Latest From Gardens Illustrated
Discover the work of weaver Mollie McMillen, a weaver who uses bark sticks and leaves to make her artisan baskets
Basket maker Mollie McMillen finds inspiration from
the rural landscape around her Hampshire home.
Words Camilla Phelps photographs Andrew Montgomery
No more weeding? The new lazy way to garden makes it easy to manage and really ecological
Lovely, low maintenance and good for wildlife? Jack Wallington is experimenting with plant vigour to make his own garden both ecological and easy to manage
Struggling with slugs? Here are 38 slug-proof plants and flowers that won't get munched by molluscs
Looking for plants that won't get munched by slugs? Instead of using slug controls, why not grow plants that the molluscs just don't like? Here's 38 to choose from
Discover Richard Sudell, a lost design hero of 20th century British suburbia
Richard Sudell is a lost design hero of the 20th century, according to a new book from Michael Gilson. Reviewer Tim Richardson explains
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…
Organ failure, cardiac arrest and paralysis: ten of the world's most poisonous plants
Direct from the Poison Garden at Alnwick Garden, we round up ten of the deadliest plants around
Gardens Illustrated 's Editor's choice
56 beautiful, bee-friendly plants that will make your garden buzz
Create a buzz in your garden by adding the plants that bees love best.
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
Subscribe to Gardens Illustrated and claim your Niwaki Secateurs worth £39.99
A very special Gardens Illustrated subscription offer! Join Gardens Illustrated magazine as a member and get Niwaki secateurs worth £39.99 and save 30% on the shop price.
Gardens Illustrated Special Edition: A Year of Plants - Order today just £12.99*
A Gardens Illustrated Special Edition- A Year of Plants- Order today just £12.99*
Gardens Illustrated events
Join the Talking Gardens podcast live with Nigel Slater and Sarah Raven
Join our special guests Sarah Raven and Nigel Slater for an evening of lively conversation about gardens and gardening at the Garden Museum in London
Beautiful gardens of Brittany: reader tour
Join us on a five-day tour to some of the best gardens in Brittany in northwest France with our host,
Sissinghurst head gardener Troy Scott Smith, and tour leader, gardener and French specialist Kirsty Fergusson
Gardening events and shows for 2024
All the big names in one place. Here's our guide to the gardening calendar's biggest and best gardening events for the year ahead
Read the book Wilding? There's a new film based on it due to be released and here's how you can watch it
A new film is released this month telling the story of the rewilding project spearheaded by Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell at Knepp Castle
Latest garden features and design ideas
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What is 'grounding' and does it work? We test the latest technology in grounding shoes to find out
What is 'grounding' exactly, and can a boot help? Veronica Peerless puts Vivobarefoot's Pilgrim boot to the test and describes what happened.
An old steel bathtub planter sets out a pretty woodland display using Hydrangea paniculata 'Phantom'
Award-winning designer Jo Thompson offers container-planting inspiration with this idea for a pot display for high summer
20 great flowers for drying: experts pick the garden flowers that will look perfect when you dry them
Preserve the fleeting summer beauty of your garden by drying flowers to enjoy year round indoors. We’ve asked three expert growers to recommend the best dried flowers to grow
How to use phlox to add colour and freshness to a late summer border
With highly fragrant blooms, this stalwart of the English flower garden brings some cool, fresh colour to late summer borders.
Words: Matthew Reese, Photographs: Jason Ingram
‘The most important place in the garden is a place to sit, and just be’ - Nigel Slater is taking time to sit and savour the moment
Quality time in the garden doesn’t have to be spent gardening, says Nigel Slater. You also need places for food and conversation or just to sit and savour the moment.
Illustration: Paul Wearing, Portrait: Jenny Zarins
The best summer flowers to plant
Make sure you've got the perfect blooms in the garden for summer. Tom Brown, head gardener and tutor at West Dean College, recommends his favourites. Photographs by Jason Ingram
Nicotiana: how to grow tobacco plants
Half-hardy plants with airy flowers in dark maroon to apple green, most nicotianas also bring heady scent to summer evenings. Gardener Matthew Reese shares his advice for how to grow nicotiana, where to plant it, and recommends his favourite varieties. Photographs Jason Ingram
Best garden plants for now
100 beautiful plants and flowers you'll love in your garden recommended by head gardeners and experts
Head gardeners from some of the most spectacular gardens around pick their top beautiful plants and flowers
‘The most important place in the garden is a place to sit, and just be’ - Nigel Slater is taking time to sit and savour the moment
Quality time in the garden doesn’t have to be spent gardening, says Nigel Slater. You also need places for food and conversation or just to sit and savour the moment.
Illustration: Paul Wearing, Portrait: Jenny Zarins
Sunflowers: the best varieties and how to grow
Sunflowers' robust nature and blooms beaming with good-natured, bucolic honesty make them worthy of a place in any garden. Writer and gardener Matthew Biggs is your guide to growing sunflowers and chooses his favourite cultivars. Photographs Jason Ingram
The best and most beautiful garden plants for butterflies that you will love too
Make your garden attractive to vital pollinators with these suggestions of plants that butterflies love
How to grow Echinops: planting and caring for globe thistles
With boldly coloured, nectar-rich flowers that are loved by pollinators, and striking foliage, statuesque Echinops or globe thistles will add a touch of true drama to any planting scheme. Words Andrew Gladman, photographs Jason Ingram
21 brilliant bulbs to plant that will give you colour in every season
Garden designer Adam Hunt recommends his favourite bulbs for colour almost all year round.
Houseplants
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
Asparagus fern: Everything you need to know about this ideal house plant
Attractive foliage and a near-indestructible nature make the asparagus fern great indoor companions. Illustration Patrick Morgan
Gardens Illustrated 's Podcasts
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.
Talking Gardens podcast with Andy Sturgeon
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Andy Sturgeon on how he is designing his own new garden in the country, and the big question - will he or won’t he do Chelsea Flower Show again?
Talking Gardens podcast with Alan Titchmarsh
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Alan Titchmarsh MBE on the gardens, places, people and plants that he would like to include in his dream garden.
Talking Gardens podcast with Ann-Marie Powell
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Ann-Marie Powell on what she would grow in her fantasy greenhouse and the inside scoop on her Chelsea Flower Show garden for the National Trust.
Talking Gardens podcast with Miria Harris
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Miria Harris on her personal experience of stroke and how it led to her designing a show garden for the Stroke Association at the Chelsea Flower Show.
Talking Gardens podcast with Tayshan Hayden-Smith
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Tayshan Hayden-Smith on why he believes we need to rethink what we consider a garden to be.
Talking Gardens podcast with Arit Anderson
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Arit Anderson on why she would love a bluebell meadow and the reason she would never allow leaf blowers in her fantasy space.
Recipes
HOME COOKED RECIPES WITH NATURAL INGREDIENTS
Asparagus soufflé tart recipe
Enjoy the season's fresh asparagus crop - allotmenteer Jojo Tulloh puts soufflé stereotypes to bed with her straightforward asparagus soufflé tart.
Cured mackerel with fenugreek potato salad recipe
The green leaves of summer are a wonderful source of inspiration for flavoursome dishes. Here is a fresh recipe for cured mackerel with a potato and fenugreek salad. Recipe from Jojo Tulloh, illustration by Sarah Young
Recipe | Hearty sausage stew from Julius Roberts
Chef and smallholder Julius Roberts shares his recipe for a hearty and warming stew with sausage and chard.
Golden beetroot soup recipe
Nutritious and full of flavour; nothing beats a bowl of golden beetroot soup on a cold winter's day. Here's the perfect recipe for how to make it. Recipe from Stephanie Hafferty
Container Gardening
pots of style for your garden
A soft summer meadow planter using poppies and sanguisorba
Head gardener Jenny Barnes creates a summer meadow in a basket, featuring grasses and poppies that will thrive into autumn
A pot planting design to try using edibles in a rustic tin bath for colour from now through the summer
Award-winning designer Jo Thompson offers new container-planting inspiration with an idea for flower combinations for late spring
Spring beauty in a pot: a stunning plant pot design you can plant up at home from designer Jo Thompson
Award-winning designer Jo Thompson's container-planting series continues with this early spring flower combination using Narcissus and Scilla. Words Jo Thompson, photographs Jason Ingram
How to grow succulents
Succulents are attractive and versatile, low maintenance plants. Plant expert Andy McIndoe advises on how to grow them, plus the best types to try. Photos by Dianna Jazwinski
Inspiring Gardens
THE BEST OF THE WORLD'S OUTDOOR SPACES
My orchid obsession: how I created a dreamy native wildflower meadow carpeted with amazing blooms
Peter Clay, co-director of Crocus.co.uk, explains his yearning for a magnificent landscape carpeted with orchids, and how he has made that dream come true. Photographs Carole Drake
A woodland garden with a modern classical home
On her journey from novice gardener to professional designer, Bella Stuart-Smith has created a multifaceted, ever-evolving garden at her home in Hertfordshire. Words Jodie Jones, photographs Claire Takacs.
A designer’s own wild family garden by the ocean in Australia, with eco credentials and colourful planting
In southeastern Australia, a family of four horticulturists has created a dreamy new garden by the ocean, with captivating combinations of native and exotic plants. Words Georgina Reid, images Claire Takacs
This season in the garden
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GARDENING NOW
Wondering what jobs to get done this summer? Let Sissinghurst's expert head gardener guide you
Sissinghurst’s head gardener Troy Scott Smith guides us through the jobs that he and his team do in summer. Images by John Campbell
The jobs you need to get done in the garden in July
July is mainly a month of maintenance, of watering, feeding and pruning, as well as a time to pause and take pleasure in your achievements. Here's what to do in the garden this month. Words Aaron Bertelsen, illustration Alice Pattullo
The best summer flowers to plant
Make sure you've got the perfect blooms in the garden for summer. Tom Brown, head gardener and tutor at West Dean College, recommends his favourites. Photographs by Jason Ingram
What to plant in July
Head gardener Benjamin Pope shares his advice for what you should be planting in July
Gardens to visit
which gardens to visit and where
The best places to pick your own flowers
Now is the season for filling your vases with freshly cut flowers to brighten the home. We recommend the best flower farms and gardens in the UK that invite you to pick your own blooms.
The best lavender farms to visit
Swathes of blue and purple as far as the eye can see – we recommend the best lavender farms to visit for a perfect summer day out
The best campsites with beautiful gardens
From Victorian walled gardens to shaded clearings among wildflowers, we recommend the best campsites in the UK with beautiful gardens to get lost in
Garden design
THE BEST OF THE WORLD'S OUTDOOR SPACES
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…
How to lay a hedge
Interested in the centuries-old skill of hedge laying? Follow our guide on how to lay a hedge and learn about the traditional ways to lay a hedge. Words Louise Allen, photography Andrew Montgomery, illustration Liam McAuley
10 ways to improve your garden
Award-winning garden designer Jinny Blom gives us her 10-point plan for improving any garden.
How do garden landscapers and designers work together?
There’s confusion around what a landscape architect, garden designer and hard landscaper really is. Here Claire Vokins from Wilson | Vokins breaks down the connection
10 garden design mistakes and how to avoid them
We asked ten award-winning garden designers to name the most common design issues they see, and how these problems can be solved
Gardening Advice
WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT
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
Don't bother deadheading and don't use rose spray: myth busting rose tips from expert Michael Marriott
Do you really need to deadhead your roses? Here, leading rosarian Michael Marriott busts six myths we all thought we knew about roses
You've heard of the Chelsea Chop – but what is the Hampton Hack?
Plant experts Matthew Biggs and John Hoyland explain how to do the 'Hampton Hack' technique and highlight the plants that benefit from it.
Gardening Kit
OUR PICK OF THE BEST GARDENING TOOLS AND ACCESSORIES
Plastic-free gardening made easy: 12 smart swaps to try
Plastic can seem impossible to avoid… but here are the areas where we can switch to beautifully crafted, long-lasting alternatives.
Heal's has just taken up to 50% off garden furniture and accessories. Here are the best deals.
You'll want these for the next summer heatwave.
Eight aesthetic yet practical kit upgrades to make your garden more beautiful
These simple swaps and additions can have a huge impact on the look of your garden, hiding eyesores and adding style to everyday tools and kit.
The best outdoor rugs: 11 fun choices for a welcoming space
Add an outdoor rug to your garden for a chic look and homely feel
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…
Modern metal garden furniture: the best for 2024
We highlight the best modern metal garden furniture to buy for your outdoor space