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.

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The English Garden

This Month • Our guide to plants, people, gardens and events, tasks and shopping in February

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

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

Jim’s Garden Diary • This month, Jim Cable is monitoring his greenhouse, attempting to exercise restraint as he compiles his yearly seed order, and planning to prune his roses

Beautiful & Useful • New plants, books, tools and creative designs, plus shopping inspiration

Life is Sweet • Gardeners across the country play an essential role in growing food for pollinator populations – and the rewards are manifold. Honey is liquid gold and can be used to sweeten tea, spread over your morning toast, or drizzle into a favourite tipple. It’s a delicious gift from our hard-working bees.

Heaven ON EARTH • East Ruston Old Vicarage in Norfolk has just celebrated its Golden Jubilee. Alan Gray looks back on the creation of this dazzling garden, where he and his partner, Graham Robeson, have carved out their own special slice of paradise

Nature Takes ITS COURSE • A visit to Julie and Tim Wise’s garden at Rustling End in Hertfordshire is like a ramble through the English countryside. The gardening is led by nature itself, keeping the meadows and woodland, old roses and wildflowers, looking fresh year after year

In It for the LONG RUN • Season after season, year after year, Town Place in West Sussex has been bedazzling its visitors with an all-star show directed by owners Anthony and Maggie McGrath, who are ever conscious of what works for their audience

BY Arrangement • Penny Snell has applied her florist’s eye to her one-acre Surrey garden at Moleshill House, where every inch has been thoughtfully curated with the greatest of care taken over plant associations and colour palettes

Ties That Bind • Continuity is the name of the game at fad-free Parham House in West Sussex, which stays true to its own historic connections at all times

FOR THE GOOD • Adopting sustainable approaches to gardening can have a positive effect on the planet and your pocket

Putting on a Spread • Ten delectable plants that will fill tricky bare patches of soil in shady spots are recommended here by Matthew Murgatroyd, head gardener at Holker Hall

Purple Patch • From palest lilac to richest purple, crocus add colourful cheer to the late-winter garden. Clare Foggett speaks to the National Collection holder, Alex Hankey at RHS Wisley, and discovers special cultivars in tempting colours and patterns

TRADE SECRETS: Prune an Apple Tree • With winter comes the job of pruning apples to maintain trees’ health and maximise the harvest. John Easton, a fruit specialist at Brogdale in Kent, offers his expert advice on how to prune trees to ensure abundant apple crops for many years to come

A HIVE OF ACTIVITY • Sheltering in the greenhouse from the chilly temperatures outside, Philip Clayton reveals how, under glass, February can be a busy, colourful and extremely productive time of year

Marvels of Monmouthshire • Enjoy a four-day break taking in the beautiful countryside and exclusive gardens of Monmouthshire, arranged for readers of The English Garden by specialists Sisley Garden Tours

ROLL OUT THE WHITE CARPET • Snowdrop season is here, and...