Gardens
Find inspiration from gardens of all sizes both in the UK and internationally
Hike into happiness: The benefits of walking
Take on the challenge of a Macmillan Mighty Hike, raise money and improve your physical and mental health
Crazy paving, pampas grass and rockeries: 6 naff garden features that are making a comeback
Previously old-fashioned and extremely uncool garden features like rockeries, island beds and even the shrubbery are coming back into fashion – are they crimes against horticulture, or ripe for revival?
There's a worrying trend in US gardens that's driving one American man's inspiring work
The director of horticulture at Native Plant Trust on slug hunting, turning American gardeners into backyard conservationists and the power of mentoring
POV: You’ve inherited an historic English hall with two moats and incredible gardens – now what?
Once home to garden designer Xa Tollemache, Helmingham Hall is now under the care of a new generation of Tollemaches and is as glorious as ever, especially in winter when its bones are laid bare.
Words: Chris Young, Photographs: Richard Bloom
Instead of downsizing, this couple revamped their garden into a haven for them and their grandkids
By introducing bold swathes of planting, designer Barbara Samitier transformed a large lawn into an enticing garden with multitudes to discover
What's new?
Best gins with botanicals for 2025 - have yourself a merry Christmas with these herbal tipples
The Gardens Illustrated team has rounded up the best botanical gins on the market.
Great last minute Christmas gifts: gardening memberships and subscriptions for 2025
Looking for a Christmas gift for a gardener after the last Christmas post delivery date? We've got the best gardening membership and subscription gifts you can still buy and gift in time for Christmas
"My garden might look weedy to some, but I’m not bothered" says designer Tom Massey
Landscape designer Tom Massey on
why we should all be saving rainwater, his tiny courtyard and why everything starts with the soil
Beautiful outdoor Christmas decoration ideas for a winter wonderland in 2025
Bring the festive spirit to your garden with our selection of the best outdoor Christmas decorations.
Fancy a dog's arse or monkey's bottom? The forgotten superfood with crude nicknames that chefs love
Once a delicacy, medlars have fallen out of fashion, but grower Jane Steward is determined to show how abundant and easy they are, and to introduce them to a wider audience
Rural
'Maximum effect, minimum effort'. This Welsh country garden is a masterclass in autumn colour
Building on the work of generations of plantspeople, Elizabeth and Ross Murray have breathed fresh life into Llanover Garden in southeast Wales
You'll wish this Highlands garden with its own wild swimming pool and sauna, designed by Tracy McQue was yours...
In Tracy McQue’s design for a steeply sloping garden in the Highlands, a series of distinct character areas are united by repeating and remixing the planting palette
The elegant Cornish hideaway that was designed on the back of an envelope
Designer Matt Keightley has transformed a small plot of rough grass on the north Cornish coast into an elegant Mediterranean-inspired space for entertaining
Meet the gardeners
Harry Baldwin, head gardener at the Newt, on learning from failures and sustainable planting
As head gardener at The Newt in Somerset, Harry is passionate about supporting new gardeners, and is drawn to gardens that embrace the wild.
We have to charge for Chelsea, or we wouldn’t have the money to do everything else, says RHS director general
The director general of the RHS on a childhood spent among nature, her impulse to engage and educate, and the strategy for the future
Gen Z are becoming gardeners now and they have a few ideas
Get a fresh perspective with these top tips from the UK’s next generation of bright young gardening stars
Gardens to visit
Visiting a beautiful garden can be a wholly enriching experience. The benefits of visiting a garden – from mental health right through to exercise – are huge, and garden days out are perfect ways to have fun on your own, or as an entire family.
Regardless of how, and whoever you visit with, we have a host of suggestions of which gardens to visit, from gardens for the season, through to the gardens that are in full bloom and at their best each month. We have collated lists of the best gardens to visit with the help of our experts and many years of visiting gardens all around the UK, and beyond. We have gardens organised by theme, days out and local area, so you should find something for wherever you are and whatever garden experience you are looking for.
Enjoy our comprehensive guide to the best gardens to visit in the UK.
Best UK gardens open for Boxing Day walks
Many UK gardens are open this festive season, so why not work off your Christmas indulgence between Boxing Day and New Year with a winter walk at one of these 13 great open gardens?
Leaf peeping alert! The glorious 60-acre woodland you need to visit for blissful autumn walks
Ablaze with astonishing autumn colour, Evenley Wood’s impressive collection of trees and shrubs places this Northamptonshire garden – already well known for its spring bulb displays – even more firmly on the map
Gardens to visit in November for glorious autumn colour
Head gardener Tom Brown recommends the gardens to visit the month of November to see seasonal plants at their best
Gardens of the world
Worldwide gardens you need to see
'It's like living inside a painting'. Piet Oudolf's dreamy Nantucket island garden
For this Nantucket island hideaway, the cedar-shingled buildings are nestled around a courtyard with an archetypal meadow by Piet Oudolf
We bought an abandoned olive grove and brought it back to life with a meadow-style garden of wildflowers
A hillside garden in southern Italy with a distinctly Mediterranean planting palette is alive with the echoes of civilisations past
There’s no lawn or ugly play kit but my kids still love our garden: how to make yours both family friendly and beautiful
Dutch garden and landscape designer Arjan Boekel has transformed his tiny town garden in the Netherlands into a miniature woodland glade
Urban gardens
Amazing gardens from towns and cities
From new-build construction site to low-maintenance wildflower haven: this meadowscape is the smart way to do easy eco gardening
Designer Kristina Clode has created this vision of wild immersion, mostly from seed, for an accessible new eco home set in The Weald.
Behind the scenes with Piet Oudolf – here's how he plants his legendary schemes
Ever wondered how Piet Oudolf plans out and plants up one of his extraordinary landscapes? Rebecca McMackin was there to document each step at the creation of his most recent large-scale scheme, at Calder Gardens in Philadelphia.
The nursery that’s changing the face of Australian gardens
Antique Perennials has always been about introducing exciting plants to Australian gardeners, says co-founder Michael Morant, and now has a vibrant display garden to showcase its wares