Cool and unusual

Inspired by tropical travels, one gardening enthusiast transformed a sandy Leicestershire plot into a colourful, plant-packed paradise for all ages

When writer Sheila M Averbuch and her husband moved into their Pencaitland home in East Lothian over 20 years ago, the garden was little more than a flat upper lawn with a steep slope down to the bung

Favourite garden The ‘Ditch’ at Dan Pearson and Huw Morgan’s Hillside garden captured me from my first visit. It’s the perfect encapsulation of embracing weeds, while still steering land to be biodive

Spring is heralded with a rich array of rocky gems in this wonderful west Scottish garden

REAL readers' gardens!

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