Inside out

Like their plants, gardens attract labels that try to brand and define them. In Europe, the most popular is still ‘the room outside’, which views it as a way of extending a household’s sense of space where indoor rooms are limited. In Asia, however, Robin Lane Fox discovers that the dividing line between house and garden is much more clearly marked and the aim is to evoke ‘nature’ or catch fragments of it in an enclosed space

• The pink niche

In the ultimate home of wild cherries

Robin Lane Fox travels to Seoul, South Korea and fulfils a childhood ambition to see a spectacular blossom festival

Thinking outside of the bed

Vegetables grow as well in pots as in plots, and harvesting them comes without the back-breaking work, says Robin Lane Fox

Tickled by pinks

For only a very little effort, we can get the best of our gardens in late summer, says Robin Lane Fox

The great haul of China

One Chinese flower that has always been known but has been extraordinarily difficult for gardeners to acquire and cherish is the peony, writes Robin Lane Fox

Pathway to success

Serious gardeners combine ‘organic’ and ‘inorganic’ methods, with chemicals better balanced and more quickly available to the roots, argues Robin Lane Fox

A beautiful obsession

The British love visiting gardens. Luckily, there are 3,500 for them to choose from, writes Robin Lane Fox

An oasis in the home of oil rigs

Unusual flora thrive in the tough soil of a private Texan garden. Robin Lane Fox admires the hardy plants and the ingenious gardener who taught him how to work with adversity

Out in the cold

Everything seems possible

Mimosas in February

The compact clematis

No need to gild the lily

Why I’m going to seeds

Good things come in trees

Keep the party going

Gardens don’t age gracefully

Gentle rain, please, every other night