The English Garden

Enjoy over 60 beautiful gardens a year with The English Garden. Every issue features country, city, cottage and coastal gardens, with advice on how to recreate them. Be inspired by articles written by the country's top garden designers and discover the best plant varieties for your garden, chosen by expert nurserymen and plantspeople.

CONTRIBUTORS

Welcome

THE ENGLISH GARDEN

People to Meet • Introducing the gardeners and public figures we most admire in British horticulture

Philip’s favourite gardens

Out & About • Unmissable events, news and the very best gardens to visit this month

Things to Do • Keep up to date in the garden with our monthly guide to key gardening tasks

Checklist

Nature to Note • The wonder of wildlife in the garden and countryside this month

SHOPPING

Personal GROWITH • The Barn in Hertfordshire, the private garden of acclaimed designer

Building on SUCCESS • The classic Janey Auchincloss design at Suffolk’s Holm House has been developed by the property’s new owners and is now maturing beautifully alongside a more recently acquired six-acre wildflower meadow with a tranquil lake at its heart

BEAUTIFUL BLOOMS at Holm House • Sumptuous floral delights from both the cutting patch and wilder areas of the garden

MAKING MUSIC • At Silver Street Farm in Devon, designer Alasdair’s Cameron’s garden is a performance piece, where star performers unite to make a symphony

The Show Must GO ON • Nine star plants from Alasdair Cameron’s colourful palette of late-season performers

UNITED FRONT • When it was rescued from neglect by Eleanor Jones and Chris Legg in 2011, magnificent 17th-century Urchfont Manor in Wiltshire needed a garden to match its imposing facade. The ensuing efforts of landscape designers Del Buono Gazerwitz have resulted in a modern classic

Testing the WATER • At this unusually shaped island garden on the River Avon, designer Arne Maynard embraced the challenge posed by the aqueous landscape, using evergreen structure and a simplified cottage-style planting palette to make water the star of the show

2021 IN REVIEW • On the cusp of a new year, we take a moment to look back and reflect on the wider themes that have shaped the world of gardens and gardening over the course of 2021

Mountain Marvels • Tiny but tough jewel-like alpines come in diverse forms to light up any garden. Cliff Booker, a veteran of the Alpine Garden Society, selects ten of the best

Seasonal Pick-me-up • Sarcococca enliven the garden and provide an invaluable source of food for wildlife at a time of dormancy

HOW TO GROW

Sarcococca: Cultivars and species for glossy foliage and winter scent

Winter Greens • Arums flourish in winter, when few other plants are lush and active. Naomi Slade talks to Joe Sharman who grows these tough perennials at Monksilver Nursery in Cambridgeshire

Success with arums • Joe Sharman’s advice for growing these leafy lovelies to their best advantage

Back to Basics • When gardens are pared back in winter, the form of the plants that remain is all the more important. Garden designer and plant specialist Carol Smith explains how to create winter interest through plant shapes

Structure through SHAPE • Upright columns, plump mounds, or arching fans: take your pick from these shapely plants

Garden Geometry • Guy Watts of Architectural Plants recommends his favourite specimens for introducing winter shapes

Get Away from It All • After a long period of travel restrictions, we’re all itching to get away. Here we round up some of the best trips for garden lovers – abroad and closer to home

Raise money while you holiday • Perennial’s special events for...