Dawn Chorus: How to travel around the world in 19 flowers and the Mini Moke that took St Moritz by storm

Around the world in 19 flowers

Painter and printmaker Angie Lewin (main image) and Christopher Stocks have collaborated on their third book, this time chronicling 19 flowers and the people responsible for bringing them to the UK. ‘My garden may be small,’ writes Stocks in his introduction, ‘but it contains almost the entire world.’

To be published tomorrow (February 27), The Book of Garden Flowers (Thames & Hudson, £16.99) is full of unusual snippets — ‘as much a social study as a horticultural history’ — such as on Charles Dickens’s obsession with a pelargonium, Henry VIII eating the first British-grown artichokes and British horticulturalist Ellen Willmott (she is said to have cultivated more than 100,000 species and cultivars), who died penniless after burning through her fortune employing more than 100 garden staff.

From sand to snow

A few days ago, Country Life’s favourite beach cruiser made an unexpected appearance in the most unlikeliest of environments.

The car? A stripy Mini Moke believed to be one of three surviving ‘Mini Surfers’ (Mokes that were modified by coachbuilder George Barris in collaboration with The Beach Boys). The event? The ICE St Moritz which sees some of the world’s most beautiful cars compete to be crowned most elegant and best in show — on top of a frozen lake. No sand in sight.

Despite its scarcity, the Moke was one of the cheapest and least powerful cars on display: ‘No snow tyres or studs,’ said owner Simon Kidston on Instagram. ‘Wheels the size of your carry-on luggage, the horsepower of a sewing machine and I’ve never ever driven it before today (plus I don’t fit).’

Kidston accessorised his ‘Mini Surfer’ with a surfboard which may well have come in handy had the lake’s surface started to melt. Thankfully, the classic car dealer, his trusty steed and the lake all kept their cool — no mean feat when your co-driver is the grandson of three-time F1 Champion Jackie Stewart.

To pylon or not to pylon

1,000 miles of giant pylons 'would be the most intrusive invasion of the nation’s rural landscape since the Second World War' argues Sir Simon Jenkins in a piece we published yesterday. He’s calling on members of the public to vigorously challenge the Government’s plans to cover the countryside in them.

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A few of India’s favourite things

India Knight, author of five novels — including Darling, a retelling of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love — and a Substack called Home has revealed that her favourite things include her dogs and The Gunton Arms hotel in Norfolk.

Writing inside this week’s issue of Country Life, Knight said: ‘We have a soft-coated wheaten terrier called Brodie, a Norfolk terrier called Tails and a sporting Lucas terrier called Lupin. My partner and I have five grown-up children between us and started calling the dogs “the kids” as a joke, but it’s stuck and isn’t actually entirely a joke.’

The author’s preference for terrier breeds is particularly fitting given that there are two ‘foxy gentlemen’ on the front cover of the same issue. ‘Terriers are the best dogs bar none: hilarious, intelligent, the best company and, in the case of Lupin, extremely effective on the rodent front,’ she continues.

The Gunton Arms also receives a mention for its Robert Kime interiors, remarkable art collection, deer park and delicious côte de boeuf cooked over an open fire. Knight’s favourite room is called ‘Walpole’.

A ‘beautiful and cheering banner’ made out of lots of different fabrics, from Joanna Thompson, rounds out Knight’s selection. Customers can personalise the text. Knight’s reads: ‘I’m fed up of growth / through pain / I want to be stunted / with pleasure’. Wise words to heed this Wednesday.

That’s all for today — Dawn Chorus returns on Friday.