-
3 weeks ago | 
theenglishgarden.co.uk | Hazel Sillver
Grow the right plants in your cutting patch and you need never visit a florist again. These cut-and-come-again plants will give you generous amounts of fresh flowers all summer long if you keep cutting them. Published Date:3 June 2025Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) are the most famous cut-and-come-again flowers of all. Because they’re annuals which must set seed during their one-year existence, if you cut a flower the plant will produce another.
-
3 weeks ago | 
houseandgarden.co.uk | Hazel Sillver
Rosa ‘Rosy Cushion’ (left) – a shrub rose with scented, soft pink flowers – and the deeper coloured Rosa ‘Rita’ are highlights of the sundial garden at Kiftsgate in the Cotswolds. Sabina RuberThe queen of flowers, the rose is romantic and beautiful and floods the air with hearty scent, so no wonder that entire gardens are dedicated to it.
-
1 month ago | 
houseandgarden.co.uk | Hazel Sillver
The ‘wild garden’ at KneppANDREW MONTGOMERYThe presence of rubble in new build gardens used to be seen as a negative, but there is now an emerging trend to make it the star of the show. So-called 'hardcore gardening' involves employing builder's waste as substrate: including sand, bricks, cement, plaster, ceramics, and more. Gardening fashions can be irritating, but this one has no end of advantages and, with climate change underway, its ethos seems to be the most obvious way forward.
-
1 month ago | 
houseandgarden.co.uk | Hazel Sillver
In this atmospheric garden perched on a Provençal hilltop, lime green Euphorbia characias spill over the curved path, making a lovely foil to plantings of Iris pallida and clipped mounds of Phillyrea angustifolia.
-
2 months ago | 
theenglishgarden.co.uk | Hazel Sillver
Any part could be used: most commonly it’s the leaves, but sometimes the flowers, seeds, or roots are used. Many of these plants also look fabulous in the border, having bold colour, beautiful blooms, architectural shape, or interesting foliage; some provide food for wildlife; and others scent the summer air. On warm days, the sun coaxes the fragrance out of the aromatic leaves of many Mediterranean herbs.
-
2 months ago | 
theenglishgarden.co.uk | Hazel Sillver
Roses with single and semi-double flower shapes have accessible pollen, and therefore attract pollinators, such as bumblebees; this simple flower shape is closest to the look of a wild rose and so suits the naturalistic look of the contemporary garden.
-
2 months ago | 
houseandgarden.co.uk | Hazel Sillver
The joy of spring is the scented, fleecy blossom that clings to the branches of the hedgerows and the trees, before the wind finally lifts it and swirls it through the air like confetti. In the countryside, the show begins early, in February, with cherry plum and ends in May, with hawthorn. Likewise, in the small garden, a variety of compact ornamental trees will provide a continuum of pastel and white blossom for months, including early and late flowering cherries.
-
2 months ago | 
houseandgarden.co.uk | Hazel Sillver
Bellflowers (campanulas) are one of the plants we most associate with old cottage gardens. The blue, pink, or white bells were traditionally grown with roses, hollyhocks, pinks, and foxgloves in summer borders. This chocolate-box image led bellflowers to fall out of fashion, but being such great border plants, they are deservedly enjoying a resurge in popularity. Jump to:Which campanulas to growHow to grow campanulasCampanulas have a long history in British gardens.
-
2 months ago | 
houseandgarden.co.uk | Hazel Sillver
Bluebells on Dartmoor National Park Devon and Cornwall Photography InformationBluebells Common name: bluebell, wild hyacinth, granfer griggles, fairy flower, squill, crow leek, wood bells Botanical name: Hyacinthoides non-scripta Family: Asparagus (Asparagaceae) Type: Perennial bulb Flowering time: April to June Planting time: Spring or autumn Height: 20 to 40cm (8 to 16in) Aspect: Dappled shade Hardiness: H6 Difficulty: easy Carpeted in a shimmering sea of violet-blue, our ancient bluebell...
-
Mar 27, 2025 | 
houseandgarden.co.uk | Hazel Sillver
Grey and pink tones link together the Begonia rex in this city jungle gardenSarah CuttleInformationBegoniasCommon name:begoniaBotanical name:BegoniaFamily:begonia (Begoniaceae)Type:houseplants, bedding, and tender exoticsHeight:15cm to 2.5m (6in to 8ft)Spread:15cm to 1.2m (6in to 4ft)Aspect:bright indirect light or part shadeHumidity:average to highRoom temperature:12 to 25°C (53 to 77°F)Hardiness:H1B to H3Difficulty:easyThe word begonia transports many of us back to the 1970s and 80s.
