As April arrives and your garden begins to stir, you might find yourself wondering, Is it too late to prune my roses? Maybe winter slipped by and you didn’t get to it, or perhaps you're simply not sure when the right time is. If you're looking for a bit of reassurance, you're not alone.

With the spring sunshine finally reaching the garden, now is the perfect time to check in on your newly planted bare root roses. They're just beginning to settle in, and the care you give them over the next few weeks will make all the difference to how well they grow and bloom this summer.

Mother’s Day is a time to reflect on the women who have shaped our lives - our mothers, grandmothers, or any maternal figure who has left an imprint on our hearts. While we may not always be physically close to those we love, there is something enduring and quiet that keeps us connected: the beauty of a garden and the plants within it.

We asked Harry Hoblyn, Head Gardener at Charleston, to share his insights into the remarkable garden that surrounds this historic home. Deeply intertwined with the artistic legacy of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, the gardens at Charleston are a living expression of their creativity.

A garden is more than just a collection of plants – it’s a living, breathing space that reflects your personality and creativity. One of the most powerful ways to shape your garden’s atmosphere is through colour.

In any well-loved garden, the thoughtful tasks often have the most impact. Among them, mulching stands out as a simple yet powerful way to care for both your plants and the soil beneath them. Beyond its practical benefits, mulching reflects the gardener’s instinct to nurture, protect, and encourage healthy growth with every passing season.

Cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone, is essential for managing the body’s fight or flight response. However, the pressures of modern life have led to persistently high cortisol levels for many, contributing to exhaustion, anxiety, and burnout. The increasing pressures of modern life – work demands, digital overload, and rising living costs - have left many searching for ways to bring calm into their daily routines.

Some roses feel like they have always belonged, nodding gently in the breeze, filling the air with soft fragrance, and settling into a garden as if they were always meant to be there. Rosa Emma Bridgewater is one of them.

There’s something truly special about a living wall, an ever-changing display of colour, scent, and texture. If you’ve ever dreamed of covering a wall, fence, or even a bare corner with a cascade of blooms, English Roses are the perfect choice. With their soft, romantic beauty and repeat-flowering nature, they will transform any vertical space into a floral haven.

Some things stay with you - the scent of a rose in the evening air, the feel of a book well-read, the quiet wisdom passed down from one pair of hands to another. Gertrude Jekyll and Vanessa Bell understood this. They knew that gardens, like stories, are not just about beauty; they are about memory, feeling, and the simple joy of making something your own.

Olivia Rose Austin^® (Ausmixture) is a rose that gently captures the heart with her soft, romantic blooms, fragrant petals, and timeless elegance. Versatile in every sense, she adapts effortlessly to a variety of garden styles, from the charmingly rustic to the sleekly modern and the gracefully formal. Whether you’re creating a welcoming cottage garden, a refined modern space, or an elegant formal retreat, Olivia Rose Austin^® (Ausmixture) is the perfect rose to tie it all together. Here’s how to integrate her into three distinct garden styles.

There’s something truly enchanting about a garden bathed in soft, silvery light. As dusk falls, the moonlight gently highlights the beauty of white flowers, casting an almost ethereal glow. This is the allure of a moon garden - a space where you can escape, unwind, and find solace in the simplicity of nature.