CATEGORIES

LETTING THE WILD IN

Like many gardeners, Alice Vincent used to want to feel in control of her garden space, but now she is learning to let go a little and welcome in the wildness

New awakenings

Dutch designer Frank van der Linden’s garden is a study in seamlessly integrated functionality and naturalism – an approach developed more by accident than design

PHIL STERLING

The ecologist who hatched a simple but effective plan to bring more moths and butterflies into our lives, on creating the right conditions for wildflowers to thrive

Just add water

This suburban garden has been utterly transformed to place ponds, plants and wildlife at its heart

Cool and unusual

Specialising in rare perennial species and 'fancy' forms of weeds, Growild Nursery in southwest Scotland prides itself on propagating all of its stock on site, organically and from scratch

Running wild

A self-taught gardener with an eye for self-seeders, Louisa Morgan has created a glorious garden in the Usk Valley

ECHINOPS

With boldly coloured, nectar-rich flowers that are loved by pollinators, and striking foliage, these statuesque plants will add a touch of true drama to any planting scheme

WILD IDEAS

How wild is wild in the context of the average garden? And should we all be gardening differently to encourage more wildlife? Ken Thompson looks into the role gardens play as habitats for creatures great and small

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

In a California suburb where neat squares of lawn are the norm, landscape studio Terremoto has created something different

Rewilding minds

The Walled Garden at Knepp Castle in West Sussex, reimagined to a plan by Tom Stuart-Smith, is transforming how we think about gardening

The bad and the beautiful

Gardeners have a fraught relationship with wild plants and weeds, but there is a growing movement to appreciate the charms and biodiversity benefits of these native plants and early colonisers. To offer a fresh perspective, we’ve elevated typical uninvited garden guests to be the stars of exquisite cut-flower displays, inspired by art and bound to change your mind

Nature's way

With an almost imperceptible hand, designer Dan Pearson has conjured a dramatic landscape garden from 20 acres of Connecticut wilderness

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

If you've despaired of why botanists keep changing the names of your favourite plants, columnist Ken Thompson explains the logic behind the taxonomic tinkering

TOTAL IMMERSION

Sara Jane Rothwell has softened the hard landscaping of this sloping plot with rich planting that contrasts with the repeated use of Corten-steel features

Exotic mix

In his own small Surrey garden, designer Robert Stacewicz has assembled an eclectic mix of exotic plants that are well suited for a changing climate

Sum of the manse

For this walled garden on the edge of the Cairngorms, designer Jonathan Snow has created a sloping parterre filled with flowers and food

Picture this

Drawing on the wildflowers she loved as a child, Margarida Maia has created a garden in central Portugal that is now an Instagram sensation

HELENA PETTIT

The high-octane karate kid who is shaking up RHS Shows on her life as bouncer, staying calm in a crisis and engaging children and new entrants to gardening

Where the wild things are

In rural West Sussex, Chris Moss has created a sustainable, rustic-chic garden that hums with wildlife and shimmers subtly with modern cottage-style planting

CROCOSMIA

With their striking sword-like foliage and dazzling flowers, crocosmias bring a bright burst of high-summer colour to the garden

Balancing act

For this modern Dutch house, Piet Oudolf has combined richly planted roof gardens with the calm of a micro forest

Twice as nice

Designer Sue Townsend has blended two cottage gardens into one with meadow-style planting that drifts dreamily through the different spaces

Change of tune

In this small Dutch garden, designer Jelle Koot has used a simple rhythm of repeated plants to create a calming, cohesive scheme

Gathering attention

As garden designers start to reappraise lilacs, we take a look at the fascinating French history of the once ubiquitous English garden shrub and re-examine some forgotten cultivars

Nature first

Around the Neoclassical home of Jade and Julian Dunkerton, Urquhart & Hunt has designed a garden that works in harmony with a variety of wildlife

Mixed blessings

In a quiet corner of Essex, designer Stefano Marinaz has replaced a lawn and parking space with a naturalistic garden of mixed planting that offers interest all year

Wild dreams

The mix of varied growing conditions in this ebulliently planted garden in East Sussex helped to forge an ecological vision and approach to gardening that benefits wildlife

PAOLO PEJRONE

The legendary Italian designer, who thinks of himself primarily as a gardener, on the importance of keeping gardens bold and simple, and working with nature in adapting to climate change

Pale and interesting

A sense of tranquillity is the guiding principle in this beautifully realised white garden, with an elegant, pared-back planting palette

GEUM

Offering flowers from late spring into summer, this varied genus of hardy perennials is deservedly growing in popularity