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Swap out the chintz for corduroy: How to create a calming and characterful country retreatThe owners of this 19th century cottage turned to Studio Squire for a quick and comprehensive renovation.
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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.
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The best garden designers and landscape specialists in BritainA garden or landscape that's in harmony with the buildings within it is one of the great joys of life — and something that the landscape designers and garden designers on our list of the best in Britain understand.
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The best country house specialists in Britain, from artists, stonemasons and joiners to builders and paint specialistsThere's been a huge amount of change among the specialists listed in the Country Life Top 100 for 2026. These are the inspiring people and companies which made it.
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A cheat's guide to bulbous irises and top tips for growing themIsabel Bannerman is bewitched and bewildered by bulbous irises.
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The best interior designers in BritainThe classic English Country House style is perennially popular. Here's our pick of the best interior designers in Britain, fully revised and updated for 2026.
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Colour photographs of Gertrude Jekyll’s garden, rediscovered in the Country Life Archive, offer a rare glimpse of what it looked like at the peak of her fameIn 1997, Country Life published a set of chromatic photographs of Gertrude Jekyll’s Munstead Wood garden that had lain undisturbed in our archive for nearly a century. We have reproduced the pictures, corresponding feature and captions here.
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How do you make an 18th century stately home fit for a 21st-century family?Grace McCloud talks to Toddy Fleming of Studio Cameron about gently updating The Hirsel — a Category A Listed stately home on land in the Scottish Borders that's been occupied by the same family for nearly a millennium.
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A dream built in glass, for herbs, flowers and 'lots of fancy tomatoes'Gentle curves ensure that this greenhouse fits seamlessly into the corner of an Oxfordshire garden, finds Tiffany Daneff. Photography by Clive Nichols.
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No garden should be without a winter-flowering daphne, so we've picked the bestThere is no such thing as a disappointing daphne, Charles Quest-Ritson
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Reader Event: An eye to the future at Daylesford Heritage HouseSponsor Content Created With Daylesford
What changes to a house do most to enhance its aesthetics, function, comfort, sustainability and longevity? On March 24, leading experts in architecture, interior design, craft and restoration will share the secrets to maximising possibilities and protecting value at Daylesford’s magnificent Heritage House in Gloucestershire.
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'It was the only design that spoke the same language as the house. It immediately felt right': An Oxfordshire home where house and garden work in perfect, asymmetrical harmonyUnderstanding the language of this house in the Chilterns was the key to creating a garden that would complement it. Tiffany Daneff takes a closer look, and speaks to both the owner and garden designer Angus Thompson to discover how it came about. Photography by Rachel Warne.
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You don’t need to live in the countryside or have acres of space to start a cutting gardenAmy Merrick consults the expert growers at The Real Flower Company on her new West London cutting garden.
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New designs and accessories to brighten every roomLight it up with Amelia Thorpe's Spring-time selection of the best lights and light fittings.
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Home is where the hearth is: Five picture-perfect cottages with glorious fireplacesAn imposing inglenook fireplace can be the natural heart of a home — and a characterful draw for buyers — as it radiates warmth and coaxes company towards that comforting glow.
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Alan Titchmarsh: Patience is in short supply today, but learning when to crack on and when to leave well alone will do your garden wondersAlam Titchmarsh cannot wait to get to work in his brand new garden, but acting too soon could have long-lasting ramifications.
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London Design Week: What to look out for at next month's unmissable interiors eventAmelia Thorpe selects her stars of the show.
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Reader Event: Super women at London Design WeekSponsor Content Created With Hector Finch
What can be learnt from the achievements of the world’s greatest female designers and antique dealers? Which has created the most valuable legacy? What are the secrets of their success? Come and find out at an inspiring event on the first day of London Design Week at 10.30am on Monday, March 9, at the London showroom of luxury lighting brand Hector Finch.
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Penns in the Rocks: The East Sussex garden created by Vita Sackville-West, with a little help from the huge boulders that stood here when dinosaurs walked the earthIt’s not only the pre-historic rocks that set apart the garden of Penns in the Rocks, near Tunbridge Wells, says George Plumptre. It's the fact that the layout was created by two horticultural legends: Vita Sackville-West and Lanning Roper. Photography by Jason Ingram.
