Garden writing

This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the lasting influence of little-known female gardeners with an extract from Fiona Davison’s fascinating book An Almost Impossible Thing

Including weekend activities for nature fans, big and small 

In the introduction to her new book, What Makes a Garden, the former House & Garden Garden Designer of the Year considers the past, present and future of horticulture as she seeks to answer that very question

Garden designer Lottie Delamain explores the links between gardening and our mental wellbeing, and how the natural world can be a refuge

Wise women, apothecaries, witches, herbalists: whatever you call them, those who cultivate plants for their fabled mystical and healing properties have existed for thousands of years. Even in the rush of the modern world, most of us pause to acknowledge the changing of the seasons. In days gone by, however, knowing what each time of the year would bring was a matter of life or death. In an extract from a new book from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, we take you through a year in the garden of a witch.

The word ‘rewilding’ has been on everyone’s lips recently, and not always in a positive way. Alan Titchmarsh is concerned that rewilding will be taken too literally and reduce our gardens to patches of nettles, while others believe that traditional gardening no longer has a place in our climate-changing world. Clare Foster explores what the term rewilding actually means to us as gardeners

Our columnist Sophie Dahl reflects on her memories of sun-drenched summers spent outdoors and the enchanted gardens of English literature

In the introduction to her new field guide to flowers, Super Bloom, gardener and plant pioneer Jac Semmler lays out her ground rules for beginners

Matthew Fort waxes lyrical about the arrival of new potatoes on the veg garden scene, and offers suggestions for how best to eat these summer treats

Our columnist Matthew Fort considers the pleasures of exploring lesser-known varieties of onions, and how to cook them to make the most of them

There is a long and established history of artist-gardeners - including Claude Monet, Derek Jarman, and Lucian Freud – and there is much that we can learn from their critical eye

Horticulturist Charlie Harpur investigates why cottage gardens are so close to our hearts, and the best plants to create your own

Matthew Fort reflects on the complex pleasure of a compost heap, and offers up a delicious cabbage recipe to get you through these last days of winter

First gardens, like first homes, can have a dramatic impact on what comes later. Here three gardeners, Arne Maynard, Clare Foster, and Daisy Garnett remember the first gardens they made themselves

The writer Daisy Garnett reflects on the lessons learned from a garden in the depths of winter, and the sense of progress and forward motion that emerges from the cold ground