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'A grotesque mixture of Frankenstein plants that no nursery has ever nurtured': What happened when an experienced gardening writer turned to AIStuck for ideas on how to plant a new flowerbed, Caroline Donald asked the chatbots for advice. The answers ranged from ignorant to hideous.
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Queen Charlotte, Queen Victoria and the bluebells that erupt in a hidden pocket of wilderness at Kew GardensWhen Queen Victoria left an area of wilderness by the Thames at Kew to the nation, it was on condition that it be preserved in its natural beauty. After decades of abandonment, it is now being gently restored, writes Kendra Wilson.
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Slugs: The good, the bad, and the stomach-churningly disgustingWith anuses right next to their mouths and an ability to produce The garden designer and author Isabel Bannerman shares her feelings about slugs. Suffice to say that those feelings are not positive ones.
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'I am destined to a life surrounded by books with never quite enough shelves': George Saumarez Smith on his design for Country Life’s stand at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower ShowGeorge Saumarez Smith’s design draws on his passions for architecture, drawing, books, and his fiancée Jane Kennerley’s love of plants.
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The Victorian world lost for 140 years, rediscovered and restored in DevonLost until a chance discovery in 2009, the Victorian fernery at Canonteign Falls in Devon has not only been restored, but now houses two National Collections. Charles Quest-Ritson visits; photography by Mark Bolton.
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The man who made daffodils the flower of spring in BritainAs the last few daffodils die back across the country, Tiffany Daneff pays tribute to the Reverend George Engleheart, the man who did more to spread the word about these gorgeous flowers than any other gardener in history.
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Mount Congreve: The exquisite Irish garden on an unimaginable scaleEven superlatives are dwarfed by the scale and quality of the garden of Mount Congreve, in Co Waterford, Ireland. Charles Quest-Ritson traces its story. Photographs by Jonathan Hession.
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Alan Titchmarsh: The thrill of raising a plant from a speck of dust or a green leaf can only be learned first-handTheory and study is grand, says Alan Titchmarsh — but it'll never take the place of learning practical skills at the hands of an expert. A new initiative is about to make doing so much easier.
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Pretty little things: How the double primrose continues to hold us in its thrallCharles Quest-Ritson looks into the history and the origins of these delightful flowers.
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'It's not nature being a pain; all of the problems we have with pests and diseases are because of us': The trailblazing gardener who's creating a 'food forest' in DevonFormer head gardener Josh Sparkes’s pioneering methods of growing fruit and vegetables at Birch Farm in Devon are achieving excellent results. Kendra Wilson went there to find out more. Photographs by Jason Ingram.
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'People are astounded that such a biodiverse haven exists here': The garden squares that are the hidden lungs of LondonAs spring unlocks the beauty of London’s garden squares, Jack Watkins speaks to the devotees who work to keep those patches alive. Photographs by Richard Cannon.
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'Ugly, pointless and potentially lethal': Why dead hedges are a gardening fad too farCharles Quest-Ritson takes aim at the phenomenon of the 'dead hedge'.
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The garden at Cogshall Grange: 'A modern work of art, combining shapeliness and serenity'Layers of fresh new foliage — lime-green hornbeams underplanted with bronze and copper-leaved perennials — are set off with a brilliant selection of tulips in the garden at Cogshall Grange. Kathryn Bradley-Hole paid a visit; photography by Clive Nichols.
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The Italians think it's a laxative and the Germans say it leeches your bones, but rhubarb is a true British wonder. Here's how to do it justiceRhubarb is one of the easiest and most generous plants to grow. Charles Quest-Ritson digs into its history and recommends the best kinds; photographs by Jonathan Buckley.
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I pitted AI against a much-loved 1963 gardening book to see what to do with my little corner of Ireland — here's what happenedOur columnist Jonathan Self has relied on his old gardening books for decades. Can a newcomer in the form of Claude AI take their place?
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Where was Guy Ritchie's Young Sherlock series filmed? In a historic Welsh home that first appeared in Country Life a century agoLlanvihangel Court has a Spanish Armada-era avenue of trees and may have been visited by Charles I. To celebrate its star turn in Guy Ritchie's new Amazon Prime television series, 'Young Sherlock', we're revisiting our feature and photographs on the house that first appeared in the magazine in 1916.
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Ancient time-telling devices — turned garden ornaments — from the Country Life ArchiveMan has been consumed by time and how to tell it for millennia. Sundials are an important part of this history and there are plenty of pictures of them — in some of Britain's most beautiful gardens — hiding in the Country Life Archive.
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'There was the land, the money and the desire to show off both': The incomparable skill and immaculate timing of Capability BrownTiffany Daneff pays tribute to Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, the great landscape gardener who re-shaped huge swathes of Britain.
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I'm a tulip in a bottle, baby: A very British botanical beauty contest is gaining fans of all agesLaunched by Matthew Rice to publicise his local gardening club, the annual Tulip in a Bottle contest is popular with everyone, finds Tiffany Daneff.
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Sarah Raven: ‘I find nature very inspiring and reassuring, when things are feeling a bit dire in the world and we have world wars’The gardener and writer on her love of Cretan wild flowers, why she quit her job as a doctor, her husband’s grandmother Vita Sackville-West — and her consuming passions.
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Growing leeks: What to plant, when to to it, and how to make them thriveOur grow-your-own expert Mark Diacono shares his favourite leeks.
