Latest From Gardens Illustrated
This secret garden of London’s Brutalist icon is open to all 24 hours, and the perfect example of a successful public planting scheme
As a new phase of planting begins, Professor Nigel Dunnett looks at how the iconic public gardens he created at The Barbican Estate in London have evolved over the past decade
Isn’t it ironic: the scented sweet-pea breeder who lost his sense of smell (and has to employ a ‘sniffer’)
The sweet pea and dahlia breeder on his early love of breeding, the excitement of seeing dahlias in the wild and finding the missing slice of the sweet pea colour spectrum
It’s porn for plant lovers – and Nigel Slater is open to temptation from the plant catalogues
Fuelled by the temptations of plant catalogues, Nigel Slater fills winter days imagining his dream garden
Best Mother's Day garden gifts to make her feel special
Still looking for the perfect Mother's Day garden gift? We've compiled a list of excellent gardening presents for Mother's Day 2025.
It's not your compost, it's you - I tested peat-free compost and it does work. Here's how to succeed with peat free compost
Our guide to finding the right peat-free compost, using the best online resources and learning from inspiring peat-free show gardens.
The antidote to ultra-processed food: why you should be growing your own this year
More people than ever want to grow their own, for a variety of reasons, says
Dr Richard Claxton, and this one thing can improve our health and help the planet
The island bed is back in our gardens, with a chic designer update – here’s how to do it right for beautiful planting this summer
Designer Charlotte Harris reflects on the shift towards organically shaped ‘island’ planting beds, and reveals inside tips on how to get the right effect.
Gardens Illustrated 's Editor's choice
Gardening events and shows in 2025
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
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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First 6 issues for only £12
when you join as a member to Gardens Illustrated today
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A Gardens Illustrated Special Edition- A Year of Plants- Order today just £12.99*
Gardens Illustrated events
Enjoy 26% off Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival tickets when you come a Gardens Illustrated member
Watch new film with Dan Pearson in his own garden
Save 20% when you book a series ticket for the Gardens Illustrated Masterclass series
GI Masterclass: Maximising small spaces with designer Stefano Marinaz
Latest garden features and design ideas
6 secret tricks of garden designers to make your garden look and feel better
Good gardens usually reference a few tried and tested design tricks – here's how to incorporate some of them into your own space.
On the front line of climate change: meet flower farmer Roisin Taylor
Flower farmer Roisin is owner of Verde Flower Co, based in Newcastle-Upon- Tyne, and is currently establishing the British Cut Flower Association.
Everything you need to know about Fritillaria
Fritillaries come in many forms, from the dainty and intriguing to the dramatic and bold.
50 invaluable plants for the garden as chosen by a royal garden designer
Landscape designer Jinny Blom picks the 50 plants she loves the most, from first loves, to flowers great for a pot
These plants will make your garden look good all year: 30 plants and flowers for year-round colour and interest
These hard-working plants provide several seasons of interest in your garden through flowers, fruit, foliage, bark and even spring shoots
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.
Soil sieves and riddles: the best sieve for your garden
Transform your compost into a fine, seed-friendly medium that will help your young plants thrive. Separate stones, sticks and clumps of organic matter with the help of one of a garden sieve.
How to coppice hazel
Our guide on how to coppice and cut back hazel for lovely hazel stems and to keep your hazel plants healthy
It's time to plant summer flowering bulbs - here's our guide on exactly when to plant them and which to grow
Spring is the ideal time to plant summer-flowering bulbs. We asked four experts to recommend their favourites
Looking for Scandi-style comfort in your garden? How about a sauna - these are the best we've found
Saunas are the latest must-have addition to our outside spaces. Sit back and relax with our pick of the best saunas for your garden.
Best garden plants for now
Bring blooms, colour and scent to your garden right now with the expert’s pick of exquisite early flowering shrubs
Flowering shrubs bring much needed colour and scent to the garden in late winter and early spring. Expert Tony Kirkham selects the best.
The best flowers to plant for a beautiful spring garden to lift your spirits
Looking for inspiration for the best spring flowers? Here's our choice of the most beautiful spring flowers to have in a spring-fuelled garden
Dragon’s Den winning garden company creates top new plant offer after hit appearance on the show
Do this now to seed potatoes to help get a healthy spud harvest
Writer and expert grower Alys Fowler explains everything you need to know about chitting potatoes and how to get the most from your potato harvest
54 brilliant purple flowers for the garden
Discover 55 of the most beautiful purple flowering plants for the garden, chosen by expert horticulturalists and growers
Easy to grow and care for – why you need to grow heuchera for year-round colour
With their striking foliage in a range of bold colours, heucheras, and the associated heucherellas and tiarellas, are low-maintenance plants that offer year-round colour.
Houseplants
How to propagate houseplants - an easy and cheap guide to growing your houseplant collection
Expert house growers Maddie and Alice Bailey explain how to propagate your houseplants using stem cuttings
How to repot your plants - watch our guide to repotting houseplants to make sure your indoor plants are happy
Our simple and easy-to-follow guide on how and when to repot your houseplants from experts Alice and Maddie Bailey from Forest London
The 10 most 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.
Gardens Illustrated 's Podcasts
Talking Gardens season 4: John Little
Talking Gardens season 4: Shane Connolly
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.
Recipes
HOME COOKED RECIPES WITH NATURAL INGREDIENTS
How to make delicious cherry blossom jam
Beth Al Rikabi shares her recipe for cherry blossom jam, which has a delicate, almondy flavour
You may not believe this surprising botanical that goes into your alcohol-free drinks...
Crispy kale with sea salt and lemon
These tasty vegetable kale crisps, flavoured with sea salt and lemon, are the perfect, pre-dinner snack.
Baked apples with maple syrup and cinnamon recipe
This delicious baked apple with maple syrup, cinnamon and raisins is the perfect warmer for autumn evenings
Container Gardening
pots of style for your garden
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
A succulent pot houseplant display for winter
Find out how to create this stylish houseplant display using unusual succulents.
Created by head gardener Benjamin William Pope. Photographs Andrew Montgomery
Arthur Parkinson's favourite cut flowers to grow in pots
Arthur Parkinson reveals his 9 top blooms to grow for cut flowers, all of which do well in his creative container gardens. Photographs: Jason Ingram
A junk-shop container lifts this elegant pot planting display with fritillaries and viola for early spring
Award-winning designer Jo Thompson kicks off a new container-planting series with three enchanting early spring flower combinations. Words Jo Thompson, photographs Jason Ingram
Inspiring Gardens
THE BEST OF THE WORLD'S OUTDOOR SPACES
Fresh shoots: the new generation of plant nurseries injecting fresh hope into British gardens
Several specialist nurseries have recently closed, but there is hope that a host of enthusiastic newcomers can bring renewed life and vision to the industry.
You have to see this amazing new garden around a romantic castle on the shores of Loch Ness
Designer Tom Stuart-Smith has created two exciting new gardens around a romantic castle on the shores of Loch Ness.
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
This season in the garden
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GARDENING NOW
What to plant in March for beautiful blooms and tasty veg over the summer and beyond
Head gardener Benjamin Pope and grower and writer Aaron Bertelsen offer their suggestions for the best things to plant in pots and beyond this month
It's not your compost, it's you - I tested peat-free compost and it does work. Here's how to succeed with peat free compost
Our guide to finding the right peat-free compost, using the best online resources and learning from inspiring peat-free show gardens.
As spring arrives you need to get these tasks done in the garden - the ten key gardening jobs for March
It's spring fever in the garden, as kitchen gardener Aaron Bertelsen and head gardener Benjamin Pope share their gardening jobs for March
Do this to your climbing rose now, to make sure it behaves this summer: expert tips from a head gardener
Daunted by pruning a climbing rose? Follow our expert guide on training climbing roses from head gardener Jenny Barnes
Gardens to visit
which gardens to visit and where
Beautiful gardens with daffodils and spring displays - gardens to visit that will look great this month
Gardener and plantsman Keith Wiley shares his favourite gardens to visit in March.
The best hotels with gardens in the UK: stay at these places for a luxury garden experience
From majestic estates to romantic country cottages, Sorrel Everton chooses her favourite hotels with gardens, including B&Bs and self-catering getaways
16 gardens from Monty Don's British Gardens that you can visit too
Enjoyed Monty Don's recent TV series on great British gardens? Many of the ones he visited are also open to the public. Here we round up some of the best that you can visit too
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…
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
How to design a garden on a slope: inspiration for your sloping garden
Creating a garden on a sloping site brings a host of challenges, but, says designer Charlotte Harris, with careful planning it is also an opportunity to make a really interesting space.
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
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
Gardening Advice
WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT
How to build a natural swimming pond in your garden
Discover tips on how to build a natural swimming pool or pond in your garden, from expert designer Will Tomson
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.
Gardening Kit
OUR PICK OF THE BEST GARDENING TOOLS AND ACCESSORIES
Reviewed: best flower subscription and delivery services for 2025
Don't just surprise them with ONE bunch of flowers. Why not show how much you love them all year long?
The best folding saws for coppicing and pruning jobs this season
Save space when cutting branches and shrubs with our picks of the best folding saws.
Brilliant bird tables for all types of garden birds
Welcome more birds into your garden this winter with a stylish and sturdy bird table.
Turn your garden into a wildflower haven with these great seed bombs to buy for your garden
Get beautiful blooms for minimum effort with a pack of wildflower seed bombs
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 wellington boots for walking and gardening
Keep your feet warm, snug and dry this autumn with our pick of the best wellies for gardening