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WHERE TO BUY Braevallich Nursery (01866 844223; www.brae. co.uk). Glendoick Nursery (01738 860205; www.glendoick.com). Loder Plants (01403 891412; www.rhododendrons. com). Millais Nurseries (01252 792698; www.rhododendrons.co.uk) WHERE TO SEE Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical [...]

As the first eight years in my London garden have passed, the habitat has changed considerably. The blank canvas I started with has evolved and I have had to adapt [...]

The crosiers of new fern growth are beginning to unfurl. I started out as a woodland gardener so this always holds a special fascination for me. Ferns look almost impossibly [...]

There are some plants that serve as an aide-memoire. Late-autumn nerines give me a nudge, reminding me that if I haven't already brought my tender perennials in, I should hurry, [...]

Last summer, I watched several new plantings of trees in my area succumb to drought. These were street plantings and I passed them most days on my bike, wincing at [...]

In November last year I went on a lecture tour of the US with the Royal Oak Foundation, an American organisation affiliated to the National Trust. The lectures took me [...]

I have planted three new orchards in clients' gardens this winter, going as strongly against the flow of current farming policy as possible. The removal of long-established orchards over the [...]

The leaves are gone, and we now have a chance to appreciate the stunning shape of bare trees silhouetted against the sky. I particularly like the willow pollards that skirt [...]

London's parks are one of the saving graces of this great, sprawling city. They are the green lungs, where the air is better and quality of life improved. I'm a [...]

I started gardening on thin, acidic soil. In some patches the topsoil was only a few inches deep over pure silver sand, and the woods around us were colonised by [...]

Summer has gone, leaving behind the fruits of its labours - quite literally. With the onset of autumn, the garden is looking its most relaxed: the nasturtiums are running riot; [...]

At the beginning of September I went on a long-anticipated trip to Holland to visit Piet Oudolf, the godfather of the New Perennial movement, at his nursery on the first [...]

In July, I spent a week in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan, working on the master plan for an ecological park. I have visited the site several times now, [...]

Just about now, the garden starts to kick in with another wave of interest that will last until the autumn colour eclipses everything. There are rudbeckias and coreopsis in great [...]

Let me start by setting the record straight regarding cimicifugas - and then I'll apologise for not sticking to the rules. The genus Cimicifuga has recently been reclassified as Actaea, [...]

Last winter I was asked to create a garden in the middle of deciduous woodland. It was a clearing into which the sun fell, and this was to be the [...]

In the past year, I have been commissioned to design three hospital gardens in London. The gardens are all in separate establishments and I had to ask myself whether it [...]

The recent warm spell has bought a welcome aromatic change to my garden. Perfume from my wisteria curls through the windows into the house and hangs heavy around the terrace; [...]

Ten years ago, while exhibiting at the Chelsea Flower Show, I was introduced to Violante Visconti, a gravel-voiced Italian brimming with enthusiasm. She loved my design, with its combination of [...]

As it is deciduous and from high altitude, Paeonia suffruticosa can cope with most British weather but they prefer a position with plenty of light to ripen the wood. Their [...]

Read in a bed: best spring books Tim Richardson Page 3green eyes a garden to envy Ursula Buchan Page 3Rhodo drive Muncaster in bloom Guided Tour Pages 4&5little weed know [...]

Certain plants allow us to create distinct and memorable moods in a garden. This is a wonderful tool to play with, for you can have levity where lightness is needed [...]

I want to slow everything down to savour the change of season. It's all happening so fast that I can hardly take it in. Buds are bursting; plants are pushing [...]

Early spring is a time for big gestures. Which is why it is good to plant bulbs en masse, using bright colours in broad splashes to join spaces together, or [...]

Last weekend I spent two days on one of my favourite jobs of the year: pruning the wall-trained shrubs. I like to do this in February in London because the [...]