Latest From Gardens Illustrated
Eight inspiring water features from Chelsea Flower Show to use in your own garden
We take a closer look at eight beautiful water features spotted at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Nine standout plants from this year's Chelsea Flower Show
There was a particularly varied plant palette at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Here’s a selection of nine that stood out
From a young female Best Show Garden winner to victorious first timers, there were medal wins and shocks at this year's Chelsea
We look at the winners and losers at this year's RHS Chelsea - which saw victory for many first timers
Community Chelsea Garden founded under the Westway in borough of Kensington and Chelsea to help tackle the 'Green Gap'
The inaugural RHS Community Chelsea Garden has been announced, with plans for a new garden for residents in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Celebrities and best dressed at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024
Press day was awash with celebrities and stars of horticulture, all spending time in the beautiful gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show
12 furniture ideas from Chelsea Flower Show to inspire your own garden seating
Each year Chelsea Flower Show gardens showcase beautifully crafted furniture. Here is inspiration from recent years
Gardens Illustrated 's Editor's choice
Best Show Garden | Discover Ula Maria's Muscular Dystrophy Garden UK
Designer Ula Maria has created Sponsor Project Giving Back Garden for Muscular Dystrophy UK for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024.
Chelsea 2024 | Tickets, information, dates and what's on
Everything you need to know about RHS Chelsea Flower Show tickets and more for 2024
Subscribe to Gardens Illustrated and claim your copy of A Year Full of Flowers by Sarah Raven!
A very special Gardens Illustrated subscription offer! Join us today and get 13 issues for £35*
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
Gardens Illustrated Reader Day: Sissinghurst at sunset with Troy Scott Smith
Join our exclusive reader evening at the ultimate romantic garden. Enjoy a guided tour with head gardener Troy and wander the grounds at your leisure after visitors have left.
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
Somerset and Bath Contemporary Gardens reader tour
Join us on a four-day tour to some of the best new gardens in the South West, in the company of your host, Sissinghurst head gardener Troy Scott Smith
International garden festivals to visit
Horticulture events from around the world including flower shows and festivals.
Latest garden features and design ideas
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Top garden design tips from Chelsea’s Best Show Garden winner
Ula Maria, who won Gold and Best in Show at RHS Chelsea 2024, gives expert advice on how to design your own garden
Where do Chelsea Flower Show gardens go after the show? Discover the ups and downs of relocating them after the event
Once the show is over, the gardens must live on. Annie Gatti talks to designers about the challenges of moving their showpieces to permanent homes
Shooting Chelsea | 'I work at high speed, fuelled by pure adrenalin'
Rachel Warne, garden photographer, gives Jodie Jones a snapshot of her action-packed press day at the Chelsea Flower Show
26 new plants launched at Chelsea Flower Show this year
Discover some of the brand new plants being launched at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year
Celebrities and best dressed at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024
Press day was awash with celebrities and stars of horticulture, all spending time in the beautiful gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Royalty at Chelsea Flower Show through the years
Royalty has been a significant presence at the Chelsea Flower Show from its first year to today. Here are Royals through the years at Chelsea
The eleven best show gardens
Ahead of Chelsea Flower Show, writer Annie Gatti picks the eleven best RHS Chelsea Flower Show Garden since 2000
Best garden plants for now
Everything you need to know about No Mow May and why you shouldn't mow the lawn in May
No Mow May encourages gardeners to leave their mowers in the shed and transform their lawns into havens of biodiversity. Illustration Lesley Buckingham
Six remarkable women botanical artists from history you won’t have heard of - but you really should have
A new exhibition at Tate Britain celebrates the overlooked and unknown women artists in Britain including a selection of remarkable women botanical illustrators and floral artists
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.
Wisteria | The best varieties to grow and how to care for
When this vigorous climber is in full bloom, it is a glorious sight to behold. Nurseryman Chris Lane is your guide to how to grow, train and prune wisteria, and recommends his favourite varieties. Photographs Annaïck Guitteny
How to be a more sustainable gardener? Less watering and a healthy compost heap
Millie Souter is currently a garden designer at Tom Stuart-Smith Studio and also head gardener of the Plant Library at the Serge Hill Project in Hertfordshire. Portrait Andrew Montgomery
What is box caterpillar, and how to deal with it
The box caterpillar, or box tree caterpillar, can devastate box plants in a matter of days. Here's how to deal with it.
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 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.
Talking Gardens podcast with Tasmin Westhorpe
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Tamsin Westhorpe on her dream garden and why she thinks gardening is vital for mental health.
Talking Gardens podcast with Isabel Bannerman
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Isabel Bannerman on her dream garden and where she would go in a time machine.
Talking Gardens podcast with Arthur Parkinson
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Arthur Parkinson on his dream of a walled garden with orangery, and all manner of plants and birds.
Talking Gardens podcast with Piet Oudolf
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Piet Oudolf on the projects that have shaped his career and why he has never had time to dream.
Talking Gardens podcast with Nigel Slater
Listen to this episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, featuring Nigel Slater on his fantasy garden and why fairies and soft serve ice-cream would have to be part of it
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 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
A colourful container display using chillies
Jenny Barnes walks us through this container display that prolongs the life of fresh chillies and brings colour and shape indoors
Inspiring Gardens
THE BEST OF THE WORLD'S OUTDOOR SPACES
Behind the scenes at Sissinghurst: springtime in the most-loved garden in the world
Sissinghurst’s head gardener Troy Scott Smith guides us through the jobs that he and his team do in spring. Images by John Campbell
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
What to plant in an edible garden
We talk to vegetable and edible gardening expert Anna Greenland about gardening for flavour. Words Alys Hurn, photographs Jason Ingram
This season in the garden
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GARDENING NOW
May flowers to plant
As the days and soil gets warmer, expert plantsman Keith Wiley’s choice include colour, from a bright-orange lily to a crimson rose, offset by the delicacy of a soft-pink viburnum. Words Keith Wiley, photographs Jason Ingram
These are the gardens that will look most beautiful in May
Plantsman Keith Wiley recommends the best gardens to visit in May to see their plants in full bloom
May gardening jobs: what to do in the garden in May
Vegetable gardener and chef Aaron Bertelsen writes on how a kitchen garden grows. Illustration by Alice Pattullo
What vegetables and other plants to sow and plant in May
Head gardener Benjamin Pope explains what you should be planting in May. Illustration by Claire Harrup
Gardens to visit
which gardens to visit and where
Forde Abbey: the tulip display that gets better each year
The tulip display at Forde Abbey in Somerset gets bigger and better every year, with later-flowering cultivars intermingling effortlessly with annuals, biennials and perennials to enrich the planting in this progressive historic garden. Words Hannah Gardner, photographs Jason Ingram
Love Bridgerton? Visit these Regency gardens and filming locations to feel like you're on the set.
With season three hitting our screens, we’ve rounded up the most beautiful Regency gardens and landscapes you can visit to get the Bridgerton experience - and even spot a few filming locations.
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
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
Garden ideas on a budget
Charlotte Molesworth, best known for the topiary in her garden at Balmoral Cottage, offers her best ideas for garden ideas on a budget. Words Francine Raymond, photographs Rachel Warne
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
Why do we hate ivy? The truth about whether it damages walls and why we need to change our view of this helpful plant
Is Ivy the most divisive plant in Britain? We asked gardeners and our audience what they thought of this oft-maligned native plant.
What is box caterpillar, and how to deal with it
The box caterpillar, or box tree caterpillar, can devastate box plants in a matter of days. Here's how to deal with it.
How to prune wisteria
Wisteria needs to be pruned twice a year to keep it in good shape and to ensure abundant flowers. Here's how to do it. Photographs by Gavin Kingcome.
Gardening Kit
OUR PICK OF THE BEST GARDENING TOOLS AND ACCESSORIES
The trusty Chelsea boot has become a gardener’s essential. Here are the ones we love.
The iconic Chelsea boot is a firm favourite among professional gardeners - and for good reason. We've listed 10 of the most practical and stylish options available now.
Monty Don's blue workwear jacket is a classic. Here are the best look-alikes we've found.
Everyone's going mad for Monty Don's stylish navy chore jacket. Get his look with these timeless alternatives, available across a range of price points.
10 raised bed ideas for 2024: the best planters to elevate your garden
Looking for raised bed ideas for your garden? There's a host of designs out there, from options on legs to those that sit directly on the ground. Here's our comprehensive guide to what's on the market.
100 best gifts for gardeners in 2023
Here's our selection of fantastic gardening gifts in 2024, tailor-made to suit the gardener in your life.
9 of the best garden pods and offices
Planning a big project for 2024? Make the most of your space outside with the all-new wave of stylish garden pods and practical pop-up offices.
The best garden wheelbarrows
There's a big variety of wheelbarrow designs out there, so take a look at our guide to find the best options for you. We've listed plastic, metal and fabric versions too.