Gardening guides

A garden that never goes quiet. Here is how to plan a bed so something is always in flower, from the first snowdrops to the last fall asters.

A shady spot is not a problem to solve, it is a different palette. Here are the plants that turn low light into something lush.

No plant is truly deer-proof, but plenty are reliably deer-resistant. Here is how to keep the colour and lose the heartbreak.

A garden buzzing with bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds starts with the right flowers. Here are the plants that feed them from spring to frost.

Less watering, more colour. These tough plants thrive in hot, dry, sunny spots once they settle in.

The easiest, most alive garden you can plant. Native flowers and grasses that feed local wildlife and mostly look after themselves.

A beautiful garden without the chores. These tough perennials come back every year and ask for almost nothing.

A sunny border that stays in flower for months. These heat-loving perennials bloom and bloom right through summer.

A garden you can smell as well as see. The flowers and foliage worth planting for scent, and where to put them.

The first colour of the year, when you need it most. These bulbs and perennials flower while the garden is still waking up.

Do not let the garden fade in September. These perennials save their best show for autumn.

Spring is the big planting window. Here is what to put in the ground now for a garden that flowers all year.

A border that glows after sunset. White flowers, silver foliage, and evening scent, layered to carry every season.

Fresh bouquets from your own backyard, all season. The best flowers for cutting, and how to keep them coming for months.

Relaxed, romantic, and packed with flowers. The classic cottage-garden plants, and how to layer them.

Bring the hummingbirds in. Nectar-rich, tubular flowers they cannot resist, from spring to fall.

Turn up the heat. A bold, sun-drenched border of fiery reds, oranges, and golds that crescendos in late summer.

Calm, elegant, and easy on the eye. A border of blues and purples, layered to carry from spring to fall.

A great pot is a small garden. The best plants for containers, and the simple recipe that makes them sing.

Cover the bare spots and beat the weeds. Low, spreading plants for sun and shade that mostly look after themselves.

Fill the garden with butterflies. The nectar flowers they feed on, and the host plants their caterpillars need.

Do not let winter empty the garden. Evergreens, cold-season flowers, and berries that keep it alive when everything else sleeps.

Soft, romantic, and endlessly pretty. A border in every shade of pink, from pale blush to deep magenta.

Flowers come and go; leaves carry the garden all season. The best plants for colour and texture from foliage alone.

Heavy clay is not a dealbreaker. These tough plants thrive in it, and clay is more fertile than you think.

Drama, depth, and a little mystery. The best near-black flowers and dark foliage, and how to make them glow.

Turn a soggy problem into the prettiest part of the garden. The best plants for wet ground and runoff.

New to gardening? Start here. The genuinely hard-to-kill plants, and how to set yourself up to win.

No yard, no problem. The best compact plants, climbers, and container picks for a balcony or a tiny garden.

That bank you cannot mow can be the easiest part of the garden. Plants that hold the soil and look after themselves.

Screen a fence line, a patio, or a neighbour's window. The best plants for privacy, fast and beautiful.

The garden's last and loudest show. Trees, shrubs, and grasses that set autumn on fire.