For the past month my cottage garden has been filled with flowers from more than 50 different varieties of shrub roses. These are of every hue from the pure white of ‘Madame Hardy’ to the almost purple ‘Cardinal de Richelieu’, though the dominant colour is pink in every shade. But I have one border with … Read more
Vroom, vroom! Motor racing has witnessed some breath-taking comebacks, none more extraordinary than when the late, great Niki Lauda roared off the grid at the Italian Grand Prix just six weeks after he’d been given the last rites following a catastrophic crash at the Nurburgring. This time, I can disclose, it’s the turn of the … Read more
Blue swoon! Delphiniums radiate a glorious shade that so rarely pops up in nature – and they’re at their best now, says MONTY DON Blue is the rarest colour in nature and if you look closely a ‘true’ blue is very rare Most so-called ‘blue’ flowers have a lot of red in, so they’re shades … Read more
The Chelsea Flower Show may not be going ahead this year, but we’ve hand-picked some attractive properties for sale with outdoor space that could easily be described as best in show. The five-day Royal Horticultural Society show has been cancelled for the first time since the Second World War and will instead be held as … Read more
BOOK OF THE WEEK A WORLD OF MY OWN by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (Adlard Coles £10.99, 256 pp) We live in a world of maximum connectivity, where you can sit in Abu Dhabi and do keyhole surgery on someone in Aberdeen; where a Twitter frenzy in Kenilworth can be picked up in seconds in Kyoto; … Read more
The world’s finest spring gardens are right here in Britain. No, really — that’s not an idle boast. The mild, damp climate helps, along with a rich legacy of plants and centuries-old gardening traditions. So here’s a varied selection of Britain’s most inspiring spring gardens. Opening times can vary from month to month, so be … Read more