Table of contents for April 2026 in Gardens Illustrated Magazine

Internationally recognised for his planting schemes at the 2012 London Olympics, and drought-tolerant planting designs at places such as Knepp Walled Garden, James Hitchmough is emeritus professor of horticultural ecology at the University of Sheffield. In 2022, James moved from Sheffield to his new home in Somerset – Clayhanger – where he can finally create the garden of his dreams. This is James’s own private, personal space, which he has developed from scratch in the past few years, and which has previously only opened to a few professional groups. Here is your chance to see the exciting planting he is establishing, from a gravel garden to native meadows, with everything from interesting South African bulbs to lesser-known cultivars of trees and shrubs worth growing. You’ll be able to ask James…

FACT FILE What Diverse genus of reliable, garden-worthy, hardy perennials in the Primulaceae family. Made up of 549 species (divided into 37 sections), with a variety of common names, including primrose, cowslip and oxlip, they are attractive to pollinators and some species are sweetly fragrant. Season Spring to late summer. Size Variable, from around 25cm in height and spread to 1m, depending on species. Conditions All the species considered here thrive in maritime climates with cool, damp, moderately humid conditions and are best grown in part to almost full shade. Origins Native is Asia, Europe, the Americas and some areas of Northern Africa. The vast majority are found in Asia and concentrated in the Himalayas, Tibet and western China. Hardiness Hardy throughout most of the UK with an RHS rating…

IN BRIEF What Subtropical garden renowned for its exotic plant collection, created in the 1830s by Charles and Sarah Fox. Where Cornwall. Size 26 acres. Soil Acidic, moist. Climate Mild, sheltered microclimate a couple of degrees warmer than most of Cornwall. Hardiness zone USDA 9b. Beyond Falmouth, just outside the village of Mawnan Smith, is one of the most impressive of the Great Gardens of Cornwall: Trebah. Laid out over four decades from the 1830s by the wealthy Quaker Charles Fox and his wife Sarah, the garden was further developed by their daughter Juliet and her husband Edmund Backhouse. In the 20th century, Trebah passed through the hands of several owners before Tony and Eira Hibbert bought it in 1981 and, after restoring the 26 acres of gardens, opened Trebah…

Exactly how much lawn is too much? For some, that might be any lawn at all, but designers generally find that their clients are keen to keep at least a small patch of grass. When designer Pollyanna Wilkinson first arrived at this modernised 1920s house in suburban Surrey, she was met by an unloved, east-facing back garden – 100m long by 20m wide – entirely laid to grass with an existing large oak beyond. “My first thought was that there was so much potential,” she says. “The clients – a young professional couple – were keen to divide up the garden into different usable spaces, and were happy to sacrifice lawn, which is often an unusual request. The clients also wanted the space to feel quite formal near the house…

Where to start with this gem of a book? Garden anthologies are generally dull, plodding affairs, but this, by contrast, is a book you will not only want for yourself (kept by your bed to raise the spirits on gloomy mornings), but will long to share with all your gardening friends. (And nongardening friends; for gardeners, it turns out, offer astute observations on all aspects of human existence.) Drawing on articles, letters and diaries reaching back to the 1600s, Claire Masset records the reflections of gardeners every day throughout the year. There is astonishing diversity in these ‘snapshots of lives’ – whether a ‘half-naked’ George Orwell tussling with his rocky soil on the Isle of Jura (26 May 1946), or Samuel Pepys burying his Parmesan cheese amid the Great Fire…

OUT & ABOUT CHANGING PLACES How much do you really know about the plants in your garden? A new exhibition at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum sets out to uncover the fascinating stories of how some of our most-loved plants, from roses and tulips to camellias and peonies, arrived in our gardens, and how the pursuit and exchange of plants shaped the world’s economies, cultures and landscapes. In Bloom: How Plants Changed Our World showcases more than 100 artefacts, including drawings, paintings and prints by some of the greatest botanical artists of all time, including Rachel Ruysch and Georg Dionysius Ehret, along with contemporary works by the likes of Fiona Strickland, whose watercolour of a parrot tulip is shown above. Until 16 August, daily, 10am–5pm. £16.20. ashmolean.org DESIGN CULTURE SPLASH In the…

IN BRIEF What Woodland garden promoting native plant conservation, focusing on mainly New England natives. Where Massachusetts, USA. Size 45 acres. It’s a point of pride that Garden in the Woods doesn’t look like a traditional botanic garden In 1931, landscape architect Will C Curtis stumbled upon the dream setting for a garden of wildflowers. A glacial valley formerly owned by a railroad company, the 30-acre property west of Boston, Massachusetts, presented an exciting diversity of microhabitats offering niches for a range of plants, from sandy plateau and mixed forest to pond, wetland and stream. A lifelong wildflower fanatic from Upstate New York, Curtis envisioned a botanical sanctuary where he could combine horticultural curation with plant conservation, and educate the public about the beauty and value of American-native plants in…

IN BRIEF What A designer’s own garden with different areas that are seamlessly combined. Where Wiltshire. Size Half an acre. Soil Neutral free-draining loam with traces of ironstone. Climate Temperate, windy at times. Hardiness zone USDA 9a. The lawn where Alexandras children once played remains, but the emphasis is now on planting Brow Cottage, as its name suggests, sits on a hill between Trowbridge and Devizes. The view must once have been wonderful, but a busy main road linking those towns now runs past the front door. Home to garden designer Alexandra Gray, the cottage stands out for an impressive beech hedge that shelters pots of camellias and Skimmia japonica ‘Rubella’. But head down a quiet lane to the side of the house, past a greenhouse perched above the little…

IN BRIEF What A country garden with several areas of interest, including a cottage garden, a shade garden, a shrub garden, meadow, arboretum and a collection of peonies. Where Germany. Size Just over three and a half acres. Soil Clay enriched with compost. Climate Maritime with cold winters. Hardiness zone USDA 7. Fifty years ago, Werner Müller and his wife Johanna bought an old farmhouse in the Bavarian village of Kammlach, around 60 miles west of Munich. Over the succeeding decades they have transformed the adjoining plot of land into an abundantly planted garden, which sits in contrast to the wide meadows and green hills of the surrounding Allgäu region. Directly in front of the house they have made a traditional cottage garden. In spring it is awash with contrasting…

ACROSS 6 Genus of white-flowering ‘All-heal’ – larvae in a mess (9) 7 Point of a garden fork? (5) 9/20 down A scented, coppery-bronze Triumph tulip – ‘Demerara’? (5,5) 10 Another name for gorse or whin (5) 11/5 down Common name of Cornus (7) 12 The flavour and aroma of fennel – eased in, perhaps (7) 14 Genus of astilbe-like plant, ‘Goatsbeard’ (7) 16 _______ jasminoides, the star jasmine (15) 20 Small, hardy eucalyptus with patterned bark … won mugs, oddly! (4,3) 22 A series of vibrant, large flowering Pericallis (florist’s cineraria) – I set ten out (7) 24 ‘Little __’ a classic, mini cos-type lettuce – a jewel (3) 26 Row of soil drawn up around potato shoots, say (5) 27 See 2 down 29 Approximate … texture of…

UNTIL 26 APRIL Museum of Edible Earth Discover ‘geophagy’ (the practice of eating earth for health), see more than 600 edible earths and taste samples. Suggested donation £5. Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA. Tel 0333 320 2836, somersethouse.org.uk 30 APRIL Andalusia Garden Symposium Join this special event in the USA to hear talks from GI editor Stephanie Mahon, Frances Palmer and Luciano Giubbilei. $307. 8am-5pm. Andalusia Historic House Gardens & Arboretum, Andalusia, PA, USA. andalusiapa.org 9-17 MAY The Great Garden Show at The Newt in Somerset This inaugural show is an opportunity to explore The Newt’s impressive country estate. £25 (free for members). The Newt in Somerset, Bruton, Somerset BA7 7NG. thenewtinsomerset.com For more events this month and throughout the year, scan the QR code with your phone camera…

IN BRIEF What A cottage garden influenced by Great Dixter. Where East Sussex. Size One acre. Soil Improved Wealden clay; neutral to slightly acidic. Climate Sunny and south-facing, but also windy and exposed. Hardiness zone USDA 8b. She entered through the small front gate, turned a corner, and was met with a dazzling vista As if spring were not already lovely enough in the High Weald of East Sussex, with rolling fields and ancient woodland wearing a mantle of white and green, it is also when a one-acre garden around an old oast house in the village of Mayfield becomes a blaze of glorious colour. April is tulip time at The Oast, home to Tessa and Mike Crowe, who bought the historic property in 2008 and moved in the following…

DREAM FIELDS Plans have been revealed for a new public garden in the USA by planting designer Piet Oudolf. Planting Fields in Oyster Bay, New York, which is cared for by the Planting Fields Foundation, spans 409 acres of formal gardens, woodland and plant collections. The new one-acre garden will showcase Oudolf’s signature naturalistic style, with block and matrix plantings, as well as a shade garden. Domed mounds of grasses will create sheltered spaces for visitors to sit among more than 24,000 plants from 90 species, including grasses and perennials, such as Andropogon gerardii ‘Dancing Wind’, Liatris spicata ‘Floristan Weiss’, Asclepias purpurascens and Echinops ritro subsp. ruthenicus ‘Platinum Blue’. This year, the Foundation is inviting individuals and organisations to become part of the project through a sponsorship programme. “By sponsoring…

Hurtigruten’s goal of achieving zero food waste goes hand-in-hand with its mission to bring people closer to authentic Norwegian cuisine. And its self-sustaining approach to farm-to-table dining is one steeped in innovation, careful stewardship, and a strong sense of community. On every voyage with Hurtigruten there is more than one journey unfolding, and behind the scenes you’ll discover an exciting sustainability story taking place – one in which the guests play an unexpected but important role. Travelling with Hurtigruten will take you beyond the dramatic fjords, the magical Northern Lights, and Norway’s everyday coastal rhythms; not only will you savour the unforgettable cuisine, but you’ll become a part of its wider story of place, people, and responsible sourcing. Plus, as a Gardens Illustrated reader, you can be a part of…