Gardens by Rachel

14/10/2026

Did you know we create planting moodboards?

Want help with a little inspiration? Not sure what colour schemes you’d like? See something in a magazine you want to achieve?

Give us a shout for help and checkout our website for design services.

13/10/2026

🍂 QUIZ TIME! HOW AUTUMNAL IS YOUR GARDEN KNOWLEDGE? 🌿
Autumn is here, the leaves are changing, the nights are drawing in… and the garden is starting to do things a little differently.
But how much do you really know about what’s happening out there? 👀

1️⃣ Which of these is a great reason to leave some fallen leaves in your borders?
A. They can provide shelter and habitat for wildlife
B. They stop all weeds growing
C. They make plants flower for longer
D. They keep the soil permanently dry

2️⃣ What’s the best thing to do with a lawn during a very wet autumn?
A. Water it regularly
B. Keep mowing it as short as possible
C. Avoid walking on waterlogged areas where possible
D. Cover it completely with leaves

3️⃣ True or False? 🌱
Some herbaceous perennials can be left standing over winter because their seedheads and stems provide structure and can benefit wildlife.

4️⃣ Which season is generally a great time to plant trees, shrubs and many hardy perennials?
A. Mid-summer
B. Autumn
C. Only during spring
D. The hottest part of winter

5️⃣ And finally… 🍂
You have a garden with beautiful seedheads that still look fantastic in autumn. What would we do?
A. Cut absolutely everything down
B. Leave everything untouched
C. Have a look at the individual plants and decide what adds useful winter structure and what needs cutting back
D. Replace them all with evergreens

How did you do? 👇
And remember… when it comes to autumn gardening, there isn't always one right answer. Sometimes the best gardening is about looking at the garden, the plants, the wildlife and what you want from the space — and making a considered choice. 🌿

Pop your score in the comments!

12/10/2026

We missed our wonderful photos of the gorgeous Cedar House Gardens in Wasperton. Here they are, so you can enjoy them too!

11/10/2026

🌿 A GARDEN WE COULDN’T STOP EXPLORING…
Some of the team recently had the chance to visit a private garden in Wasperton with the Working for Gardeners — and what a garden it was!

What made it particularly fascinating was that the garden has been developed over just the last five years. Proof of just how much can be achieved in a relatively short time with vision, hard work and a lot of plants! 🌱

There was so much to explore:
🌳 A beautiful woodland garden
🪵 A fantastic stumpery
🌿 Main lawns and borders
💧 A water garden and pond
🍎 An orchard

And to top it all off, the owners were incredibly welcoming and generous in sharing their garden with us.
We came away with plenty of inspiration, ideas and, inevitably, a few plants we now want for ourselves! 😂

We love seeing how other gardeners approach their spaces — there’s always something new to learn. 💚
The garden has its own website too, so we’ll pop the link below for anyone who’d like to have a closer look. 👇
www.cedarhousegardens.co.uk

Cedar House Gardens and Arboretum A former Vicarage, built in the Georgian and early Victorian periods within beautiful gardens and grounds. Visit us Cedar House, Wasperton Road CV35 8EB Contact [email protected] CV35 8EB, Warwick, England August 26, 2026 issue Country Life CLI575.garde...

10/10/2026

🌿 WHAT WOULD YOU CALL IT? WE'D LOVE YOUR HELP! 🌿

When you think of garden maintenance, what comes to mind?

Mowing the lawn? Weeding the borders? Cutting things back and keeping everything tidy?

Of course, those things are part of looking after a garden. But for us, there's so much more to it than that. 💚

Our team are qualified horticulturists, and we're thinking about the plants, the soil, the seasons, what needs pruning, what would benefit from a little extra attention and how we can help a garden grow and flourish over time.

Sometimes it's about spotting a problem before it becomes one. Sometimes it's about helping plants thrive, improving a border or knowing exactly what your garden needs as the seasons change.

It's not just about keeping a garden tidy. It's about understanding it, caring for it and helping it become the best it can be. 🌱

So we've been having a little conversation in the team about what we should call this side of our work.

If it's more than maintenance, what would YOU call it? 🤔

Garden care? Horticultural care? Garden nurturing? Something completely different?

We'd love to hear your ideas! Pop your suggestions in the comments — you might just help us find the perfect name. 👇💚

09/10/2026

🌿 FROM DESIGN TO PLANTING… AND A LITTLE BIT OF ARTISTRY
There’s a lot more to creating a beautiful garden than simply putting plants in the ground.
A few snaps from some of our recent work… 👀

Recently, the team have been busy with design and planting projects, bringing plans to life and getting those all-important plants into position. 🌱

And then there’s the pruning…
A beautifully shaped shrub or tree can completely change the feel of a garden — and it takes a good eye, patience and plenty of horticultural knowledge to get the shape just right. ✂️🌳

And some bonus snaps of a "dead hedge snake" Kiki and Sophie built to create hibernation and shelter space for insects and small mammals, including a hedge hog house! Incredible work 👌😍

We love the combination of plants, design and practical skill that goes into creating gardens that look good now and continue to develop over time.

We know about plants. And we know what to do with them! 😉

07/10/2026

🎂 A BIRTHDAY DAY OUT FOR RACHEL!
When your idea of a birthday treat involves a beautiful garden… you know you’ve chosen the right career! 😂🌿

Rachel and Pete recently visited Bourton House Garden for Rachel’s birthday, taking in the beautiful planting, wide herbaceous borders, topiary, water features and all the gorgeous little details that make this garden such an inspiration. SEE FOR YOURSELF! 🌱

A lovely day out, plenty of garden inspiration and hopefully a well-deserved birthday treat along the way! 🥂

Happy birthday Rachel — we hope you had the loveliest day! 💚

(Bourton House Garden is a three-acre garden known for its wide herbaceous borders, imaginative topiary, unusual plants, water features and shade house.)

05/10/2026

“A little garden inspiration, straight to your inbox 🌱”
WANT TO KNOW WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO?

Our gardens are always changing… and so is our newsletter! 🌿

Every so often we send out a little update from Gardens by Rachel — seasonal gardening tips, what’s happening with the team, plants we’re loving, garden inspiration, projects we’ve been working on and the occasional excuse to talk about how much we love plants. 😂

It’s basically a little catch-up from us, delivered straight to your inbox. 💚

Want to join us?
Just message us with your email address and we’ll add you to the list.
No complicated sign-up. Just more gardens, plants and horticultural goodness coming your way. 🌱

03/10/2026

🍂 A LITTLE GARDEN INSPIRATION FROM COUGHTON COURT
Katie escaped the gardening tools for the day and visited beautiful Coughton Court recently. 🌿

A Tudor house, stunning gardens and plenty of planting inspiration — basically, our idea of a pretty good day out! 😂

There’s something about wandering around a really well-established garden at this time of year that makes you notice all the little details — colour, structure, texture and the way plants work together.

We’re pretty sure Katie came home with a few ideas… 👀🌱
Have you visited Coughton Court?

(Coughton Court is a Tudor house with gardens created and managed by the Throckmorton family; management returned to the family in 2026)

29/09/2026

🌿 Our design work - Full Of Colour 🌼
We revisited a couple of our design projects a couple of weeks ago, and it’s always a lovely feeling seeing how they’ve developed after planting.
And just look at them! 😍

The gardens are still full of colour, texture and life, with plants filling out beautifully and flowering right through the season.
This is one of our favourite parts of garden design — it doesn’t finish when the last plant goes in. A garden is something that continues to grow, change and evolve.

Seeing those plants settle in, mingle together and create the lush, layered feel we imagined when we designed them is incredibly rewarding. 🌱

And of course, we’re always looking at what’s thriving, what’s changed and what might come next. That’s the joy of a living garden!

A garden isn’t a finished product. It’s a work in progress. 💚