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Reader event report: An eye to the future at DaylesfordThe magnificent Heritage Barn at Daylesford in the Cotswolds was the setting for an event at which five specialists with a deep understanding of country properties shared their expertise.
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The Bannerman's Somerset home is the best of both worldsAre chilly drafts and tepid baths a price to be paid for the pleasures of living in an old house? Not at Julian and Isabel Bannerman's toasty Somerset home.
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Giles Kime: What the perplexing language used to describe modern interior design actually meansOur Interiors Editor provides a handy definition for some of the industries most befuddling terms and phrases. Because often 'historic' actually just means 'old'.
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‘I have no concept of anyone who's like me. Now, that's either because I'm such an egomaniac that I am sort of completely self obsessed, or … because I haven’t watched enough films’: Monty Don’s consuming passionsMonty Don swerves questions with the abundant charisma that made him a ‘Gardener’s World’ darling.
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The sound of centuries: Britain's last bellfoundersBehind the deep chime of York’s Great Peter or the heft of London’s Great Paul is John Taylor’s bellfoundry. With pieces from its associated museum going under the hammer, collectors have a chance to bring home a peal of their own, as Ben Lerwill discovers.
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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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The revival of interest in folk art is fueling a new fascination with the art of decorating wagonsThree devotees share their enthusiasm with Arabella Youens.
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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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'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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What do you get when you cross classic English country house style with a French château kitchen?The layout of this French château kitchen was influenced by English country-house style.
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Celebrating the superwomen who've shaped the world of designLast month, Hector Finch hosted an event at London Design Week that explored the way that women have shaped 21st-century interior design.
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The craft renaissance, with Giles KimeCountry Life's interiors expert Giles Kime joins James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about the amazing work being done across Britain — and how those who are doing it are recognised in the Country Life Top 100.
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The Country Life Top 100 architects, interior designers, garden designers, landscape designers and country house specialists in BritainIt's nine years since the original Country Life Top 100 was published, but the aim hasn't changed: we name the very best architects, interior designers, craftsmen, builders and garden designers in Britain.
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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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'One of the most famous rooms in England’, lovingly built by the leading Victorian artist Frederic LeightonA newly opened exhibition at Leighton House, London, charts the Arab Hall’s development and explores its enduring influence, writes Carla Passino.
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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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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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'If the Chelsea Flower Show is the glitzy public face of British gardening, then the country’s amateur flower shows encapsulate its older, gentler side'Christopher Stocks looks at the origins of the local flower show while Steven Desmond provides his advice on how to secure victory.
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In search of the perfect country house games roomA country house is never truly complete without a games room. Julie Harding picks out her favourites on the market right now.
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Alan Titchmarsh: I'm planting a brand new garden — here's what's going in, what I'm trying out, and the plant that's sending me in search of my axeMoving to a new house means getting stuck in to a new garden — and even in his seventies that's still a huge thrill for Alan Titchmarsh.
