Summer
These beautiful summery flowers are perfect pops of colour in the garden - and they are easy to grow
Flowering from late spring into summer, these varied hardy perennials are growing in popularity. Here's our expert guide to growing them. Words by Naomi Slade.
Peonies that can last for 100 years: the remarkable plants that can come with a high price tag
At Primrose Hall Nursery Alec White specialises in breeding rare and desirable intersectional peonies – plants that can last for 100 years.
The best cosmos to grow
Cosmos are as brilliant in the garden as they are in the vase. Plant expert Graham Rice chooses his favourite cosmos varieties to grow, and gives advice on sowing and growing them. Photographs by Jason Ingram
Don't have room for seed pots and trays? Try this easy way of sowing seeds with these 21 beautiful flowers
Sowing seeds where you want them to flower is an easy, bother-free way to bring colour to your garden. Here, three experts recommend their favourite flowers for growing direct
Jewel-like spring flowers in brilliant shades for those awkward cracks and crevices in your garden
These brightly coloured, early spring-flowering alpine plants are perfect for rock and crevice gardens or tumbling down a stone wall.
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.
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
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
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.
You don't find poppies and cornflowers in a real meadow - here's why they are so rare and what a meadow actually is
A brief history of the evolution of the meadow, from the last ice age
until the present day – and why poppies and corncockle do not a meadow make…
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
A well-behaved alternative to bamboo, these grass-like evergreens are great year-round
Defying easy categorisation, restios are evergreen plants that offer eye-catching details, attractive stems and grow rapidly in spring
In praise of the chrysanthemum
Discover exactly how to grow these late-flowering hardy chrysanthemums that will look perfect in your garden. Photographs by Jason Ingram
These colourful stems will be a great addition to your winter garden
Cultivars of Cornus sanguinea, Cornus alba and Cornus sericea are grown for their colourful winter stems, but some have the benefit of attractive foliage too, giving them year-round appeal. Plant expert Andy McIndoe recommends some of the best.
The best fuchsias for your garden
Hardy fuchsias can flower from late spring right through to early autumn. Mat Reese, head gardener at Malverleys in Hampshire, recommends his favourites and gives advice on growing them
Why Japanese anemones are the perfect bloom for late-summer and autumn borders
These elegant blooms are perfect for brightening up late-summer and autumn borders, here we explain how to use this colourful flower.
Words: Matthew Reese, Photographs: Jason Ingram
Discover the beautiful National Dahlia Collection and the person who helped save it from disappearing
The National Dahlia Collection has had several homes since its inception in the 1980s, and now, under the care of a dedicated dahlia aficionado, it has been rescued and relocated once more to a new site in Cornwall. Photos Jason Ingram
Four key tips to help you grow stunning dahlias in your garden
Horticultural lecturer Louise Danks and rescuer of the National Dahlia Collection explains four key tips to growing dahlias
17 of the best orange flowers for a pop of colour in the garden
We asked a range of plant experts including head gardeners and nursery owners to recommend the best orange plants for the garden. Photography by Jason Ingram.
How to plant dahlia tubers and how to grow and care for these striking flowers for a colourful summer display
Dahlias are a must in the summer and autumn garden. Here's everything you need to know about how to grow dahlias, plant tubers and how to take cuttings.
Designers' favourite dahlias
Three garden designers and landscape architects – Arabella Lennox-Boyd, Ula Maria and Jo Thompson – choose their favourite dahlias for late-season colour.
10 facts you (possibly) didn’t know about dahlias
Celebrating dahlia season - here's 10 facts you might not have known about these gorgeous late season flowers
10 recommended plants for late-summer colour
Although summer is nearing its end, there are still plenty of colourful plants that will ensure your garden remains fresh and bright. Here are ten plants for late-summer colour, recommended by plantswoman Marina Christopher. Photographs by Jason Ingram.
High summer at Sissinghurst: the head gardener reflects on Vita Sackville-West's colourful summer planting
As the garden’s hot borders reach their seasonal peak, head gardener Troy Scott Smith shows how he and his team keep the interest going through summer and manage important tasks. Photographs John Campbell