For instant impact in a newly landscaped garden, there’s nothing quite like planting mature trees or native hedgerow plants for transformative and long-lasting results, believes Steven Desmond

Nature’s spiky deterrents–thorns, spines and prickles–may be quick to catch us out, but they can also prove to be a useful ally, discovers Laura Parker

Behind every great British garden… gardeners at work ...

YOU need a hedge for your country garden? ...

Create a living boundary that brings beauty, privacy and is a haven for wildlife

In 1993 Sarah and Chris Vermont moved from Brixton, London, to Hungerdowns in Essex, an old farmhouse dating back to 1600 with a Georgian front added in 1757. In the garden there were existing hedges,