Features
All the latest features from Gardens Illustrated magazine
I’m a different person from the woman who christened the soil by swinging champagne from a bottle: Alice Vincent reflects on her gardening year
In the last of her regular columns, Alice Vincent reflects on what she’s discovered over the course of documenting her gardening year, and why it’s now time to move on. Illustration Alice Pattullo.
Sissinghurst head gardener Troy Scott Smith on his vision for the garden
In 1930, the writer Vita Sackville-West and her diplomat husband Harold Nicolson bought an old farm in Kent and set about creating a garden that has become one of the best loved and most visited in the world. In the lead-up to the garden's centenary in 2030, head gardener Troy Scott Smith muses on the garden's enduring appeal - and outlines his vision for the garden. Images by John Campbell
A beautiful spring garden around a Grade-I listed manor house in the Cotswolds
Tucked away in the countryside, this historic manor is homes to acres of lush gardens, diverse flowers and plants, and elegant design. Words by Stephanie Mahon. Photographs by Jason Ingram.
Women do inspiring work: we need their voices to be heard
On International Women's Day gardener, writer and presenter Rekha Mistry introduces the women who have inspired her and explains her route to horticulture
Women in gardening: key dates
We look back over the key points in gardening history, where women changed the scene
12 of the top female gardeners leading the way
Discover the inspiring women making waves in the horticultural industry and tending to remarkable gardens
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Can we really cope with allowing our gardens to go wilder?
Garden writer Andrew Timothy O’Brien asks just how far we might be prepared to go in relinquishing control over our gardens
What is rewilding?
Gardens Illustrated editor and wild gardens expert Stephanie Mahon gets to the bottom of what, exactly, rewilding means
Rewilding is good, but let's not forget that the garden is also great for wildlife
How wild is wild in the context of the average garden? And should we all be gardening differently to encourage more wildlife? Ken Thompson looks into the role gardens play as habitats for creatures great and small
Best gins with botanicals for 2024
The Gardens Illustrated team has rounded up the best botanical gins on the market.
Why we should all be buying organic bulbs
Some aspects of the mass-produced bulb industry are environmentally damaging. We find out how, and why we should all be considering going organic with our bulbs. Photos Dave Watts Photography
Mother's Day Garden Gifts
Still looking for the perfect Mother's Day garden gift? We've compiled a list of excellent gardening presents for Mother's Day 2024
March gardening jobs
It's spring fever in the kitchen garden, as our columnist Aaron Bertelsen shares the gardening jobs for March. Illustration Alice Pattullo
What to plant in March for beautiful blooms over the summer and beyond
Head gardener Benjamin Pope offers his suggestions for the best things to plant in pots and beyond this month
Wreaths are not just for Christmas: here's how to make an Easter wreath with beautiful spring flowers
Try your hand at an Easter wreath with flowers
and foliage to celebrate the arrival of spring. Words and styling Jacky Mills, photographs Éva Németh
When is the official first day of spring?
When spring starts is different depending on which calendar you're looking at. Here we answer the question what is the first day of spring in 2024?
Crocuses or croci: what is the plural of crocus?
Is the correct term for the plural of crocus crocuses or croci? Here's what we found out
The scene-stealing plants that will stop you in your tracks
Looking for plants with impact? Great Dixter's head gardener Fergus Garrett rounds up his top plants for dramatic impact
Top ten books about plants you need to have on your shelves
Looking for the best books about plants from essays, to plant identification and inspiration? Head gardener at Hepworth Wakefield Katy Merrington rounds up ten of the top books to invest in
Why forest bathing is good for you
We share an edited version of professor Qing Li's essay which posits that we should all take time to immerse ourselves in nature. Taken from the book Nature is a Human Right, edited by Ellen Miles. Photograph by Ellen Miles.
An enchanting early spring planting combination for pots by designer Jo Thompson, for even the smallest garden
Award-winning designer Jo Thompson shares container-planting inspiration with this enchanting early spring flower combination. Words Jo Thompson, photographs Jason Ingram
The crime-fighting botanist who uses plants to solve murders
The world-renowned botanist Mark Spencer on his sideline in crime fighting, getting a doctorate in his thirties and the potential of mushrooms to tackle climate change.
How one man resurrected a rare plant after 20 years of extinction
Andrew Shaw has a passion for rare British native plants, even bringing plants back from the dead. Images by John Campbell