The Great Garden Experiment | Meet Our 2023 Reader Garden Award Winners!

Isn’t every plant great in a group? Well, the answer is no. Some plants are too vigorous in their growth habits to share the stage, while others are better if put on a pedestal all their own (i.e. the focal point plants of the landscape). Today’s episode we talk about plants that are great in masses—that is to say—in groups of three or more. We have options for shade, choices for sun, and selections for those in-between exposures situations. We’ll also feature some great plants that we’ve seen grouped to perfection in gardens featured in Fine Gardening. And you don’t have to be a millionaire to group plants. Many of our suggestions are easily divided after just a year or two, providing you with multiple plants for the price of just one.

With the wide and exciting range of gardening products out there, it can be difficult to think of the best gardening gift ideas for birthdays, Christmas or any other special occasion.

Multiseason Garden Bed with Hesse Cotoneaster Get fall garden interest that lasts into winter with this easy-care plant combination featuring a Hesse cotoneaster shrub. Fall into winter with multiseason plants

A bird box provides a safe place for birds to build their nests and a specialist bird box camera can give you a closer look at the birds raising their families in your garden without causing disruption.

Gardening is incredibly rewarding but it can be tricky to keep on top of seasonal jobs such as sowing and harvesting, not to mention new planting plans, redesigns and wish lists from one year to the next.  

Garden cloches are low enclosures used to cover plants and, depending on their style, offer protection against a number of factors.

Trugs are a must-have garden accessory, combining practical utility and ornamental value. They can used for collecting cut flowers and plant cuttings, as well as for harvesting your homegrown fruit, veg and culinary herbs. Plus, they can be used to create indoor displays and they make wonderful gardening gifts.

There are few better ways to enjoy your garden and soak up the sun’s rays than with a garden lounger. This must-have piece of furniture is great for making sure you get your daily dose of vitamin D plus, they’re brilliantly uncomplicated – a light, airy bed for lazing in the sun.

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Somewhere between a large cloche and a small greenhouse, cold frames are protective enclosures which provide invaluable protection for seeds, cuttings and tender plants, especially during cold months. Cold frames can make a gardener’s early spring and autumn much more active for growing, allowing peas and beans to get off to an early start, or giving tender young plants time to harden off, ready for the summer months.

A parasol is just the thing to help keep you cool and shaded in the garden this summer. The right garden parasol could help provide the finishing touch to your garden’s décor, or help you to better enjoy your garden with the people close to you. To help you choose the best parasol for your garden, we’ve compiled this list of garden parasols.

Watering can be an everyday task in summer, but to ensure you use only the water you need, and that it goes just where you want it, a spray gun attached to the end of your hose is an essential piece of kit. With as many as nine different spray patterns, including a shower setting for watering borders, a mist for fragile plants and a jet spray for cleaning or filling buckets, they’re equally at home lightly misting seedlings as they are washing down a path. A hose spray gun can make light work of the most common gardening watering tasks and turn the garden hose into one of the most important tools in your garden.