Dig into the joy of a life outdoors
Find peace and purpose by reconnecting with nature, creativity and the joy of making things in your own patch of paradise.
Discover extraordinary, unusual, and beautiful plants from around the world — each with growing and care tips to help you cultivate these weird and wonderful species in your own space.
Calluna vulgaris
Heather
Low evergreen shrub for acid soil, smothered in spikes of pink, purple or white bells in…
- Full sun
- 20–60 cm (8–24 in)
- H7 · Zone 5
Callicarpa bodinieri
Beautyberry
Deciduous shrub grown for its astonishing clusters of glossy violet berries that cling to bare stems…
- Full sun, Partial shade
- 1.5–2.5 m (5–8 ft)
- H6 · Zone 6
Calendula officinalis
Pot marigold
Cheerful, easy annual with orange and yellow daisies over a long season; the petals are edible.
- Full sun, Partial shade
- 30–60 cm (12–24 in)
- H6 · Zone 6
Buxus sempervirens
Box
Small-leaved evergreen shrub that takes close clipping, the classic choice for low hedges, edging and topiary.
- Full shade, Full sun, Partial shade
- 1–5 m (3–16 ft)
- H6 · Zone 6
Liquidambar styraciflua
Sweet gum
Tall, conical tree with star-shaped leaves that blaze red, orange and purple for weeks in autumn.
- Full sun, Partial shade
- 15–25 m (49–82 ft)
- H6 · Zone 6
Betula pendula
Silver birch
Graceful, fast-growing tree with white bark, weeping twigs and yellow autumn leaves; a superb wildlife tree.
- Full sun, Partial shade
- 15–25 m (49–82 ft)
- H7 · Zone 5
