As the long nights shorten, Mounton House garden quietly emerges from winter with delicate sprinklings of white narcissi, Scilla siberica and crocuses through the lawns. Daphnes fill the air with frag

REAL readers' gardens!

IN the swelter of last summer, a coolly ...

Dahlias are gorgeous. They’re easy to care for, which is a bonus when you’re a grower, and florists absolutely adore them as a focal flower. Their vase life is about five days and, once cut, they don’

Purple punctuates the planting: here an acer, verbena and some pinky-purple crinum, or swamp lily, stand out

I absolutely adore smaller gladioli like Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus. It can naturalise, which is a really positive thing for the garden. For anyone who’s terrified of having pink in their ga