Gardens
Find inspiration from gardens of all sizes both in the UK and internationally
Sad that your alliums aren't going to last the summer? Get these great varieties to keep those purple globes flowering for longer
Loved for their showy spheres, alliums have long been stalwarts of late spring, but now new introductions are extending the party through summer. Our summer-flowering allium grow guide explains the best varieties to grow, how to care for them and where to plant.
These 60 great flowers will bring brilliant colour in early summer to your garden plus they are the expert's favourites
As temperatures continue to rise, momentum gathers in the garden and sun-lovers show their hand. From nodding woodlanders to audacious perennials, here are 60 early summer flowers chosen by experts
Permaculture kind of got hijacked by hippies: meet YouTuber, writer and horticulturist Huw Richards
YouTuber, writer and horticulturist Huw Richards explains why his new book will make permaculture accessible, and how it might help you garden better
Save over 45% when you join as a member to Gardens Illustrated today
Save over 45% on the shop price when you join as a member to Gardens Illustrated today
War of the roses: which new book about the history, lore and love of roses is better?
Two new books examine the place of the rose in art and literature, and in our own personal psyches – and both leave the reader with plenty to enjoy, says Matt Collins
What's new?
20 beautiful blooms for June: plan your garden this month with the help of these plant picks from two professional gardeners
As late spring turns to early summer, Keith Wiley and Andrea Brunsendorf pick the flowers that will look best in June
Meet gardener Carmen Sheridan – ‘Visiting other gardens, events and plant fairs is like mulch for your brain’
Cultural gardener Carmen cares for the Children’s and Community Garden at Wakehurst, Kew, running therapeutic and educational horticulture groups
This stylish modern country garden around a listed farmhouse in Dorset is the rural idyll of your dreams
Collaboration between client and designer has resulted in this beautifully curated garden, which exudes a bucolic calm and sits in harmony with the ancient Dorset countryside
Double whammy shock at Chelsea Flower Show as Japanese garden is first to ever win People's Choice and Best in Show
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show People's Choice Award has been announced, with the public sharing their views on their favourite garden
Gardening events and shows in 2025
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
Rural
The quintessential English flower garden in May, with dripping wisteria, irises and a stunning view
The owners of this charming country garden in Somerset added their own twist to its lush, terraced slopes with romantic, deer-proof planting for early summer.
“It’s evolved into a giant birdhide”- This modernist house is surrounded by a magical wildlife garden
Frothy perennials, lacy ferns and drifts of native wildflowers create gentle waves in this wildlife-friendly garden where water is key
This classic Georgian house in the Sussex countryside is wrapped in an utterly dreamy romantic garden
At Fittleworth House, the romantic gardens are designed to be in keeping with the Georgian house but managed with a light touch
Meet the gardeners
Discover the designer of the RHS Chelsea Garden of the Year who grew up in the shadow of the A-bomb and pledged his life to creating gardens
Kazuyuki Ishihara on Chelsea Flower Show nerves, and how coming from a city synonymous with war shaped his love of peaceful nature.
The 10-time Chelsea Flower Show designer who is doing his last ever show garden this year
The garden designer on the joys of growing, the role of mentoring and collaborating with others, and why this year will be his last at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Meet The Gardeners: designer Jo Thompson
The award-winning garden designer on a childhood divided between Rome and Dorset, loving the New Romantics and creating gardens in which people long to spend time.
Gardens to visit
Visiting a beautiful garden can be a wholly enriching experience. The benefits of visiting a garden – from mental health right through to exercise – are huge, and garden days out are perfect ways to have fun on your own, or as an entire family.
Regardless of how, and whoever you visit with, we have a host of suggestions of which gardens to visit, from gardens for the season, through to the gardens that are in full bloom and at their best each month. We have collated lists of the best gardens to visit with the help of our experts and many years of visiting gardens all around the UK, and beyond. We have gardens organised by theme, days out and local area, so you should find something for wherever you are and whatever garden experience you are looking for.
Enjoy our comprehensive guide to the best gardens to visit in the UK.
Be inspired by these beautiful gardens to visit that will look their best in June
Gardener Tom Brown recommends the best gardens to visit in June to see their plants in full flower
The Newt: a garden for all seasons
Discover the Somerset estate that offers history, horticulture, culinary excellence, education and much more
Visit these stunning spots in May for peak garden enjoyment in the UK and beyond
Plantsman Keith Wiley recommends the best gardens to visit in May to see their plants in full bloom
Gardens of the world
Worldwide gardens you need to see
We bought an abandoned olive grove and brought it back to life with a meadow-style garden of wildflowers
A hillside garden in southern Italy with a distinctly Mediterranean planting palette is alive with the echoes of civilisations past
There’s no lawn or ugly play kit but my kids still love our garden: how to make yours both family friendly and beautiful
Dutch garden and landscape designer Arjan Boekel has transformed his tiny town garden in the Netherlands into a miniature woodland glade
Clever terracing rescued this amazing Mediterranean dry garden on a hillside in Ibiza with stunning views
With a brief to create a terraced garden in the Ibizan countryside, designer Juan Masedo has balanced the ancient and the modern in a remarkably subtle scheme
Urban gardens
Amazing gardens from towns and cities
Parking space vs front garden? It is actually possible to have both
Off-street parking and an attractively planted front garden needn’t be mutually exclusive – there are lots of designs that combine the two.
A small city garden that looks good 365 days a year with top designer tips for interest in every season
In making a garden for photographer Alister Thorpe, designer Stefano Marinaz was keen to ensure there would be something worth shooting every day of the year
This secret garden of London’s Brutalist icon is open to all 24 hours, and the perfect example of a successful public planting scheme
As a new phase of planting begins, Professor Nigel Dunnett looks at how the iconic public gardens he created at The Barbican Estate in London have evolved over the past decade