Chelsea 2015

After her first trip to the Chelsea Flower Show Robin Powell gave us her impressions. It was a show that reminded us of the beauty of nature barely gardened, and of gardens tended intensively.

Chelsea magic

Chelsea is a magical garden world as full of dreams and emotion as it of of sheer hard work and skill. We took three groups on Opening Day this year and asked the tour leaders to tell us what moved them most.

Chelsea: Graham Ross' Survival Tips

Tips to survive a day at Chelsea.

Chinoiserie

Most of us choose to garden where we live; Dominic Wong chose to live where he wanted to garden.

Cloudehill

Jeremy Francis tells the story of his magnificent garden in ‘Cloudehill: A year in the garden’. In this extract he describes how a garden inspired by the golden days of Edwardian Arts and Crafts Design began to take shape in the rich moist soils of the Dandenong Ranges.

Country life

A romantically pretty country garden, on the edge of the city. That’s the dream of the owners of The Old Vicarage in London’s Petersham. Find out how they made it a reality in this excerpt from Great Gardens of London.

Cruden Farm

Sandra Ross fulfilled a long-held dream when she and a group of our travellers were given a private tour of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch’s serenely beautiful garden.

Cuttings from the Garden World

Here's what's happening  in the garden world this winter.

Drummond

Drummond Castle’s formal gardens, based on the flag of Scotland and the family’s own standard, are justly famous and surprisingly fun.

Eryldene: The Professor and the Camellia

Jane Garling explains why E.G. Waterhouse had such a massive influence on Australian gardens.

Five of the Best: Oudolf gardens

Piet Oudolf has changed the way we think about gardens. His planting designs of perennials and grasses are romantic, exciting, enriching and inspiring. These are some of our favourites.

Five of the best: rose gardens

Discover five of the best gardens to admire the beauty of roses.

Garden festival planner: Chaumont-sur-Loire Garden Festival

The Loire Valley is renowned as ‘France’s Garden’, and in summer it hosts an international design festival that imagines the future of gardening.

Garden festival planner: Chelsea Flower show

Chelsea is the prize bloom of the world's garden shows, and the reputation is well-deserved. Here Robin Powell shares her observations on what has been another breath-taking Chelsea Flower Show.

Garden Festival Planner: Floriade

In spring the national capital is all about Floriade. Here’s how to add more gardens to its tulip beds and party atmosphere.

Garden Festival Planner: Floriade Holland

In 2022 this huge, once-in-a-decade festival will focus on inspiring ways for city-dwellers to connect with the beauty of plants and gardens.

Japan Spring Festivals

Once the cherry blossoms fall, Japan bursts into colour with azaleas, peonies and wisteria creating a crescendo of colour unknown to most international travellers - and not to be missed!

Garden festival planner: Melbourne

MIFGS blooms in Melbourne in March. Here’s how to turn a day at the show into a real garden festival

Garden Festival Planner: Nambour

Garden lovers flock to Nambour in winter for their fill of new plants, gadgets and ideas. Here’s how to turn a day at the show into a real garden festival.

Garden festival planner: Nelmac Garden Marlborough

The gates open on incredible private gardens in this New Zealand festival, which also offers workshops - Great Dixter’s Fergus Garrett is the keynote speaker this year - and a garden party at Wither Hills Winery.

Garden Ideas from Appletern Garden Festival, Holland

Visiting Appletern is like having your favourite garden magazine come to life. Around every corner of this vast garden showcase in Holland is a new page offering great ideas for your own garden: design, plants, planting combinations, paving options, sculpture, furniture and more.

Garden Road Trip South Coast

With verdant green dairy country on one side and pristine beaches on the other, the south coast of NSW is gorgeous country. Plan now to visit in spring, when open gardens add to the sights.

Garden Road Trip: Adelaide

Adelaide’s roses are a treat in both spring and in autumn, and there is plenty more to discover in a city that loves its gardens.

Garden Road Trip: Mount Wilson

The village of Mount Wilson in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney is famous for its cool climate gardens, which in spring are a picture! Our advice? Make a day of it!

Garden Road Trip: Olinda

Stands of giant mountain ash and lush tree ferns adorn even the roadsides around Olinda, in the Dandenong Ranges, just outside Melbourne. Landscape designer and local, Philip Johnson shared some favourite horticultural haunts.

Garden Road Trip: Rydal

Hosts of golden daffodils dance in the wind when the tiny village of Rydal, just east of Lithgow, celebrates the Daffodils at Rydal festival. Robin Powell takes you there.

Garden Road Trip: Singapore

The Singapore stopover might once have been about shopping, but now it’s about gardens. Add these destinations to your itinerary.

Goldfields

Great Dixter

Is this old place England’s most exciting contemporary garden?

Great Ideas

Want some great garden ideas. Grab some tips and trends from the professionals who showed gardens in this year’s Hidden Design Festival.

Great ideas from Country Victoria

We found plenty of inspiration on our Ross Garden Tour of country Victoria last spring. Here are a few of our favourite ideas – all worth including in your own garden.

Highfields

In November 2014 David Kennedy and Andrew Dunshea, creators of Katoomba’s wonderful Clover Hill, embarked on a new garden over the mountain in Little Hartley. In this extract from Claire Takacs’ new book, ‘Australian Dreamscapes’, David tells what happened next

Hummelo

Claire Takacs is one of the world’s leading garden photographers. Piet Oudolf is the world's most famous garden designer. Here’s what happened when Claire visited Piet’s garden, Hummelo.

Ideas from Marlborough

Marlborough's hills, valleys and coastlines have seen much change over the past two hundred years. Maori hunted flightless birds; squatters grew flax and farmed sheep for wool; a tinned rabbit industry briefly bloomed to deal with the rabbits introduced for ‘sport’ - until a shipload of tinned rabbit exploded in the Thames on its way to the London docks and now it’s wine that makes the region’s fortunes as the world continues to fall in love with the flavours of Marlborough savvy.

Iguazu Falls

Iguazu is more than just a waterfall, says an exhilarated Robin Powell

In my garden: Frog Hollow

Linda’s garden at Catherine Hill Bay had a few false starts as killer black frosts and maddening weeds wreaked their worst, but it now has a welcoming sense of place.

In My Garden: Wendy Whiteley

Wendy Whiteley’s harbourside garden is Sydney’s secret public park. Here Wendy tells us about the garden in Autumn.

In our garden: Wildwood

A cool-climate garden of five acres gives Sue and Wayne Tapping room to grow the beauties they love. Here they share what’s keeping them busy this spring

In the Garden: Broughton Hall

Find out what David Musker is up to at Broughton Hall in Victoria

In the Garden: Cruden Farm

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch’s much-loved garden is on the brink of its big show as spring begins.Head gardener Mitch Burns takes us behind the scenes.