Secret gardens

What better way to relax – and pick up some great ideas at the same time – than visiting a wonderful NGS garden?

If you’ve ever wondered what the gardens of some of Britain’s best landscape architects look like, there’s a new book that tours these places

James Cordingley, head gardener at National Trust Dunster Castle in Somerset, tells us about its diverse planting and historical features

Home to a veritable ‘Noah’s Ark of species’, thanks to never being ploughed, sprayed or fertilised, our churchyards are a sacred haven for flora and fauna

A close observation of the season’s cycles and respect for ecology have been the guiding principles in the development of the garden at Highlands, in the High Weald of East Sussex

Sloelands Farm, Ashley Green, Buckinghamshire. A Grade II-listed, 17th-century house with gardens that include a Japanese garden, a maze, and a sunken garden. It has open fireplaces and a kitchen with