Expert Gardening Tips

Grow your own courgettes: What to plant, when to plant it... and why size really does matter

Mark Diacono shares his tips on the surprisingly simple yet hugely rewarding art of growing courgettes.

Alan Titchmarsh: The plants which will make you ignore the crazy rules of tastefulness and embrace a riot of colour

Alan Titchmarsh admonishes us all to embrace colour in the garden — and nothing brings it as easily as pelargoniums.

The tale of Britain's 52 native orchids, and the 'maverick miscellany of amateur and professional naturalists, painters and writers' who champion them

Mark Griffiths celebrates the 52 species of native British orchids whose extraordinary history and unconventional beauty have beguiled and intrigued both scientists and amateurs.

Mark Griffiths: The joy and consolation of 'Slow Gardening' in this savage yet beautiful spring

The gardener and writer Mark Griffiths has had to unlearn the habit of a lifetime, put his diligence to one side, and embrace a slower approach to tending his garden.

Everything you need to know about Foxgloves: Beautiful, useful, poisonous — and a dream for bumblebees and plant-breeders alike

Charles Quest-Ritson celebrates one of the most striking flowers of this time of year, and offers his tips on how to make the most of them.

The secrets of the wisteria pergolas in the Private Gardens at Petworth House

The wisteria at Petworth's private garden is simply astonishing. Non Morris takes a look at how it's done.

How to re-wild your garden, from ponds and trees to attracting butterflies and hedgehogs

Joel Aston — one half of the 'butterfly brothers', along with his sibling Jim — explains how rewilding gardens to attract myriad species, from nectar-feeding insects to newts, birds and hedgehogs.

Mary Keen: The secrets of windowsill gardening

The internationally-renowned garden designer and writer Mary Keen turns her thoughts indoors to the best plants to grow on windowsills and elsewhere around the house.

How to grow peas: What to plant, when to plant it, and how quickly you'll be dishing it up

Mark Diacono shares his expertise with peas, from how to keep pests at bay to the fast-growing varieties he once used to outsmart Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

The common garden plants that are deadly to dogs and cats – and what to do if they eat one

Many beautiful and common plants in the average English garden can prove fatal to household pets. Peter Green, a veterinary surgeon, gives his advice on some of the most common things to look out for.

Everything you need to know about growing camassias

Camassias are tall, elegant and simple to grow. It’s easy to see why people fall in love with these American beauties, says Val Bourne.

Alan Titchmarsh: 'I suppose I should be going stir-crazy in self-isolation. The reality has been rather different'

Gardener, writer and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh has been going to the Chelsea Flower Show for half a century, and should have been there again this month. Instead, he's in lockdown — and it's reminded him why he took to a career in gardening in the first place.

Peat takes millennia to generate, and bogs store 10 times more carbon than forests — using it in gardening is madness

Mark Griffiths explains exactly why the continued practice of cutting peat from bogs for use in horticulture must be stopped.

The truth about bees: 'I'm a hopeless fan... but plants are cleverer than insects. They have to be.'

Charles Quest-Ritson looks at the fascinating interplay of plants and their pollinators, explaining how what really goes on in your garden is far more fascinating than the stories you might have been led to believe.

Sandhill Farm House, Petersfield: An educational masterpiece from the founder of the English Gardening School

As one might expect, Rosemary Alexander’s garden is packed with the lessons learned from a lifetime in horticulture, says Tilly Ware. Photographs by Mimi Connolly.

Alan Titchmarsh: The bright, cheery flower which fired my childhood dreams of becoming a gardener

Gardener, writer and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh tells of his love for the irresistible yet unfairly overlooked aubretia.

How to 'garden' in a home that doesn't have a garden, from window box tips and indoor plants to helping out the bees

Country Life's gardens editor Tiffany Daneff shares her tips for window boxes, indoor plants and hanging baskets — and shares a couple of tips on helping bees.

Grow your own kale: The seeds to order, when to plant them, and when you can look forward to dishing them up

Kale grows easily, produces a huge amount of food — and looks good while it's growing. Mark Diacono shares his tips on how to grow it in your garden this year.

Dan Pearson: The years-long task of colonising our woodland with natural blooms, and persuading the woods to cross the water to our home

Plantsman and designer Dan Pearson explains how he is encouraging the woodland to grow across the stream at his Somerset home, with photographs by Huw Morgan.

The 'secret flowers' that live for half a millennium, and bloom like nothing else on earth

Mark Griffiths is staggered by the ancient azaleas of Noto which date back to the era of the Shoguns.