BBC Gardeners World Magazine 2026-09-24T16:50:50.000Z https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/feed/atom BBC Gardeners' World Magazine <![CDATA[What to do now]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/what-to-do-now-2/ 2026-09-24T16:50:50.000Z 2026-09-24T16:50:50.000Z BBC Gardeners' World Magazine <![CDATA[We Polled Hundreds of Gardeners on the Most Underrated Plants – Here’s What They Said]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/we-polled-hundreds-of-gardeners-on-the-most-underrated-plants-heres-what-they-said/ 2026-07-13T11:06:29.000Z 2026-07-13T11:00:31.000Z Many of us have favourite plants that aren’t celebrated or grown as widely as they deserve to be. The gardeners in our July 2026 Facebook shout-out listed a huge range of plants from heucheras to carnivorous plants to ferns, hellebores and cosmos, but these five plants stood out above all the rest.
Our top 5 underrated plants:
5: Mexican fleabane (Erigeron karvinskianus)
The easy-going Mexican daisy, Erigeron karvenskianus, is a winner in a sunny, well-drained spot. It flowers for months on end, providing copious amounts of nectar for pollinating insects. Although it's an enthusiastic self-seeder, it doesn't cause problems around the garden, as unwanted seedlings can be easily pulled up. With trailing stems covered in pink and white flowers, Mexican fleabane is an ideal trailing plant for pots, hanging baskets and the edge of informal borders. Its ability to cope with dry conditions and its long-flowering period make this lovely daisy a favourite of many gardeners.
Type: Semi-evergreen herbaceous perennial
Planting conditions: Full sun, any well-drained soil
Our gardeners said: Erigeron grows practically anywhere and flowers all summer long.
4: Daisy (Bellis perennis)
Mexican fleabane's wild counterpart, the humble common daisy, is next on our underrated plant list. Many gardeners recall sitting on the grass as children, making daisy chains, which lends Bellis perennis a nostalgic air. Others like the 'day's eye' best because it always makes them smile. These iconic plants are low-maintenance as they grow naturally in many of our lawns. Reducing the frequency of mowing during the summer gives daisies the chance to grow and flower. And we get to enjoy their white flowers, along with the bees and butterflies.
Type: Evergreen herbaceous perennial
Planting conditions: Full sun/partial shade, any well-drained soil
Our gardeners said: We have lots in our lawn and they look so lovely, but many people just ignore them, or tread on them.
3: London pride (Saxifraga x urbium)
London pride is loved because for many it brings back memories of childhood gardens. This evergreen saxifrage is low-maintenance, slug-resistant and drought-proof. Our gardeners appreciated how simple it is to propagate, while also being easy to remove if it's in wrong place. Its bright foliage creates a carpet of green in shadier spots, and the pretty white flowers in late spring and summer are airy and attractive. Saxifraga x urbium 'Primuloides' is a compact variety and another favourite with gardeners.
Type: Evergreen herbaceous perennial
Planting conditions: Partial/full shade, moist, well-drained soil
Our gardeners said: In the Netherlands, they are called Schildersverdriet (painter's sorrow). They are so cute and delicate!
2: Hardy geranium (Geranium)
There are so many wonderful hardy geraniums that it can be hard to choose which ones to grow. They are great underplanted with roses and deciduous shrubs in a sunny spot in the garden. Many are ideal for mixed herbaceous borders, some cope well with shade and there are compact varieties that work perfectly in rock gardens and containers. Our gardeners loved their versatility, their ability to suppress weeds and the way they attract pollinators into the garden. Try a vivid magenta variety like Geranium 'Anne Folkard' or the white flowers with lilac veins of Geranium clarkei 'Kashmir White'.
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Planting conditions: Full sun/partial shade, some tolerate full shade, well-drained soil
Our gardeners said: You only have to buy one and in three years you can split it and have loads of free plants to share with your neighbours and friends.
1: Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale agg.)
The undisputed winners – dandelions – are beloved by many gardeners for their importance as a food source for pollinators in early spring, their beautiful flowers and their uplifting colour when growing in fields en masse. The genus has 250 microspecies, all with cheerful yellow flowers from spring to early summer and the seedhead "clocks" that children love to blow to tell the time.
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Planting conditions: Full sun/partial shade, any soil
Our gardeners said: Dandelions. I love them!
]]> Nic Wilson <![CDATA[26 brilliant plants that feed birds the natural (and disease-free) way]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/wildlife/26-plants-that-produce-natural-food-for-garden-birds-without-the-disease-risks-of-bird-feeders/ 2026-07-07T14:36:52.000Z 2026-07-07T11:42:30.000Z Earlier this year, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds produced new guidance on supplementary bird feeding based on research that shows the highly contagious disease, trichomonosis, can be passed from bird to bird at garden feeders. Their advice is: "Feed Seasonally. Feed Safely".
Feeding seasonally means only offering small amounts of suet, fatballs or mealworms between 1 May and 31 October, when there are more natural sources of food for birds, such as insects. The RSPB suggest that peanuts and seeds can be put out at other times of year.
Feeding safely refers to moving and cleaning feeders regularly, avoiding flat surface feeders like bird tables, clearing away spilt food, and only feeding in moderation. As always, take careful hygiene precautions when cleaning feeders, such as wearing rubber gloves and other protective clothing, washing feeders outside, restricting the use of cleaning materials, such as long-handled brushes, to this task and washing hands and forearms thoroughly afterwards.
The RSPB is also encouraging people to provide as much natural food as possible by adding wildlife-friendly plants to your borders. So we’ve listed 26 of the best plants for feeding garden birds to help you get started.
1: Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
There are many different sunflowers, including lots of dwarf varieties that are ideal for the front of borders and don’t require staking, such as "Choco Sun'. They create beautiful summer displays, and then the seedheads can be left standing as a feast for birds like blue tits and greenfinches. Some new varieties are bred to be pollenless, so make sure you choose a sunflower that has pollen and therefore is more likely to produce seeds.
Type: Annual
Wildlife rating: 4/5
Beauty rating: 4/5
2: Ornamental millet (Pennisetum glaucum ‘Purple Baron’)
The deep purple linear leaves and feathery summer flower spikes of this 90cm-tall arching grass create dramatic impact in borders, especially when contrasted with hot red and orange tones of perennials such as dahlias, rudbeckia and kniphofia. And when the flowers of Pennisetum glaucum ‘Purple Baron’ are over, seed-eating birds will descend to feed on the seeds.
Type: Annual
Wildlife rating: 3/5
Beauty rating: 3/5
3: Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)
These airy annuals create blue, white, pink and purple highlights in meadow planting and are also useful fillers for mixed borders. More compact cornflowers like ‘Polka Dot Mixed’ can be grown successfully in pots. Their flowers attract insects – an important food source for many birds, and their seeds are favoured by small birds such as goldfinches.
Type: Annual
Wildlife rating: 3/5
Beauty rating: 4/5
4: Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum)
This statuesque biennial has white or lavender bristly flowerheads which bloom in mid to late summer. Teasel flowers attract pollinators and look fantastic when they’ve gone to seed. With any luck, they’ll also attract goldfinches into the garden to pick out the tiny seeds with their narrow, pointed beaks.
Type: Perennial
Wildlife rating: 3/5
Beauty rating: 3/5
5: Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)
Knapweed has thistle-like purple flowers that are magnets for bees and other pollinating insects, which in turn draws in insectivorous birds like dunnocks, and goldfinches love the small seeds once they’re half ripe.
Type: Perennial
Wildlife rating: 5/5
Beauty rating: 5/5
6: Field scabious (Knautia arvensis)
This tall, airy perennial produces heads of blue flowers atop 1.5m stems. A grassland stalwart, field scabious does well in wildflower meadows and wildlife borders, where it draws in good numbers of pollinating insects and provides leaves for moth and butterfly caterpillars. After flowering, its seedheads are visited by seed-eating birds such as sparrows and finches.
Type: Perennial
Wildlife rating: 4/5
Beauty rating: 4/5
7: Michaelmas daisy (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii)
Michaelmas daisies provide late summer and autumn colour in the borders when many earlier flowerers have already gone over. Their white, blue, purple and pink flowers bloom for several weeks, and their seeds attract goldfinches and other seed-eating garden bird species.
Type: Perennial
Wildlife rating: 4/5
Beauty rating: 5/5
8: Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris)
Self-heal is an underrated little wildflower. This valuable low-growing perennial has clusters of violet flowers from June to October, self-seeds readily and thrives in full sun or partial shade, making it a low-maintenance addition to wildflower meadows, flowering lawns and the front of wildlife borders. As well as having flowers that are attractive to pollinators, the seeds provide food for house sparrows and dunnocks.
Type: Perennial
Wildlife rating: 4/5
Beauty rating: 3/5
9: Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)
For reliable golden yellow colour from July right through to October, Rudbeckia fulgida can’t be beaten. Their large yellow daisy-like blooms with deep brown-black centres are long-lasting, and the open flowers produce seeds that are easily accessible to a range of garden birds such as finches and sparrows.
Type: Perennial
Wildlife rating: 3/5
Beauty rating: 5/5
10: Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
Fennel’s stature and feathery leaves make it a popular perennial for the back of herb gardens and mixed borders. It often attracts aphids and other small insects that, in turn, bring in insectivores such as blue tits, which will make swift work of any infestations. Fennel seeds are also great sources of food for seed-eating birds.
Type: Perennial
Wildlife rating: 4/5
Beauty rating: 4/5
11: Verbena (Verbena bonariensis)
The long stems of verbena look elegant in the border and provide excellent perches for sparrows and finches when they descend to feast on the seeds in autumn, often bouncing along the stems to reach their food*. Verbena bonariensis* likes a spot in full sun with well-drained soil and often self-seeds around the garden, creating a naturalistic effect.
Type: Perennial
Wildlife rating: 4/5
Beauty rating: 5/5
12: Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
Wild chicory is a tall, airy plant with pale cornflower-blue blooms that attract pollinating insects in mid to late summer. It can easily be grown from seed and is drought-resistant. Once the flowers have gone over, finches love to feast on seeds from the seed heads.
Type: Perennial
Wildlife rating: 4/5
Beauty rating: 5/5
13: Firethorn (Pyracantha spp.)
Firethorn is a great all-rounder for wildlife with flowers that attract pollinating insects and thus bring in the insectivorous birds, while their red and orange berries are beloved by song thrushes, blackbirds and, if you’re lucky, winter migrants such as redwings and fieldfares. Ideal trained as a wall shrub or grown as a spiny hedge to deter intruders.
Type: Evergreen shrub
Wildlife rating: 4/5
Beauty rating: 4/5
14: Honeysuckle (Lonicera pericylmenum)
Wild honeysuckle is the food plant for dozens of moth caterpillars that, in turn, provide food for a wide range of birds and their chicks. Robins, blackbirds, song thrushes and blackcaps also eat the red berries. It thrives in dappled shade where its foliage can reach the sunlight and has a sweet fragrance, especially at night. The berries aren't edible for humans or pets.
Type: Semi-evergreen climber
Wildlife rating: 5/5
Beauty rating: 5/5
15: Ivy (Hedera helix)
Ivy is one of the best plants for wildlife, including many species of birds. In late summer and autumn, its small green flowers are often smothered in hoverflies, bees and moths – a great food source for insectivorous birds. Their calorie-rich berries provide food for thrushes and wood pigeons, though they often leave them until mid to late winter, when all the other berries are long gone. Ivy is harmful to humans and pets if eaten, and is an allergen and skin irritant.
Type: Evergreen climber
Wildlife rating: 5/5
Beauty rating: 3/5
16: Mistletoe (Viscum album)
Mistletoe is an evergreen, hemiparasitic shrub that grows mainly on lime, hawthorn and poplar. You can squeeze the berries from fruits and wipe them onto a suitable tree, although it can be several years until young plants develop. Mistle thrushes likely get their name from this iconic plant, as they love its white fruits and will defend clumps of them from other birds. Overwintering blackcaps will also feast on mistletoe berries during the winter. Mistletoe is harmful to humans and pets if eaten.
Type: Evergreen shrub
Wildlife rating: 3/5
Beauty rating: 3/5
17: Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
You can’t beat lavender flowers in high summer for colour, fragrance and nectar for a range of pollinators. Once the flowers have faded, lavender is usually pruned and the flowers removed to stop plants from becoming leggy. However, I always leave a few plants to go to seed for the sparrows and finches. If you intend to leave plants to go to seed, make sure you aren’t growing a sterile type of lavender, such as Lavandula x intermedia.
Type: Evergreen shrub
Wildlife rating: 4/5
Beauty rating: 5/5
18: Elder (Sambucus nigra)
Starlings, song thrushes and some warblers, such as blackcaps, eat elderberries in autumn (in the warblers’ case, to fuel up before their long migration flights). Other birds like the chiffchaff will pick off insects from the elder foliage. Elder also has sprays of white fragrant flowers in early summer, which attract pollinators. Elder is harmful to humans and pets if eaten, although the fruits and flowers are edible if cooked.
Type: Deciduous shrub
Wildlife rating: 4/5
Beauty rating: 4/5
19: Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus)
This native shrub has glorious white heads of flowers in late spring and early summer, and red berries in autumn. Guelder rose is ideal in a wildlife garden or hedge. However, some hybrid varieties like the popular ‘Roseum’ are sterile, so check that the variety you choose will produce berries for mistle thrushes, song thrushes and bullfinches to feed on later in the season.
Type: Deciduous shrub
Wildlife rating: 4/5
Beauty rating: 4/5
20: Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium)
With its bright yellow flowers in late winter and early spring, Mahonia aquifolium fills a hungry gap for birds like blue tits that seek out its flowers so they can feed on the nectar. Blue-black berries develop in early summer, providing a perfectly timed food source for juvenile blackbirds.
Type: Evergreen shrub
Wildlife rating: 4/5
Beauty rating: 3/5
21: Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Hawthorn is a fantastic plant for wildlife. It hosts many moth caterpillars and is known to be visited by more than 500 other invertebrate species, many of which feed on its leaves. These small creatures then provide food for birds such as coal tits. Fieldfares, redwings, goldfinches and other species eat seeds from the haws, making this widespread UK tree one of the best you can plant for garden birds.
Type: Deciduous tree
Wildlife rating: 5/5
Beauty rating: 4/5
22: Crab apple (Malus)
Crab apple trees provide food for birds through many seasons, with caterpillars and aphids on the menu in spring and summer, and the small fruits favoured by birds like thrushes and waxwings. Sometimes bullfinches will visit to eat the buds in the spring, providing this amber-listed finch with an important source of food.
Type: Deciduous tree
Wildlife rating: 5/5
Beauty rating: 5/5
23: Hazel (Corylus avellana)
Hazel is another UK tree that attracts a wide range of invertebrates, such as winter moth caterpillars, providing vital food for birds like blue tits and great tits to feed their chicks in the spring. Great-spotted woodpeckers, jays and nuthatches will visit hazel trees in the autumn to eat the hazelnuts or to cache them for later.
Type: Deciduous tree
Wildlife rating: 5/5
Beauty rating: 4/5
24: Holly (Ilex aquifolium)
Glossy red holly berries look wonderful on the tree and decorating our houses at Christmas, but they also provide an important food source for birds like thrushes in the winter months. If you want a tree with holly berries, choose a female variety such as Ilex aquifolium ‘Argentea Marginata’ and Ilex x altaclerensis ‘Golden King’, which is also a female variety, despite its name. Also, make sure there’s a male nearby to pollinate the flowers, such as Ilex aquifolium ‘Silver Queen’, which – you guessed it – is a male variety!
Type: Evergreen tree
Wildlife rating: 4/5
Beauty rating: 4/5
25: Silver birch (Betula pendula)
Another wonderful tree for moth caterpillars and other invertebrates, silver birch is both beautiful and beneficial for wildlife. Goldfinch and siskins will feed on birch seeds from the catkins in the winter, and woodpeckers will take up residence in holes in the trunk.
Type: Deciduous tree
Wildlife rating: 5/5
Beauty rating: 5/5
26: Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
This superb garden tree is another wildlife-friendly species with fiery autumn colour. 150 species of insect are known to feed on rowan, providing a rich source of protein for insectivorous birds. Rowan berries are the favourite food of waxwings (which can eat twice their body weight per day), if there are any berries left that is after the starlings, pigeons, doves, redwings and fieldfares have eaten their fill. For smaller gardens, choose a more compact rowan such as Sorbus vilmorinii or Sorbus ‘Sheerwater Seedling’.
Type: Deciduous tree
Wildlife rating: 5/5
Beauty rating: 4/5
]]> Francesca Clarke <![CDATA[Stiffcock, nippleweed and naked ladies? 12 plants with names so naughty we had to check twice]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/13-plants-with-rude-or-bizarre-names/ 2026-07-23T19:09:47.000Z 2026-06-18T16:00:34.000Z 1: Booby cactus (Myrtillocactus geometrizans cv. fukurokuryuzinboku – main image)
Holly Farrell, author of Botanica Erotica, is a big fan: “This rare cultivar is a rare example of a more feminine shape among other cacti's phallic stems. The 'boobs' are swollen tubercles (small, rounded swellings), each complete with an areola just where the nipple would be on a human breast.”
Can I grow it? Yes, care for it as you would any cactus plant.
2: Knobweed (Hyptis capitata)
“Sadly, the knob in question here is more doorknob than the other kind,” says Holly. “Unlike stiffcock (Diospyros crassinervis), which is used as a herbal virility enhancer, knobweed has no particular effect on that organ, but has been found to have some anti-bacterial effects.”
Can I grow it? It’s actually categorised as an invasive weed in Australia, so probably no!
3: Naked ladies (Colchicum autumnale)
Another favourite of Holly’s: “These autumn flowers push up nakedly from the corm, without any surrounding leaves. They’re strictly for admiring from afar, as all parts contain toxic colchicine.”
Can I grow them? Absolutely. Autumn crocus bulbs are available for delivery from late summer
4: Turkey tangle frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora)
A charming spreading perennial with lilac and white summer flowers, the name comes from the dense, knotted webs of its stems, mixed with an evolution of ‘fogfruit’, a medieval term for low-growing vegetation.
Can I grow it? Yes! Although a native of the tropics, it’s hardy to -10C and widely grown in the UK as a resilient evergreen ground cover.
5: Nipplewort (Lapsana communis)
Holly says that in the medieval medical Doctrine of Signatures, a plant that resembled a body part was thought to be beneficial for that part. “The nipple-like buds of nipplewort were prescribed for sore breastfeeding women. Today it’s been shown to have little benefit to the nipples or indeed anywhere else, but the leaves are edible, if a little hairy.”
Can I grow it? Depends on how you feel about ‘weeds’ – this is a common garden example.
6: Sticky willie (Galium aparine)
Loved by hedgerow pranksters, its hooked foliage and seeds have also been used to 'predict' marriage proposals, says Holly. “According to rural folklore, when scrunched balls of stems were thrown at a girl, the number that stuck would be the number of suitors she'd have.”
Can I grow it? You may have no choice.
7: Strangler fig (Ficus aurea)
As creepy as the name suggests, this Central American/Mexican epiphyte commonly wraps itself around another tree until it is strangled, often surviving as a spooky mesh-like structure after the tree that was inside has died and rotted.
Can I grow it? It’s sometimes grown indoors as a bonsai specimen, but hard to get hold of in the UK.
8: Dead man’s fingers (Xylaria polymorpha)
This fungus is creepy as they come; its grey-green, upturned growths appear from the ground around rotting wood, very much like its name suggests.
Can I grow it? Do you really want to have nightmares about the risen dead?
9: Misshapen penis plant (Amorphophallus titanum)
The translation of the scientific name is 'giant misshapen penis', but this plant is also nicknamed 'the corpse flower'. “Its rotting-carrion stench might be off-putting to us, but to its fly pollinators it's the sweet fragrance of a home-cooked meal after a long day at the office, plus a warm bed (the flower is noticeably warmer than the surrounding air),” says Holly. Trapped in the flower overnight, liberally coated with pollen, the fly is then released to hopefully pollinate another arum.
Can I grow it? Really…?
10: Darth Vader begonia (Begonia darthvaderiana)
The dark lord of house plants, this rare and highly sought-after begonia is loved by collectors for its near-black velvety leaves and contrasting red flowers.
Can I grow it? Doubt it; you’ll need to mimic the exact conditions of its native Borneo
11: Vampire orchid (Dracula vampira)
An orchid as rare and distinctive as the name suggests, with large black sepals surrounding a tiny white flower, hooded like a dragon (Dracula means 'little dragon'). Like the strangler fig, it’s epiphytic and grows on the lower sections of trees.
Can I grow it? Good luck. This is one picky vampire, found only in the cloud forests of Mount Pichincha in Ecuador
12: Obi-Wan conobea (Leucospora multifida)
Clearly, botanists were having a fun day when they landed on this one, a pun on its former botanical genus Conobea. Any similarity to the Jedi Master sadly ends there.
Can I grow it? Not unless you’re also native to midwestern US, where it grows as an annual herb.
Holly Farrell is the author of books including Healing with Plants: The Chelsea Physic Garden Herbal and The Kew Gardener's Guides to Growing Herbs*,* RHS Little Book of Wild Gardening and, most recently Botanica Erotica: A Compendium of Plants That Are Naughty by Nature (Dorling Kindersley, published 22 October in the UK). @holly_farrell_books
]]> Sue Fisher <![CDATA[How to grow and care for nasturtiums]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-nasturtiums/ 2026-05-27T15:32:39.000Z 2026-05-27T14:34:28.000Z Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum) are one of the quickest and easiest annuals to grow. They produce masses of vividly coloured blooms from midsummer right through to the first autumn frosts in a surprisingly wide range of colours – not just orange, yellow and red but also cream, salmon pink, burgundy and crimson (and often a mix of several of these). Some have attractively marbled or mottled leaves, too.
Nasturtiums are either bushy or dwarf (Tropaeolum minus) or climbers (Tropaeolum majus). Bushy varieties look great in containers and hanging baskets or at the front of a border, while climbing varieties can be trained up wigwams or obelisks and will twine through other plants. These can also be used as ground cover, spreading across gravel or cascading down a slope or bank. Both types grow very well in pots.
Nasturtiums not only look spectacular but the flowers, leaves and seeds are edible, too. They also make good companion plants on the veg patch – the caterpillars of large and small white butterflies feed on the leaves, luring them away from brassicas. Bees love the flowers. Nasturtiums are incredibly easy to grow from seed, making them ideal for beginner gardeners and children. They also make good cut flowers.
Where to grow nasturtiums
Nasturtiums need sunshine for at least half the day in order to grow well. A free-draining soil is essential; nasturtiums flower best on poor soils. Fertile soil results in lots of leafy growth at the expense of flowers and flowers that are buried beneath the foliage.
Grow nasturtiums at the front of a border, up an obelisk, as companion planting on the veg patch or spilling over the edge of raised beds and pots.
Where to buy nasturtium seeds online
When to sow nasturtium
Sow nasturtium seeds under cover from March and outside when the soil has warmed up, from March to May – a late sowing will ensure flowers until the first frosts.
How to sow nasturtium seeds
Sowing nasturtiums in the ground
You can sow nasturtium seeds directly where they are to flower.
- Rake the soil to a fine tilth and make sure it is free of weeds. Water the area before you sow – this will ensure that you don't wash away the seeds once sown
- Sow the seeds 1.5cm deep, around 10cm apart – either push them in with your finger, or use a bamboo cane to make a shallow drill
- Cover the seeds with soil
- Once the seedlings emerge (after about two weeks) thin them to around 30cm apart
You can also simply pop seeds around the garden, where you'd like them to appear – around the edge of raised beds or large pots of bedding, for example.
Sowing nasturtiums in pots
You can also sow nasturtium seeds in pots – this is a good way to get earlier flowers and is a good option if you want to plant up a beautiful container display later in the season. Simply sow one seed per 9cm pot in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill, harden off and plant outside in late spring.
Read our detailed advice on how to sow annual climbers.
How to plant out nasturtiums
If you haven't grown your own plants from seed, you might find small pots of nasturtiums at the garden centre in late spring or early summer that are ready for planting out.
Planting nasturtiums in the ground
Dig a hole that is the same size as the pot your plant was growing in, and plant so that the crown of leaves is at soil level. Water in well.
Planting nasturtiums in containers
Mix two-thirds peat-free multipurpose compost with one third fine gravel or grit, to reduce fertility and ensure good drainage. Again, plant so that the crown of leaves is at soil level and water in well.
In this clip from Gardeners' World, Monty Don arranges plants for a late summer display, with a dramatic purple-leaved Phormium cookianum 'Black Adder' in the centre, lots of magenta-flowered Cosmos bipinnatus 'Dazzler', and four Bidens 'Hawaiian Flare Orange Drop' cascading over the rim, alongside trailing nasturtiums, Tropaeolum majus 'Cherry Rose Jewel'. He also advises on aftercare to keep the display at peak flowering through to late autumn:
View Green Video on the source website
How to care for nasturtium
Nasturtiums are easy to care for and need little maintenance. Plants growing in the ground rarely need watering. Plants growing in containers should be watered to keep the compost evenly moist, but don't feed them. Deadheading will encourage more blooms over a longer period.
Harvesting and storage
Nasturtium leaves, flowers and seeds are all edible. The flowers and young leaves have a peppery taste (nasturtiums are closely related to watercress) and are a great addition to salads. The seed pods can be used as a substitute for capers (they are known as 'poor man's capers'). Pick them when mature but still green, and pickle them in vinegar.
You can collect nasturtium seeds when they're ripe and save them somewhere cool and dry to sow next year. In mild areas, nasturtiums are also likely to self-sow, so you may get seedlings springing up in future years. These can be easily pulled up if not wanted.
Our friends at olive magazine have a range of recipes that incorporate nasturtiums, including pickled vegetables with salted yogurt and pressed tomatoes with whipped goat’s cheese and lovage oil.
Growing nasturtiums: problem solving
Nasturtiums are likely to attract large and small white butterflies (known as cabbage white butterflies) which lay their large greenish eggs on the leaf undersides, which hatch into caterpillars that eat the leaves. This can be useful to deter caterpillars from eating brassica crops but not desirable if you’re growing nasturtiums for flowers. The best method of control is to inspect plants regularly and squash the eggs or young caterpillars, or move them on to plants you don't mind being eaten.
Nasturtiums are also attractive to aphids, particularly blackfly. Again, by planting nasturtiums alongside bean crops you can lure aphids away from your crop, but you may not appreciate aphids on nasturtiums you're growing for leaves and flowers. Spray them off with a jet of water or let ladybirds, hoverflies and lacewings remove them for you – all three lay their eggs on aphid colonies and their young quickly eat them up.
Advice on buying nasturtiums
-
Nasturtium seeds are widely available at garden centres and online; for the best selection, look online
-
Choose from bushy or climbing types
-
Young plants are available at garden centres in late spring
Where to buy nasturtium seeds online
Frequently asked questions
Do nasturtiums grow back every year?
Nasturtiums are annual and don't survive winter frosts. However they self seed readily so should grow next year if allowed to develop seed.
What should you not plant next to nasturtiums?
Some gardeners suggest avoiding planting nasturtiums next to brassicas, but this can be useful as you can transfer small and large white caterpillars from the brassicas to the nasturtiums.
Nasturtium varieties to grow
Nasturtium 'Black Velvet'
Tropaeolum minus 'Black Velvet' is a compact nasturtium with velvety dark red flowers. H x S: 30cm x 45cm
Nasturtium 'Phoenix'
Tropaeolum minus 'Phoenix' has flowers with unusual split petals, in shades red, orange and yellow. A bushy variety. Height x Spread: 30cm x 30cm
Nasturtium 'Empress of India'
Nasturtium minus ‘Empress of India’ is a bushy nasturtium with crimson-red flowers and dark leaves. H x S: 25cm x 45cm. 'Princess of India' is a dwarf version.
Nasturtium 'Orange Troika'
Tropaeolum majus 'Orange Troika' is a climbing or trailing variety with vivid orange flowers and marbled foliage. H x S: 30cm x 1.5m
Nasturtium 'Alaska Series'
Nasturtium minus ‘Alaska Series’ produces flowers in yellow, cream, orange and red, shown off against cream and green marbled leaves. Bushy. H x S: 25cm x 45cm.
Nasturtium 'Ladybird'
Tropaeolum minus 'Ladybird' has pretty cream/yellow flowers with deep red spots at the throat. H x S: 30cm x 40cm
Nasturtium 'Baby Deep Rose'
Tropaeolum minus 'Baby Deep Rose' is a compact, bushy variety with deep crimson blooms. H x S: 20cm x 20cm
Nasturtium 'Bloody Mary'
Tropaeolum minus 'Bloody Mary' has splotched and striped flowers in shades deep red, yellow and cream. H x S: 30cm x 60cm
]]> BBC Gardeners' World Magazine <![CDATA[How to grow pussy willow]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-grow-care-for-pussy-willow/ 2026-05-27T15:14:27.000Z 2026-05-27T13:01:27.000Z The silver furry catkins of pussy willow are one of the first signs of spring. While there are many different types of willow, the one most widely grown in gardens is Salix caprea ‘Kilmarnock’, or 'Kilmarnock willow'. This is a small tree, growing to just 2.4m high with a spread of up to 1.5m, and forms a stiffly weeping ‘umbrella’ of branches. Yellow-green stems are smothered in fuzzy silver catkins from late winter to early spring on bare twigs, before the leaves open. The pollen-laden catkins are popular with bees.
The Kilmarnock willow is sometimes referred to as ‘weeping willow’ but is not to be confused with the tree more widely known as weeping willow (Salix x chrysocoma) which quickly grows into a huge tree. There are other willow species that are grown for their decorative catkins, and which range in size from compact shrubs up to small trees.
Where to grow a pussy willow tree
The Kilmarnock or pussy willow has a compact weeping habit and is suitable for small gardens. It does best in full sun but will grow in light shade. The branches will eventually grow right down to the ground so any plants growing close by should to be low, ground-covering, and tolerant of shade. Alternatively, grow a pussy willow tree in a courtyard or surrounded by a hard surface such as gravel or paving.
When to plant pussy willow
You can plant potted pussy willows at any time of year, but it's best to avoid deep winter, when the ground is frozen, or high summer, when temperatures are so hot it will be hard to keep moisture in the soil. Bare-root pussy willows can be planted from November to March.
How to plant pussy willow
Pussy willow is an easy tree to grow on any reasonable soil as long as it's fertile and doesn’t dry out quickly. While pussy willow does best in moisture retentive soil, it suffers in waterlogged ground, unlike some other willows.
Planting a pussy willow tree is best done in autumn so it can become well established before the growing season. However, spring or even summer planting is fine as long as the tree is watered regularly during dry spells in its first year. Plant the tree so the top of the rootball is at the same level as the surrounding soil, backfill around the rootball and firm the soil around the roots to avoid leaving air pockets. Water thoroughly to settle the soil.
Supporting the tree with a stake is important as the top-heavy head of branches is likely to catch the wind and damage the newly developing roots. Secure the tree to the stake with a rubber tree tie, or a wide flexible material such as old nylon tights. Check the tie for rubbing from time to time and loosen if necessary.
Where to buy pussy willow online
How to care for pussy willow
Apart from regular watering until the tree is established, little care is needed during the first few years apart from removing any dead or damaged stems. Thin out older trees that become dense and congested by removing entire stems back to the main framework of branches. Avoid shortening stems as this will make congestion worse by encouraging lots of shoots to develop.
How to propagate pussy willow
It's not possible to propagate pussy willow trees because the shape of the tree is achieved by grafting goat willow (Salix caprea) onto a standard rootstock. This means that if you take cuttings from your pussy willow, you will end up with a goat willow, which is not usually considered 'garden worthy'.
Pests and diseases
Pussy willow tree is easy to grow and usually trouble-free given the right growing conditions.
The fungal disease anthracnose, scab and canker can sometimes occur, causing brown or black spots on the leaves or young stems, and lesions on the stems. Shoots or larger stems can die off. Prune out dead or dying stems and any affected with lesions. Aphids and caterpillars sometimes appear on the tree, but these are part of the ecosystem of your garden and provide food for birds, so should be welcomed. They rarely cause a problem as long as the tree is healthy and growing strongly.
Advice on buying pussy willow
- Check the height and spread of your Kilmarnock willow before buying – what you think may be a bargain could actually be a very small tree that takes a few years to grow into the space you have allocated
- Check each plant over for signs of pests or diseases. Ensure the plant is healthy before planting
Where to buy pussy willow online
Pussy willow varieties to grow
- Salix caprea ‘Kilmarnock’ is the only pussy willow that forms a small weeping tree. Height up to 1.8-2.4 m, spread to 1.5 m.
Other willows grown for their decorative catkins include:
- Salix daphnoides (violet willow). Purple-coloured stems contrast with silvery catkins. Cut back annually in late winter. Vigorous, reaching up to 2.4m.
- Salix gracilistyla ‘Mount Aso’ (Japanese pink pussy willow). Eye-catching fluffy pink catkins followed by blue-green leaves. Forms a rounded bush up to 1.5 m high and wide.
- Salix hastata Wehrhahnii. Silvery catkins produced on purple-brown stems. Compact and dwarf in habit, maximum 1 m height and spread.
]]> BBC Gardeners' World Magazine <![CDATA[How to grow cosmos]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-cosmos/ 2026-05-27T15:07:38.000Z 2026-05-27T09:52:21.000Z This article has been checked for horticultural accuracy by Oliver Parsons.
Cosmos are sun-loving plants with a long flowering season, from May to September. They fill borders with a profusion of flowers, ranging in colour from white through to pink, red and orange, and they have masses of feathery foliage. Cosmos is considered a birth flower for October, and is associated with order and balance.
Shorter varieties look good in containers and all cosmos make fantastic cut flowers. Their simple open flowers are guaranteed to brighten up any garden well into autumn - and pollinators like them just as much as gardeners do.
There are both annual and perennial types of cosmos but they are both grown as hardy annuals in the UK as they don't survive our winters. However, if you leave them to develop seeds, they will self-seed around the garden or you can collect seed to sow the following spring.
Where to grow cosmos
Cosmos are native to Southern and Central America, so need to be planted in a warm, sunny spot, in free-draining soil. It works well when planted into gaps in a sunny border, and can also be grown in pots.
How to plant cosmos
Sow cosmos seeds in early spring directly into the soil where you want them to grow, or into small pots or modules filled with free-draining seed compost. If growing in pots, pot on seedlings when they are large enough to handle. Plant out in late April, May or early June after the danger of frost has passed.
Watch this video, below, to see Monty Don plant out cosmos for a long summer display.
View Green Video on the source website
How to care for cosmos
Once your seedlings have formed 2-3 pairs of leaves, pinch out the growing tips to produce bushier plants with more flowers.
Taller varieties may need staking, otherwise all varieties will flower for a long period if deadheaded regularly. When deadheading, cut the stem back to the first leaf beneath the flower.
The tender perennial chocolate cosmos varieties will need winter protection. Grow them in pots, then when they've finished flowering shelter them over winter in a frost-free place until spring.
In the video below, Monty Don explains how deadheading spent flowers will keep them blooming for as long as possible.
View Green Video on the source website
How to propagate cosmos
You can collect seeds from flowering cosmos and save them for sowing next year. Or if you're growing chocolate cosmos, divide the tubers when you lift the plants for storage over winter.
Pests and diseases
Cosmos are pretty much trouble-free to grow, apart from the threat of slugs and snails when the seedlings are young. You may find aphids on new growth in spring and summer – these are usually fine to leave as ladybirds and other predators will find them.
Great cosmos varieties to grow
- Cosmos Sea Shells – with pale, fluted petals – looking like a sea shell – it's a great planting partner for dark-flowered dahlias and chrysanthemums
- Cosmos bipinnatus Sonata White – a compact cosmos, good for growing in containers. Masses of pure-white, single, saucer-shaped flowers appear throughout summer
- Cosmos bipinnatus Fizzy Pink – with strong flower colours from white to carmine, this variety is good for cutting or growing in pots
- Cosmos 'Gazebo Red' – a medium-sized, bushy, early-flowering variety of cosmos, with large, velvety red blooms
- Cosmos atrosanguineus – the chocolate cosmos is a tender perennial from Mexico. The dark cocoa-coloured flowers have a faint scent of vanilla and chocolate. It grows from tubers, unlike other cosmos, and should be treated like a dahlia or canna lily, lifting to overwinter indoors or mulched heavily in autumn.
Frequently asked questions
My cosmos are very tall and sturdy, so why do they have no flowers?
If your cosmos are tall, strong and bushy but without blooms, they may have been overfed with nitrogen-based fertiliser or grown in soil that is too fertile. This can cause cosmos to grow foliage at the expense of flowers. Cosmos flower best when planted in full sun and in free-draining, average garden soil. Plants in shade will also struggle to flower. Pinching out cosmos plants should lead to more blooms.
When do I pinch out my cosmos?
The best time to pinch out the tops of cosmos seedlings is when they have grown three sets of true leaves (fern-like leaves). This will encourage plants to branch out and become bushier. It should also lead to more flower production.
My cosmos are leggy. How do I prick them out?
Don’t sow cosmos too early in the year, when sunlight is weak, and make sure they get plenty of light to avoid leggy growth. But if your cosmos seedlings have already become leggy, don’t worry. Just prick out and pot on into a slightly larger container, planting the seedlings a little deeper than they were. If you haven’t already pinched out the tops, do that now to encourage bushier growth.
]]> BBC Gardeners World Magazine <![CDATA[Trouble-free roses]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/trouble-free-roses/ 2026-05-22T10:13:13.000Z 2026-05-22T10:10:29.000Z While old gallica and rugosa roses are largely trouble-free, other types of rose are often troubled with disease. Bred to bear large flowers over a long period, many are plagued with problems such as mildew, blackspot and rust. Traditionally, rose breeders and growers would treat their roses with fungicides to prevent or cure these diseases, so they weren’t considered much of a problem.
However, in the wake of bee declines being linked to the use of fungicides, more and more gardeners prefer not to use such sprays in the garden. And so roses are now being bred for health and vigour as well as beautiful flowers over a long period. These new varieties of roses are trouble-free and disease-resistant, ensuring you have a beautiful display without having to worry about disease.
More advice for growing roses:
- Five ways to grow better roses
- Rose problems solved
- How to prune roses
- How to grow roses
In this short video guide, the experts at David Austin roses share their top tips for growing roses, including how to water roses to avoid spreading disease.
View Green Video on the source website
Browse our pick of disease-resistant roses below.
Rosa 'Charles de Mills'
Rosa 'Charles de Mills' is a gallica rose, bearing fully double, magenta-pink flowers with an intense fragrance. It's ideal for growing in a mixed or shrub border or as an informal, flowering hedge. H x S: 120 x 120cm
Rosa 'Thomas á Becket'
A repeat-flowering shrub rose resembling a wild rose, Rosa 'Thomas á Becket' is healthy and vigorous. It bears loose rosettes of crimson flowers with an old rose fragrance and a hint of fresh lemon. H x S: 100 x 120cm
Rosa 'Mortimer Sackler'
Rosa 'Mortimer Sackler' has been renamed Rosa 'Mary Delany', to remove its association with the Sackler family, who own Purdue Pharma. It is a tall shrub rose with small, dark green leaves and few thorns. It bears soft pink, cup-shaped double flowers with an ‘old rose’ fragrance. As each flower matures the petals open, gradually exposing its bright yellow stamens. H x S: 360 x 130cm
Rosa 'Roseraie de L'Hay'
This rugosa rose forms a vigorous, dense shrub of light green, crinkled leaves. From summer to autumn Rosa 'Roseraie de L'Hay' bears bright, cerise-pink double blooms with a strong fragrance, followed by bright red hips. H x S: 250 x 250cm.
Rosa 'Boscobel'
Rosa 'Boscobel', is a healthy, bushy shrub rose with red buds opening to large, salmon-pink flowers with masses of closely packed petals and a fragrance combining hints of myrrh, elderflower, pear and almond. Compact in size, it's suitable for growing in pots. H x S: 90 x 75cm
Rosa 'Lady of Shalott'
Rosa 'Lady of Shallott' is a robust, bushy shrub rose with mid-green leaves and excellent disease resistance. It has arching stems and may therefore be grown as a shrub or a short climber. It bears masses of orange-red, double blooms with a delicate tea fragrance. H x S: 130x 100cm
]]> BBC Gardeners' World Magazine <![CDATA[How to grow and care for honeysuckle]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-honeysuckle/ 2026-05-19T18:23:49.000Z 2026-05-17T09:24:24.000Z This article has been checked for horticultural accuracy by Oliver Parsons.
Most of us think of honeysuckles as twining climbers with pretty, scented tubular flowers, perfect for covering walls, fences and pergolas. But there are also evergreen, shrubby types that make an excellent honeysuckle bush, hedging or topiary. Both belong to the genus Lonicera and there are many different cultivars, hailing from Europe, Asia, the Mediterranean and North America. Lonicera periclymenum (wild honeysuckle, common honeysuckle or woodbine) is native to the UK.
Climbing honeysuckles flower in summer, in shades of white, cream, lemon yellow, pink, orange and raspberry red. They're perfect plants for an informal or cottage garden style, and look good combined with roses for a romantic display. They are also a magnet for wildlife. The scent of their nectar-rich flowers attracts bees and butterflies during the day and moths at night – their colour changes slightly once pollinated. The red berries that follow are enjoyed by birds (but are poisonous to humans).
Climbing honeysuckles can be deciduous, semi-evergreen or evergreen, depending on the variety. Deciduous species tend to have a more spectacular display of flowers; the evergreen honeysuckle types bear smaller, less significant blooms but give foliage cover all year round.
Shrubby honeysuckles can be deciduous, semi-evergreen or fully evergreen. Evergreen types such as Lonicera nitida (now renamed as Lonicera ligustrina var. yunnanensis) have small leaves that are similar to those of box, and are often used to create a honeysuckle bush or hedge – even topiary. If you have had problems with box blight or box tree caterpillar on your box plants, Lonicera nitida makes a sensible alternative. Lonicera fragrantissima and Lonicera x purpusii are deciduous to semi-evergreen, and bear deliciously scented flowers in winter.
Jump to...
- Planting honeysuckle
- Caring for honeysuckle
- Pruning honeysuckle
- How to propagate honeysuckle
- Growing honeysuckle: problem-solving
- Buying honeysuckle
- Best honeysuckle to grow
Where to grow honeysuckle
All honeysuckles will grow in most soil types but prefer a fairly free-draining, humus-rich soil.
Climbing honeysuckles
Climbing honeysuckles are mostly woodland and hedgerow plants, so have evolved with their roots shaded by trees and shrubs, and their climbing tendrils growing into the light. Mimic these growing conditions if you can – climbing honeysuckles do better when their roots are in shade and their stems can reach sunlight.
The scent of climbing honeysuckle is stronger when plants are grown in a warm spot. A new variety, 'Strawberries and Cream', is low growing and more suitable for pots.
Shrubby honeysuckles
Shrubby honeysuckles such as winter honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima and Lonicera nitida will grow in full sun or partial shade.
When to plant honeysuckle
You can plant climbing honeysuckles all year round, but it's best to avoid planting in summer as the hot, dry conditions can lead to plant stress, or when the ground is frozen in winter. Deciduous honeysuckles are best planted in late winter.
How to plant honeysuckle
Honeysuckles have deep roots and need moisture-retentive soil, so are best planted in the ground, rather than pots. When planting any honeysuckle, dig in some well-rotted organic matter, such as garden compost or well rotted manure, into the soil before planting. Dig a hole that is the same size as the rootball, and plant at the same depth as the plant was in the pot. Firm in wall, water deeply and finally mulch with organic matter to help with water retention.
Climbing honeysuckles will twine around supports but require a helping hand when young. If you're growing one against a wall or fence, put up some galvanised wires and lead the plant to these by guiding the stems with a bamboo cane, or tie them in to a support.
Many shrubby honeysuckles can be planted as cheaper, bare-root plants in autumn or winter. For a dense hedge, plant five small plants per metre.
Where to buy honeysuckle online
How to care for honeysuckle
Water all honeysuckles in dry spells in summer. Feed with a general-purpose fertiliser in spring to promote good growth and plenty of flowers.
Beware of the 'rain shadow' that can occur at the base of walls and fences, where rain doesn't reach the soil. Mulching around the base of climbing honeysuckles in spring with well-rotted manure or garden compost can help to retain moisture.
How to prune honeysuckle
Honeysuckle pruning depends on the type of honeysuckle you are growing - climbing or shrubby.
Climbing honeysuckles
Those that flower early in the summer should be pruned after flowering. Cut back by about one third to maintain a neat shape. Don't remove the dying flowerheads as these will become berries. Those that flower later in the summer should be pruned lightly in spring. These flower on the current season’s growth, so don't cut back too hard or you'll risk losing the flowers.
If your climbing honeysuckle is overgrown, renovate it in late winter by cutting it back hard. In this vintage clip from Gardeners' World, below, Joe Swift demonstrates how to prune honeysuckle growing on an obelisk.
View Green Video on the source website
Shrubby honeysuckles
Deciduous shrubby honeysuckles can be pruned after flowering in late spring or summer. If your plant is very overgrown, you can cut it back hard in late winter or early spring.
In this clip from Gardeners' World, below, Monty Don prunes a winter-flowering honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima, showing where and how much to cut in order to generate new shoots that will carry fragrant blooms next winter and early spring.
View Green Video on the source website
Evergreen shrubby honeysuckles such as Lonicera nitida, can be pruned in summer.
How to propagate honeysuckle
You can propagate honeysuckle by taking semi-ripe cuttings in July and August, when the wood of new stems is flexible but firm. In this video guide, Alan Titchmarsh demonstrates how to take cuttings from honeysuckle, to make new honeysuckle plants for free.
View Green Video on the source website
You can also propagate climbing honeysuckles by layering – bending a shoot down to soil level and encouraging it to root.
Climbing honeysuckles can be propagated from their berries. Extract the seeds from the berries and sow them straight away in pots of loamy compost. Leave the seeds in a cold frame over winter – they need an extended period of cold – and they should start to germinate in spring once temperatures rise to around 15°C.
Pests and diseases
Honeysuckle aphid can be a real problem for climbing honeysuckles. Leaves become distorted and curled as the sucking insects feed on the plant. The aphids excrete honeydew, which then leads to sooty mould. Plants that are in poor health are more prone to infestation. Prune out very badly infested shoots, or apply an organic insecticide as a last resort. Plants are less prone to aphid attack if they are grown in partial shade.
Honeysuckles can also be prone to powdery mildew – again, growing in partial shade can help prevent this, as can mulching around the base in spring.
What can I do to stop my honeysuckle leaves turning yellow and falling off?
Yellowing and falling leaves can indicate nutrient deficiency or simply a lack of water. Give your honeysuckle a good drink and feed with a liquid seaweed fertiliser or balanced organic plant food, and it should perk up.
If your honeysuckle stops flowering, there are a few things you can do to encourage flowers, as Alan Titchmarsh explains in the video below.
View Green Video on the source website
Advice on buying honeysuckle
- There's a wide range of honeysuckles to grow, including climbers and shrubby plants that are deciduous or evergreen. Make sure you choose the right one for your garden
- Bear in mind that specialist nurseries may offer more choice than garden centres
- Always check your plants for signs of disease and damage before buying or, if you bought them online, before planting
Honeysuckle varieties to grow
Lonicera periclymenum 'Serotina'
Lonicera periclymenum 'Serotina' is a vigorous, deciduous honeysuckle climber with scented, creamy-white flowers that are streaked with raspberry red. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM). Height x Spread: 7m x 3.5m
Lonicera periclymenum 'Scentsation'
Lonicera periclymenum 'Scentsation', as its name suggests, has strongly scented flowers in shades of white and pale yellow, from midsummer to September. H x S: 7m x 1m
Lonicera 'Mandarin'
Lonicera 'Mandarin' is a new variety with striking but unscented orange flowers from June to August. It is a vigorous, deciduous climber. The new foliage is a rich-bronze colour, before maturing to deep green. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM). H x S: 6m x 2m
Lonicera japonica 'Halliana'
Lonicera japonica 'Halliana' is a vigorous evergreen honeysuckle that bears scented yellow and white flowers in summer. It has the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM). It has a tendency to become invasive in certain situations. Lonicera japonica is considered an invasive non-native plant in Northern Ireland, where it's an offense to plant or cause it to grow in the wild. H x S: 3m x 4.5m
Lonicera periclymenum 'Rhubarb and Custard'
Lonicera periclymenum 'Rhubarb and Custard' is an attractive and compact deciduous climber with large, scented flowers. As the name suggests, these are custard-yellow tinged with rhubarb pink. Suitable for smaller gardens. H x S: 2m x 1.5m
Lonicera periclymenum 'Strawberries and Cream'
A new delightful, compact variety that doesn't climb, but forms a neat mounded shape. Its flowers, as its name suggests, are pink and pale yellow. It's perfect for growing at the front of a border and is ideal for pots. H x S: 60cm x 60cm
Lonicera periclymenum ‘Graham Thomas’
Lonicera periclymenum ‘Graham Thomas’ is a deciduous climbing honeysuckle with highly scented flowers from July to September; they start out white and turn butter yellow. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM). H x S: 7m x 1m
Lonicera fragrantissima
Lonicera fragrantissima is known as the winter honeysuckle as it bears white, highly scented flowers on the leafless branches from January to March. This deciduous shrub is fully hardy. H x S: 2m x 3m
Lonicera x purpusii 'Winter Beauty'
Lonicera x purpusii ‘Winter Beauty’ is one of the best winter-flowering shrubby honeysuckles, bearing sweetly fragrant creamy-white flowers on bare stems, from late winter. It makes an attractive spreading deciduous shrub. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM). H x S: 3m x 2m
Lonicera pileata
Lonicera pileata (box-leaved honeysuckle) is a dense evergreen shrub with small, box-like leaves, ideal for topiary or a dense, low-growing hedge. It bears small, creamy-white flowers in spring and purple berries in autumn. It is a good alternative to box if box blight or box tree caterpillar is a problem. H x S: 1m x 2.5m
Frequently asked questions
My honeysuckle has mildew - what can I do?
Honeysuckles are woodland plants that thrive in partial shade, ideally with their roots in shade and leaves in sunshine for half of the day. Powdery mildew often occurs when the roots become dry and could indicate that your honeysuckle is struggling.
Rather than spray the mildew with a fungicide, it's best to tackle the cause of the problem: dry roots. Keep your honeysuckle well watered during summer and mulch annually with bark chippings or homemade compost so the soil retains as much moisture as possible. You may also consider adding a piece of crock around the roots to further prevent evaporation from the soil, as you might with clematis. This should solve the problem immediately.
Why doesn't my honeysuckle have any scent?
Although honeysuckles are known for their strong fragrance, not all of them are scented (for example, Lonicera × tellmanniana), so it's important to check the label before buying. If you have a scented honeysuckle that's not producing any fragrance, then give the plant a good drink as moist soil and warm conditions are said to bring on the best fragrance of scented plants. Bear in mind that honeysuckles have evolved to be pollinated by moths so are more scented at night. So, if you are checking your flowers by day, check them again at dusk – you may find they smell more strongly in the evening.
How can I grow honeysuckle up a fence?
Climbing honeysuckles are not self-clinging, so need to be tied to a support, such as a trellis or series of tension wires fixed to the fence using vine eyes. It's a good idea to paint the fence before training climbers to grow up it, as it can be tricky to paint behind existing plants. If using tension wires, fix them both horizontally and vertically, so there is plenty of wire to tie the honeysuckle stems into.
]]> Hazel Sillver <![CDATA[Want to cover your fence fast? Try these 14 expert-picked SPEEDY climbers]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/premium/want-to-cover-your-fence-fast-try-these-14-expert-picked-speedy-climbers/ 2026-08-03T16:18:49.000Z 2026-05-16T07:29:04.000Z 1: Passion flower (main image)
Type: Evergreen climber
H x S: 10m x 3m
Hardiness: H4 (UK); USDA 7-9
Which fast climber has a tropical vibe? Passiflora caerulea AGM is a rampant evergreen with dark leaves and purple and white summer flowers that look like they've been plucked from a jungle.
Does it produce fruits? Yes, but they're not very tasty, unlike those of the species grown for passion fruits, Passiflora edulis, which is too tender for most gardens.
Best site: A sheltered sun-baked fence; well-drained soil.
Pruning: Prune in early spring, if required.
2: Chilean potato tree
Type: Semi-evergreen climbing shrub
H x S: 4m x 6m
Hardiness: H4 (UK); USDA 8-11
Which fast climber flowers for a long time? Solanum crispum 'Glasnevin' AGM is a strong-growing shrub that produces fragrant lavender-purple flowers from June to September. In warm areas, it's evergreen.
Does it produce potatoes? No, it is part of the potato family and bears fruit, but all parts of the plant are poisonous.
Best site: Sheltered sun and well-drained, moist neutral to alkaline soil.
Pruning: Prune in early spring. Wear gloves to prune, as sap can cause allergic reactions.
3: Firethorn
Type: Evergreen wall shrub
H x S: 3m x 3m
Hardiness: H6 (UK); USDA 6-9
Which fast climber has colourful berries? Pyracantha 'Orange Glow' AGM can be grown as a robust wall shrub that becomes a larder for birds in autumn when it's covered in flame-orange berries. Berries are ornamental and not to be eaten.
How else is it good for wildlife? The sharp thorns shield small birds from predators, and the June blossom feeds the bees.
Best site: Sun or semi-shade; well-drained soil. Some firethorns are invasive in parts of the USA, so check with your local authority.
Pruning: Trim twice a year, in mid-spring and late summer, if necessary. Wear gloves and other protective equipment against the sharp thorns.
4: Honeysuckle
Type: Deciduous, evergreen or semi-evergreen climber
H x S: 5m x 3m
Hardiness: H5 (UK); USDA 5-9
What is the best fast honeysuckle for coverage? The semi-evergreen forms can be vigorous and provide colour for most of the year. Fruits are ornamental and shouldn't be eaten.
Is honeysuckle invasive? Lonicera japonica 'Hall's Prolific' AGM is invasive in the USA and UK, so avoid it if your garden abuts the countryside. Less rampant, Lonicera x heckrottii 'Gold Flame' AGM has amber and pink flowers. Both are very fragrant and bring in wildlife. Tie Lonicera x heckrottii in to help it climb.
Best site: Part shade; retentive, rich, well-drained soil.
Pruning: Prune Lonicera japonica in early spring and Lonicera periclymenum after flowering. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling.
5: Crimson glory vine
Type: Deciduous climber
H x S: 15m x 4m
Hardiness: H5 (UK); USDA 5-9
Which fast climber is best for autumn leaves? Vitis coignetiae AGM is enthusiastic enough to clad a long fence, and, come autumn, steals the show when its leaves blaze shades of red, purple, and amber.
Is it a type of grape vine? It is closely related to grape vines, but easier to grow; its berries aren't edible and are toxic to dogs.
Best site: Full sun for the best colour. Rich, well-drained neutral to alkaline soil.
Pruning: Prune in midwinter.
6: Golden hop
Type: Deciduous climber
Height x Spread: 6m x 2m
Hardiness: H6 (UK); USDA 3-8
What is the most cheerful fast climber? Humulus lupulus 'Aureus' AGM (Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit) never fails to raise a smile, quickly cladding a large area in big, bold lime-yellow leaves that blaze butterscotch in autumn. Its cone flowers in August are followed by attractive hops.
Is it good for wildlife? Yes, it's a food plant for comma butterfly caterpillars and some moth larvae, but toxic to pets (dogs) if eaten.
Best site: Sheltered full sun; moist, well-drained soil.
Pruning: Cut back hard in autumn. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling, as hops are a skin irritant and allergen.
7: Star jasmine
Type: Evergreen climber
H x S: 6m x 3m
Hardiness: H4 (UK); USDA 8-10
What is a stylish fast climber for my city garden? Trachelospermum jasminoides AGM has sleek, glossy green leaves that blush red and bronze in winter and jasmine-like white summer flowers that exude a gorgeous sweet vanilla tea scent.
Is it vigorous? In warm regions, it can grow quickly; elsewhere, it's worth buying a larger plant to speed coverage.
Best site: Sheltered sun or part shade; well-drained, fertile soil.
Pruning: Prune in spring, if necessary.
8: Chocolate vine
Type: Semi-evergreen climber
H x S: 9m x 2m
Hardiness: H6 (UK); USDA 5-8
What is a fast climber that the neighbours won't have? Akebia quinata isn't widely grown, yet it's a fabulous climber with apple-green leaves and maroon spring flowers that smell of spiced vanilla. You might wish your neighbours had one because, in warm areas, cross-pollination results in purple fruit.
Is it invasive? Although well-behaved in the UK, chocolate vine is listed as an invasive plant in some USA states, where it ought to be prevented from spreading.
Best site: Well-drained, moist, fertile soil in sun.
Pruning: Prune as required to control size after flowering.
9: Himalayan clematis
Type: Deciduous climber
H x S: 12m x 3m
Hardiness: H5 (UK); USDA 6-9
Which fast climber gets very big? Clematis 'Mayleen' AGM reaches mountainous proportions, making it perfect for a long fence. In May and June, the green-bronze foliage is paired with ballet-pink flowers that smell of vanilla and cloves. Clematis is harmful to pets (rabbits) if eaten.
What does it look like in winter? Once the leaves fall, the attractive woody tangle of stems, in which birds often nest, is on show.
Best site: Well-drained, moist neutral to alkaline soil in sun or part shade.
Pruning: Prune after flowering, if necessary. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling, as it's a skin irritant.
10: Ivy
Type: Self-clinging evergreen climber
H x S: 5-10m x 3m
Hardiness: H5 (UK); USDA 6-9
Which fast climber attracts garden birds? Ivy (Hedera) provides year-round shelter and nesting sites for small birds. Once mature, it also provides nutritious winter berries for winter thrushes and other birds. Ivy is harmful to pets and people if eaten.
What is the best type of ivy? Check with your local authority. For instance, Hedera helix is an excellent fast climber in the UK, but classed as invasive in parts of the USA. Some ivy varieties, such as Hedera helix 'White Wonder', are ideal for hanging baskets and even house plants.
Best site: Well-drained neutral to alkaline soil in part shade.
Pruning: Trim in late winter, if necessary. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling, as ivy is a skin irritant and allergen.
11: Rambling roses
Type: Rambling rose
H x S: 6m or more x 3m
Hardiness: H5-H6 (UK); USDA 5-10
Which climbing roses are fast-growing? The ramblers can produce a surging mass of growth, and the semi-evergreen forms, such as Rosa 'Adélaïde D'Orléans' AGM and Rosa banksiae 'Lutea' AGM, give the best coverage.
What are the advantages of rambling roses? Although most only flower once a year, their profusion of flowers feeds bees and other pollinators. Some ramblers, such as Rosa 'Rambling Rector' AGM, fill the air with scent and provide security, being very thorny. Their unkempt, tumbling habit delivers the informal charm of a cottage garden and creates great habitats for birds. Fruits are ornamental and should not be eaten.
Best site: Sun; well-drained, fertile soil.
Pruning: Prune in late summer after flowering and select a variety suitable for the size of your wall or fence. Wear gloves and other protective equipment.
12: Jasmine
Type: Deciduous or semi-evergreen climber
H x S: 8m x 4m
Hardiness: H5 (UK); USDA 7 to 10
What is the fastest climbing jasmine? Jasminum officinale is vigorous (in hot climes, it can romp to 12m) and a romantic garden plant. Its starry flowers fill the air with incredible perfume on summer evenings and glow white in moonlight.
Is jasmine good for wildlife? Yes, the flowers provide nectar for moths, and the dense foliage gives good cover for birds.
Best site: Sheltered sun and well-drained soil.
Pruning: Cut back after flowering.
Giving them a good start – How to plant climbers
PROVIDE SUPPORT - Most climbers (and wall shrubs) aren't self-clinging and therefore need a climbing frame (such as wire trellis) on close-board fencing. PLANT WELL - Dig a hole 45cm from the fence, add organic matter (such as compost), and plant the climber at an angle towards the fence. WATER - Young plants, even those that go on to be drought tolerant, need watering regularly, especially in hot, dry weather, until established.
13: Armand clematis
Type: Evergreen climber
H x S: 6m x 3m
Hardiness: H4 (UK); USDA 7-9
Which fast climber has good-looking leaves? Clematis armandi 'Snowdrift' will coat your fence with elegant, lanceolate leaves that are dark and evergreen and can grow to 15cm. In spring, they're topped with starry white blooms that smell of marzipan.
Is it safe for pets? No, Armand clematis is toxic, so don't plant it if you have a puppy that chews everything.
Best site: Sheltered sun and well-drained, moist soil.
Pruning: Dislikes hard pruning, but trim after flowering, if need be. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling, as it's a skin irritant.
14: Californian lilac
Type: Evergreen wall shrub
H x S: 3m x 3m
Hardiness: H4 (UK); USDA 7-10
What is the best fast climber for bees? The more vigorous Ceanothus (such as 'Concha' AGM, which flowers in late spring) are superb wall shrubs, having evergreen leaves and blue flowers that provide nectar for bumblebees and other pollinators. Wall shrubs are shrubs that act like climbers when trained against a wall or fence and offer dense growth.
How do you prune a wall shrub? Cut back flowered stems to two to four buds of the main framework; remove shoots heading towards the wall or out into the garden.
Best site: Sheltered sun and well-drained soil.
Pruning: Prune after flowering, then mulch.
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