Plants

Care guides, plant profiles, and planting advice for every type of British garden.

Choosing a plant for a British garden starts with your conditions, not the picture on the label. Each of the 252 guides here covers one plant properly: soil, aspect, planting month, pruning, and the problems you will actually meet. All of it is written for UK hardiness, UK rainfall, and UK frost dates.

Start here. Five guides that answer the most common questions first:

How to Grow Dahlias — the cut-flower workhorse, from tuber to first frost
How to Grow Roses — choosing, planting, and feeding for repeat flowering
How to Grow Hellebores — reliable colour through the coldest months
Best Climbing Plants — cover a fence or wall the right way
Best Trees for Small Gardens — height without losing the lawn

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Flowers

Roses, dahlias, tulips, and every flower that thrives in UK gardens.

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Bulbs

Tulips, daffodils, alliums, and bulbs for every season.

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Trees and Shrubs

Privacy trees, flowering shrubs, climbers, and evergreens.

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House Plants

Indoor plants for every room — low light, bathrooms, and beginners.

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Popular Guides

Shade plants, drought-tolerant picks, and low-maintenance favourites.

Cottage stone wall and doorway covered in scented climbing roses and white star jasmine in full June bloom

Plants 30 June 2026 13 min read

Scented Climbers for Walls, Arches and Pergolas

The best scented climbers for UK walls, arches and pergolas. Star jasmine, honeysuckle, roses, wisteria and more, with aspect, support and pruning advice.

Vivid electric-blue Meconopsis Himalayan blue poppies in full flower in a cool dappled-shade UK woodland border in June

Plants 24 June 2026 13 min read

The Himalayan Blue Poppy: A UK Grower's Guide

Grow Meconopsis (Himalayan blue poppy) in the UK: cool moist shade, acid soil and the no-flower trick, tested 5 seasons by Lawrie Ashfield.

A lush UK dry-shade border under a mature tree planted with epimedium, male ferns and hardy geraniums covering the dry ground

Plants 23 June 2026 11 min read

Best Plants for Dry Shade: 15 UK Winners

Best plants for dry shade in the UK: 15 reliable performers for under trees and north walls, plus the ground prep that gets them established.

A tall mature Trachycarpus fortunei windmill palm standing in a sunny suburban UK garden, fan-shaped fronds against a clear sky

Plants 23 June 2026 11 min read

Hardy Palms for UK Gardens: 9 That Survive

Hardy palms for UK gardens: 9 species ranked by cold tolerance, tested across 6 Staffordshire winters, with siting, planting and frost protection.

Platycodon balloon flower buds and open blue star bells in a UK perennial border in summer

Plants 22 June 2026 12 min read

How to Grow Balloon Flower (Platycodon)

How to grow platycodon (balloon flower) in UK gardens. Covers late emergence, the brittle taproot, best cultivars and a month-by-month care calendar.

Huge pink Crinum x powellii trumpets flowering against a warm red brick wall in a Sussex garden

Plants 22 June 2026 12 min read

How to Grow Crinum Lily in the UK

Learn how to grow crinum lily in the UK: hardy Crinum x powellii outdoors, giant bulb planting depth, the overwintering protocol and tender pot types.

Silver mound of curry plant Helichrysum italicum with yellow flowers in a gravel garden in Essex

Plants 22 June 2026 12 min read

How to Grow Curry Plant (Helichrysum)

How to grow curry plant (Helichrysum italicum) in the UK: full sun, gritty free-draining soil, beating winter wet, trimming and easy cuttings.

Row of magenta globe amaranth flowers in a Yorkshire allotment cutting garden in full summer sun

Plants 22 June 2026 12 min read

How to Grow Gomphrena (Globe Amaranth)

How to grow gomphrena in the UK: sow indoors February to April at 20-22C, plant out late May, then cut and dry the papery globe blooms.

Tall orange Hedychium ginger lily flower spikes in an exotic UK border, late summer

Plants 22 June 2026 12 min read

How to Grow Hedychium (Ginger Lily)

How to grow hedychium in the UK: rhizome depth, the exact winter mulch depth for in-ground survival, lifting tender types and dividing in spring.

White star-shaped ornithogalum flowers naturalised through spring grass in a Kent orchard

Plants 22 June 2026 12 min read

How to Grow Ornithogalum in the UK

How to grow ornithogalum in the UK, from safe Star of Bethlehem to invasive bulbils. Species comparison, planting depth, toxicity warning and care.

How to grow sweet woodruff UK shown as a carpet of white star flowers under deciduous trees in a Surrey woodland garden in spring

Plants 22 June 2026 12 min read

How to Grow Sweet Woodruff in the UK

How to grow sweet woodruff in the UK: the best fragrant shade ground cover for dry, dappled spots, plus honest advice on keeping it in bounds.

Waxy translucent pale-yellow wintersweet flowers on bare winter branches with frost in a UK garden

Plants 22 June 2026 13 min read

How to Grow Wintersweet (Chimonanthus)

How to grow wintersweet in UK gardens: realistic time to flower, the summer wood-ripening trick, best cultivars, planting against a warm wall and pruning.

Dense pollution-busting hedge of cotoneaster and yew screening a UK terraced front garden from a busy roadside

Plants 20 June 2026 13 min read

Pollution-Busting Plants and Hedges UK

Pollution-busting plants and hedges that trap PM2.5 and PM10 near busy UK roads, with the RHS research, best species, and planting density specs.

Drift of pink Erythronium dens-canis dog's tooth violet flowering in dappled UK woodland shade

Plants 19 June 2026 12 min read

How to Grow Erythronium Dog's Tooth Violet

How to grow erythronium in UK gardens. Buying fresh corms, planting depth, best species, shade siting, naturalising and propagation from an expert.

Red and yellow gloriosa flame lily climbing canes in a UK greenhouse border

Plants 19 June 2026 12 min read

How to Grow Gloriosa the Flame Lily UK

How to grow gloriosa, the flame lily, in the UK. Tuber planting, greenhouse care, support, feeding, the colchicine toxicity warning and winter storage.

Pink and white heart-shaped caladium angel wings leaves growing in a bright UK conservatory in summer

Plants 18 June 2026 14 min read

How to Grow Caladium in the UK

Grow caladium (angel wings) in the UK as a tender tuber. Humidity, 18C warmth, starting tubers indoors, the dormancy cycle, and overwintering tips.

Golden spherical Craspedia billy buttons flowering on tall leafless stems in a sunny UK suburban garden border

Plants 18 June 2026 13 min read

How to Grow Craspedia (Billy Buttons)

Grow Craspedia (billy buttons) in UK gardens: surface sow at 18-20C, plant in sharp drainage, then dry the golden drumstick heads for years of colour.

A drift of white Shasta daisies, Leucanthemum x superbum, flowering with bees in a sunny UK summer border

Plants 18 June 2026 14 min read

How to Grow Shasta Daisies (Leucanthemum)

Grow Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum) in UK gardens. Full sun, sharp drainage, divide every 2-3 years, plus varieties, staking and deadheading.

Opuntia prickly pear pads, a blue Agave, and Sempervivum houseleeks in a sunny gravel garden

Plants 17 June 2026 13 min read

Hardy Cacti & Succulents for UK Gardens

Which cacti and succulents survive a UK winter outdoors unprotected. Hardiness limits, gritty raised beds, rain covers, and a survival verdict table.

Tall pale yellow and peach Eremurus foxtail lily spikes flowering in a sunny UK country border with bees

Plants 17 June 2026 13 min read

How to Grow Eremurus (Foxtail Lily) in UK

Grow Eremurus (foxtail lily) in UK gardens. Sharp drainage, sand-bed planting, staking 1.2-3m spikes against wind, varieties, and clay-soil survival tips.

White acidanthera flowers with deep maroon centres flowering in a late-summer UK garden border among grasses

Plants 13 June 2026 12 min read

How to Grow Acidanthera in the UK

Grow acidanthera in UK gardens: plant corms in late spring, start under glass for August flowers, and lift or mulch for winter by region.

A tiered black auricula theatre filled with potted Primula auricula in flower against a brick garden wall in spring

Plants 13 June 2026 12 min read

How to Grow Auriculas in Pots

Grow auriculas (Primula auricula) in gritty compost and clay pots. Covers the four show classes, farina, watering, vine weevil and propagation.

Large hardy Musa basjoo banana plant with huge green leaves in a UK exotic garden border in late summer

Plants 13 June 2026 12 min read

How to Grow Hardy Bananas Outdoors

Grow hardy banana plants in UK gardens. Musa basjoo survives to -10C wrapped, while tender Ensete must be lifted and stored frost-free.

Berberis darwinii in full orange spring bloom with glossy spiny evergreen leaves in a UK garden

Plants 13 June 2026 12 min read

How to Grow Berberis: Spiny Shrubs

Grow berberis (barberry) in any UK soil for autumn colour, spring flowers, bird berries and an intruder-proof spiny hedge. Deciduous and evergreen picks.

Plants

Flowers

Bulbs

Trees and Shrubs

House Plants

Popular Guides

Scented Climbers for Walls, Arches and Pergolas

The Himalayan Blue Poppy: A UK Grower's Guide

Best Plants for Dry Shade: 15 UK Winners

Hardy Palms for UK Gardens: 9 That Survive

How to Grow Balloon Flower (Platycodon)

How to Grow Crinum Lily in the UK

How to Grow Curry Plant (Helichrysum)

How to Grow Gomphrena (Globe Amaranth)

How to Grow Hedychium (Ginger Lily)

How to Grow Ornithogalum in the UK

How to Grow Sweet Woodruff in the UK

How to Grow Wintersweet (Chimonanthus)

Pollution-Busting Plants and Hedges UK

How to Grow Erythronium Dog's Tooth Violet

How to Grow Gloriosa the Flame Lily UK

How to Grow Caladium in the UK

How to Grow Craspedia (Billy Buttons)

How to Grow Shasta Daisies (Leucanthemum)

Hardy Cacti & Succulents for UK Gardens

How to Grow Eremurus (Foxtail Lily) in UK

How to Grow Acidanthera in the UK

How to Grow Auriculas in Pots

How to Grow Hardy Bananas Outdoors

How to Grow Berberis: Spiny Shrubs

All plant guides A–Z