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Generations of owners at Fonthill destroyed the house and neglected the gardens — today, they're simply perfectOver the past 20 years, the long since dilapidated Arts-and-Crafts garden at Fonthill House in Wiltshire — the home of Alastair Morrison, Baron Margadale — has been gently coaxed into its resplendent new guise. Christopher Stocks paid a visit; photography by James Stopforth.
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'I thought I had taken pretentiousness to a new level, but actually it has gone down well': The magical gardens at Broadwoodside, full of the humour of their irrepressible creatorsThe grounds of Broadwoodside in East Lothian — a 17th-century Lowland farmstead that's the home of Robert and Anna Dalrymple — are a testament to the endlessly inventive imaginations of the couple who have shaped them over a quarter of a century. Caroline Donald explains more; photographs by Andrea Jones.
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When is a weed not a weed? When it's a wildflowerIf cultivated plants are a sign of orthodoxy and order, are weeds symbolic of anarchy and wildness? Who really decides whether flora is wildflower or weed, asks John Lewis-Stempel.
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A billionaire's walled garden amid the most undisturbed and beautiful countryside in the west countryGeorge Plumptre visits the one-acre walled garden that forms the centrepiece of the 12 acres of new gardens at Lasborough Park, Sir Hans Rausing's home in the Cotswolds, where Tom Stuart-Smith has worked wonders.
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The most demanding, delicious pelargoniums, from the variety that likes it drier than a Martini, to the flower with peppermint-scented leaves 'as soft as mouse fur'Pelar
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'A dream of England': The Hampshire rose garden that's one of the finest in private handsA thousand English roses now bloom in the restored walled garden that forms the heart Dummer House, Hampshire, home of Sir Crispin and Lady Davis. Charles Quest-Ritson visits this beautiful 27-acre estate; photography by Mimi Connolly.
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Alan Titchmarsh: The easily overlooked factor that's the difference between a beautiful garden and wasting thousands on plants doomed to diePlanting pot-grown trees and shrubs is a quick way to create a mature-looking garden — but unless you get planting depth right, it won't last long, explains Alan Titchmarsh.
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'He arrived with three bunches of flowers and told me to shut my eyes': From curation to creation, the story of the garden at Holme Hale HallOne of the great garden designers of his generation created a masterpiece at Holme Hale Hall near Swaffham in Norfolk — but what happens when the great man moves on? Tilly Ware spoke to the owners, Delia and Simon Broke, to find out. Photography by Richard Bloom.
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Amy Merrick: No self-respecting flower-lover would fill their vases with imported stems. We want seasonal British-grown flowers and foliageAhead of British Flowers Week, Amy Merrick meets the floral growers and designers showing at the Garden Museum's exhibition.
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'The garden has run away and found its soul... It’s like being on a horse that’s ever so slightly out of control': Ferne Park's magical journey from dereliction to maturityThe transformation of Ferne Park, Wiltshire — home of Lord and Lady Rothermere — from derelict estate into a mature garden with surrounding parkland is nothing short of miraculous. Tiffany Daneff tells its story; photography by Jonathan Buckley.
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Charles Quest-Ritson: The 'Sir David Beckham' rose is so good that one day he'll be better remembered as a flower than a footballerFrom spectacular South African blooms to a home-grown marvel, Charles Quest-Ritson shares his favourite plants from the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
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Music, dancing and jellied eels all round: The 'colourful world of plenty' in the iconic garden at the Festival of Britain75 years ago, the Festival of Britain turned austere, post-war London into a fairytale of lights, sounds, colour and celebration — and at the heart of it all were the pleasure gardens at Battersea. Kathryn Ferry looks back on those gardens — an outdoor space that may have been the last of its kind.
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The ancient trees that laugh in the face of climate change and dinosaur-killing asteroidsCharles Quest-Ritson meets the 'living fossil' trees that survived mass extinctions.
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'Science has not been kind to moon gardening, but feeling part of a centuries-old gardening tradition is rewarding'The popular Continental concept of gardening by the cycles of the moon is gaining traction in Britain.
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The hedge can be a Queen of Puddings, a veritable pie, which could have its uses in all sorts of placesIsabel Bannerman needed to hide some solar panels, so decided that the best way to do it was by planting a hedge full of bountiful fruits.
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Has ‘gravel gardening’ ever been as perfectly presented? What we really thought about the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower ShowRomantic planting, running water and an abundance of trees in all their glorious forms reigned supreme in SW3 this year, reports Kathryn Bradley-Hole.
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These rarely-seen photographs of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco were taken by a world-renowned photographer and rediscovered in the Country Life ArchiveCountry Life contributor Geoffrey Roland Ballance died too young, but some of his finest work lives on in our Archive, finds Melanie Bryan.
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Famous faces and moments you might've missed at the Chelsea Flower Show so farWe're halfway through the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, so it's probably as good a time as any for a recap.
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Art underfoot: How Artorius Faber brought to life the stone floor of Country Life's stand at the RHS Chelsea Flower ShowPresented by Artorius Faber
George Saumarez Smith’s design for the floor of Country Life's stand at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show has been brought to life by Artorius Faber.
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What not to miss at the Chelsea Flower Show: Clive Nichols and Kathryn Bradley-Hole on the Country Life PodcastClive Nichols and Kathryn Bradley-Hole join the Country Life Podcast live from the Chelsea Flower Show.
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'It would be very odd to be in a room without a plant, wouldn't it?': How to decorate with houseplants, inspired by our Chelsea Flower Show standAmy Merricks talks to Jane Kennerley about the importance and nostalgia of bringing the garden inside.
