Garden design resources
Our hub of all the design resources you need to make your garden into the garden you want
Here's how to sharpen your garden tools properly to help make sure you're pruning your plants well
Advice on sharpening garden tools, with a step-by-step video on how to sharpen shears. You'll also find all the products you need to get the job done.
Our round up of our favourite seed suppliers for your online seed order this year
If you're looking for inspiration for this year's crop of flowers, herbs and vegetables, take a look at our recommended seed suppliers in 2024
Garden design courses
Looking for a garden design course? Here's a selection of the UK's leading garden design schools and details of the training they offer.
What is soil? You may think you know, but there's a lot going on under your feet
Think of your garden soil as a living organism that needs gentle handling and you will reap the benefits in healthier plants, urges no-dig gardening expert Charles Dowding
Best plant identification books
Put a name to the flora you see around you and improve your gardening knowledge with these engaging plant identification books.
Garden water feature ideas: expert tips for using water in the garden
Water brings magic to the garden, says designer Matt Keightley, adding movement and sound to muffle unwelcome noise
Make your own seed envelope
Follow our fold-by-fold guide to making your own origami seed envelope. Then save and collect your own seeds from this year's favourites, or swap with a gardening friend and be ready to sow next spring.
The best gardening podcasts to listen to
Whether you want to learn how to keep your houseplants alive, discover more about the National Trust’s gardens or just enjoy some lively conversation while you’re at work in the potting shed, there’s a podcast for you. We recommend seven of the best.
Make your own floral advent calendar
Gardens Illustrated has joined together with The Herbarium Project to show you how to make an Advent calendar for Christmas. Words Sonya Patel Ellis and photography Andrew Montgomery
How to make recycled and reclaimed materials look good in your garden
Recycling old materials and using reclaimed items in the garden are a given for sustainable gardeners, but making waste look good often requires knowledge and imagination. We explore the creative ways leading designers and gardeners have reused everything from rubble to rubber mats. Words Zia Allaway
How to design your garden
Award-winning designer Annie Guilfoyle explains everything you need to know before you start to design your outdoor space
Saving water in garden design
Harvesting and storing rainwater run-off, as well as recycling household water, can help gardeners cope with drought, writes garden designer Andrew Wilson
Plant hardiness zone ratings explained
Understanding a plant's hardiness rating can help us choose the right plants for our gardens. Here's an explanation of the plant hardiness systems used here and in the USA. Words: Dr John David, and Leigh Hunt. Illustrations Liam McAuley and Chris Jones
How to employ a gardener
A skilled gardener offers far more than mere watering and weeding but what, exactly, should you look for when you're thinking about hiring a gardener look after your garden regularly?
Reducing plastic in your garden and allotment
Plastic waste in the garden is a problem. Here we look at how gardeners can reduce plastic use in the garden and offer some tips on how to get closer to a zero waste garden. llustration Vicki Turner
Where garden designers buy their plants
A garden is only as good as its plants. Here four renowned garden designers choose their favourite plant suppliers.
Top designers choose the trends for 2020
Discover what leading garden designers believe will be the garden trends for 2020
Tips for buying in garden centres
Garden and plant experts give their tips on what to look for when buying plants from garden centres and nurseries to ensure garden success
Design solutions: Green roofs
Green roofs help make our cities more healthy and beautiful and welcome wildlife into our gardens. Below are points to consider before creating a green roof including what is a green roof? Plant selection and how to build a green roof.
Book review: Dreamscapes by Claire Takacs
Gardens Illustrated reviews Dreamscapes by photographer Claire Takacs. This is a book of magical photography that captures some of the finest gardens in the world at their very best.
Books for the ultimate horticultural library
After much discussion the award-winning design duo of Isabel and Julian Bannerman agree on their ultimate horticultural library. Find out which gardening books they feel they couldn't be without
Online course: Planting the Piet Oudolf Way
If you love Piet Oudolf's garden design, this online course run by Learning with Experts in association with Gardens Illustrated is the perfect way to learn how to achieve his style in your own garden
Our book of the month: Natural Selection by Dan Pearson
In Natural Selection, award-winning garden designer and journalist Dan Pearson draws on ten years of his columns for the Observer to explore the rhythms and pleasures of a year in the garden.
Noel Kingsbury's recommended hebes
Although increasingly popular, hebes have never really been in vogue, but their flexibilty and contemporary good looks suggest that could be about to change. Here we've picked out some of Noel Kingsbury's recommendations.