with head gardener Jenny ‘Niff’ Barnes
GI Masterclass: Planting design insights with designer Tom Stuart-Smith
Latest garden features and design ideas
Make your own Christmas decorations from your garden
Festive ideas and inspiration for stylish Christmas decorations such as baubles and garlands, easily handmade at home using foraged and natural materials from the garden
This alcohol-free aperitif has earned itself four awards - and is set to take over your cocktail-making this Christmas
These plants will make your garden look good over winter
The seedheads of perennials bring drama to the garden in winter and provide food for birds and insects, too. We recommend 11 of the best
The best wood for burning on wood burning stoves and fires
As winter approaches, re-stocking your firewood supplies is on the agenda. We choose the best types of firewood, give advice on stacking logs and how to light a fire. Words Louise Allen, photographs Andrew Montgomery
Stop the needles falling and the droop: here's how to care for your Christmas tree so it's happy for longer
You invest in a Christmas tree and bring it into your home over the festive season. Make sure it's as happy as possible so it last for as long as possible
Winter gardening jobs
Just because winter is here, it doesn't mean there's nothing to do in the garden. Rosie Fyles, head gardener at Chiswick House, and head gardener Benjamin Pope explain what winter gardening needs to be done
Sustainable Christmas trees: real or fake, what's the best tree to buy?
What is the most eco-friendly Christmas tree option – a real tree, or an artificial one? We investigate the pros and cons of each
How to stop squirrels eating your tulip bulbs
Squirrels can ruin tulip displays. We asked a range of experts for their advice on stopping squirrels digging up bulb displays.
21 top Christmas garden light shows and trails
Here are our top picks for the best Christmas light shows and illuminated trails in gardens across the UK, to enjoy with friends and family during this festive season
How late is too late to plant bulbs?
Ever wondered how long you can wait to plant your spring bulbs? We asked our readers and the experts, and these are the results.
Best garden plants for now
The world's most extreme trees grow in the fiercest conditions. But should you plant them in your garden?
Faced with a warming climate, many gardeners are thinking carefully about resilient plants for their garden. But what about three of the world's most extreme trees?
Great flowers and plants for the garden in December picked by a head gardener
The best December flowers and foliage from winter interest plants chosen for structure, colour and texture in the garden. Photographs Jason Ingram
In praise of the chrysanthemum
Discover exactly how to grow these late-flowering hardy chrysanthemums that will look perfect in your garden. Photographs by Jason Ingram
8 beautiful indoor Christmas plants to buy this year
Indoor plants make wonderful festive decorations, and many can be kept going from year to year. Consider welcoming these eight indoor Christmas plants into your home this winter.
You can grow beautiful bulbs in your house over winter by 'forcing' them - here's how to do it
Forcing bulbs is a way to manipulate spring bulbs so that they flower early, bringing a much-needed burst of colour into the home during the winter months. Try these bulb combinations to learn how to force bulbs yourself. Images by Jason Ingram
How to make large Christmas baubles from the garden using natural materials
These baubles, made from natural materials gathered from the garden, look lovely hanging off the Christmas tree or from the mantelpiece, but are super easy to make by following our simple steps. Photography Jason Ingram. Styling by Kristy Ramage
Houseplants
Can house plants really beat mould? We discover the truth around the claims
The internet is awash with advice on house plants beating mould. But are the claims actually true?
Your common house plant problems - solved
House plant expert Sarah Gerrard-Jones identifies the 10 most common house plant problems and explains how to solve them.
Houseplants | How to look after the blue star fern
Ferns sparked the first houseplant craze and are still a great houseplant choice, especially the unfussy Phlebodium aureum. Illustration Agata Wierzbicka
Gardens Illustrated 's Podcasts
Talking Gardens season 4: Jinny Blom
In this episode Gardens Illustrated editor Stephanie talks to award-winning garden designer Jinny Blom about her fantasy garden. Jinny chooses the plants, places and people that would make up her dream garden, from her experiences exploring Hidcote in the 1960s to why she’d have to include a piece of the Atacama Desert.
Talking Gardens season 4: John Little
In this episode Gardens Illustrated editor Stephanie Mahon talks to John Little about his fantasy garden. We learn why community spaces would be a key, even in his dream garden, and hear about the work he’s done to bring greenery to communities in urban settings throughout his career.
Talking Gardens Season 4: Butter Wakefield
Talking Gardens Season 4: Charles Dowding
Talking Gardens Season 4: Rosy Hardy
Talking Gardens Season 4: Monty Don
Talking Gardens podcast with Jimi Blake
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Jimi Blake on how he dodges bears while botanising and how going to train as a gardener was life-saving for him.
Talking Gardens podcast with Kate Humble
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Kate Humble on how she became a TV presenter, why she loves baobab trees and will never allow a gazebo in her garden.
Talking Gardens podcast Nigel Dunnett
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Nigel Dunnett on all the things he would include in his dream garden, from wildflowers to birdsong, and where Claude Monet and David Bowie would fit into his garden fantasies.
Talking Gardens podcast with Katy Merrington
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Katy Merrington on who would be on Katy’s ultimate fantasy gardening team and how she manages looking after an urban space that’s open 24/7, 365 days a year.
Recipes
HOME COOKED RECIPES WITH NATURAL INGREDIENTS
Create this lovely spiced pumpkin soup recipe using your home grown pumpkins or leftovers
This warming soup makes the most of the pumpkins gardener chef Aaron Bertelsen browns in his kitchen garden. Photograph Andrew Montgomery
Immune-boosting hedgerow brew using foraged berries to last you through winter
As the seasons begin to change, Beth Al Rikabi suggests an easy recipe for preserving foraged plants. Photographs Matt Inwood
The forager chef Beth Al Rikabi explains why the turnip is so overlooked and how it can work brilliantly as a pickled delicacy
Beth Al Rikabi suggests an easy recipe for preserving an overlooked vegetable. Photographs Matt Inwood
Rich winter stew with seasonal vegetables
A tasty warming rich stew made from seasonal winter vegetables
Container Gardening
pots of style for your garden
A warming winter pot for wildlife using Cornus alba and cotoneaster
Designer Jo Thompson offers a stylish display to see you through the colder months. Photographs Jason Ingram
Discover how to make this beautiful autumnal pot design idea with tones and textures using Heucherella from expert Jo Thompson
A pot with autumn foliage and colours from designer Jo Thompson perfect for the season
Late summer warmth | A late-summer pot arrangement using Molinia caerulea and dahlias
Cottesbrooke’s head gardener Jenny Barnes combines well-established plants with bold foliage and rich colours to create a container display to help summer slide into autumn. Words Jenny Barnes, photographs Richard Bloom
Pots of style | An autumn container display using Euonymus alatus
Ben Preston, head gardener of York Gate in Leeds, sees out the summer with this container display to augment the garden’s lingering warmth and colour. Photographs by Evan Nemeth
Inspiring Gardens
THE BEST OF THE WORLD'S OUTDOOR SPACES
A zesty tangerine-coloured roof top garden in London designed by Nigel Dunnett
On the edge of one of London’s busiest roundabouts, Nigel Dunnett has created exciting combinations of drought-tolerant plants for a roof garden that is as unexpected as it is joyful. Words: Natasha Goodfellow, Photographs: Alister Thorpe
From boarded up library to gorgeous community garden: this space in London was transformed by a Chelsea gold-winning designer
A new community garden designed by Sarah Price around
an old library turned arts centre in southeast London is a treasured space for local residents
and garden lovers alike.
A zero waste garden: this space was completely transformed, without sending anything to landfill
Designer Miria Harris gave herself the challenge of a no-skip, zero-waste project, giving away, recycling or reusing everything in this back garden before transforming it into a space her client could love.
Words: Zia Allaway, Photographs: Rachel Warne
Weed, slugs, moles and mice: all are welcome at this pioneering natural farm in Devon
Weeds, slugs, birds and mice – all are welcome on Birch Farm in Devon, where Joshua Sparkes seeks to respect the local ecosystem and mimic nature in his innovative approach to growing.
Photographs: Andrew Montgomery
This season in the garden
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GARDENING NOW
Great flowers and plants for the garden in December picked by a head gardener
The best December flowers and foliage from winter interest plants chosen for structure, colour and texture in the garden. Photographs Jason Ingram
Winter flowers: experts' choice of winter flowering plants
Our panel of experts pick the best winter flowering plants to grow over the colder months to ensure bright blooms add colour and interest in your garden
Winter gardening jobs
Just because winter is here, it doesn't mean there's nothing to do in the garden. Rosie Fyles, head gardener at Chiswick House, and head gardener Benjamin Pope explain what winter gardening needs to be done
Think there is nothing to start growing now? It's actually garlic planting season. Here's how to grow it
Garlic is one of the healthiest ways to add flavour to food and is not difficult to grow. Allotmenteer Jojo Tulloh explains how to get started. Photographs Andrew Montgomery
Gardens to visit
which gardens to visit and where
The most inspiring winter garden walks
It may be cold outside but you can still visit beautiful gardens over the winter months. Here's our top picks of UK open gardens to visit for a refreshing winter walk
25 English gardens to visit for classic style and beautiful plants
In this feature designer and garden historian Penelope Hobhouse shares 25 of the best English gardens to visit
21 top Christmas garden light shows and trails
Here are our top picks for the best Christmas light shows and illuminated trails in gardens across the UK, to enjoy with friends and family during this festive season
Garden design
THE BEST OF THE WORLD'S OUTDOOR SPACES
Limited space? You probably still have room for a tree - discover the best trees for small gardens
Many people worry that a tree will overpower a small garden, but as garden designer Sarah Price shows, the key is finding the right place and the right tree
Mid-century style garden furniture is trending, here's why you need these iconic garden furniture pieces
Love mid-century style? You won’t want to miss this brand’s sale across many of its iconic outdoor furniture pieces…
Here's what companion planting means and why it can help plants thrive
Ever wondered how companion planting might help your vegetables and deter pests? Here expert grower Matthew Biggs breaks down the companion planting myths and explains how the system works
What to plant in an edible garden
We talk to vegetable and edible gardening expert Anna Greenland about gardening for flavour. Words Alys Hurn, photographs Jason Ingram
How to make your garden child friendly without ruining it
If you thought children's play areas and a stylish garden don't mix, here's our advice on pleasing the whole family in the garden.
10 ways to improve your garden
Award-winning garden designer Jinny Blom gives us her 10-point plan for improving any garden.
Gardening Advice
WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT
Wondering what no-dig gardening is? Let the expert explain
Generations of gardeners have been told that digging is the best way to prepare soil for planting – but that’s a myth, according to grower Charles Dowding, who practises no dig gardening. Charles explains what no dig is and how it works
A guide to pruning roses
Discover how to prune all types of roses including shrub, climbing and rambling roses in our guide from plant expert John Hoyland. Photographs by Gavin Kingcome.
Ten tips for gardening plastic free
David Ware, head of eco garden centre EdibleCulture, offers up his top tips for how to garden without using plaastic
Gardening Kit
OUR PICK OF THE BEST GARDENING TOOLS AND ACCESSORIES
28 gifts for plant lovers: a 2024 guide
We've collated our ultimate list of great gifts for plant lovers for 2024.
Best eco-friendly Christmas crackers to buy in 2024
Take a planet friendly approach to the festivities with our pick of the best eco-friendly Christmas crackers.
The best gardening books in 2024: leaf through these highly-rated reads
Discover the best gardening books to read in 2024, recommended by a range of horticultural experts for Gardens Illustrated
The best natural Christmas decorations to shop this year
We've found all the most beautiful baubles, wreaths and home décor to browse this year - made with paper, wood, metal and other natural materials.
Best plant gift subscriptions
Give the gift that keeps on giving – a plant subscription! We bring you some of the best options online. Start one today and share the love.
Beautiful outdoor Christmas decoration ideas for a winter wonderland in 2024
Bring the festive spirit to your garden with our selection of the best outdoor Christmas decorations.