Success is all in the planning!

So much of gardening is all about the planning. While there can be much joy to be had by plonking in a few plants together and seeing the results, it’s easier to get the garden of your dreams with a bit of forethought. It’s not necessarily easy – there’s a real art to great garden design, and not everyone is able to just visualise the end result. That’s when it’s great to check out some of the country’s incredible visitor gardens, take a few pictures and draw some inspiration. Failing that, though, you can always turn to Garden News! Each week we try to bring you a mix of practical advice and inspiring ideas, and Greg Loades’ feature on creating a white garden (page 20) hopefully ticks both of those boxes! When they’re done well, white gardens can be absolutely beautiful; a friend of mine has one long border packed with various white flowers, mostly with dark foliage, and it’s incredibly striking. Take a look at our feature to see which white plants you might want to try. Elsewhere in this issue, look at some of our suggestions for perennial pots (page 14). I’m a huge fan – they look wonderful and don’t need too much looking after other than a chop at the right time. So many plants to mix and match, too. As ever, there are so many things to try in the garden and we hope we can help you with our suggestions. The good news is that for most of the UK the weather has been on our side lately with plenty of sun but a few decent showers, too. Let’s hope for more of the same – have a great gardening week.