Country Life September 9, 2026
Country Life September 9, 2026, celebrates autumn gardens, Ted Hughes, Coco Chanel and the tulips you should be planting to light up your garden next year.
Here's a look at some of what you'll find inside.
Choices, choices
With a seemingly endless array to select from, Country Life contributors reveal the tulips they will be planting for spring.
Catch a falling leaf
Charles Quest-Ritson is hoping for warm days and cool nights to fuel a spectacular display of countryside autumn colour
Who let the dogs out?
Music and Man’s best friend go hand in hand. Harry Pearson collars canines calling the tune
Well, hello Salar!
David Profumo heads for the West Country in the wake of his fishing hero Ted Hughes
Luxury
Jonathan Self is dazzled by Coco Chanel jewellery and Tiffany Daneff is talking trugs
George Saumarez Smith’s favourite painting
The architect chooses a bold graphic linocut of the feline form
Country-house treasure
John Goodall admires the revival of the Tapestry Drawing Room at Castle Howard, North Yorkshire
The legacy
Tiffany Daneff pays tribute to the family who cooked up the secret recipe for Pulhamite rock
Grandstand views
An inspirational outlook makes for a magnificent garden at Mount St John, North Yorkshire. Kendra Wilson surveys the scene
Hot pots
Amelia Thorpe picks standout planters to showcase top tulips
Forever flowers
Blooms of Hydrangea paniculata are a must for every garden, suggests Charles Quest-Ritson
Why build a new country house
George Saumarez Smith weighs up the allure of a new country house in place of an historic pile
A point of prospect
John Goodall finds a striking new memorial tower worth the climb at Doddington Place, Kent
Picture this
Independent rural cinemas will always offer the best big-screen experience for Madeleine Silver
Interiors
A feast of design ideas awaits visitors to key events such as Focus/26, reveals Amelia Thorpe
Back to the future
Harry Pearson meets the art conservators giving historic paintings a new lease of life
Shell we?
The secret to dressed-crab perfection is keeping it simple, as Tom Parker Bowles reveals
Lord of the flies
Fruit flies are more than a mere pest — Ian Morton reveals their critical role in medical research
New series: Countryside mysteries
Otherworldly cramp balls — or King Alfred’s cakes — fire the imagination of John Wright
Travel
Gabriella Le Breton unpacks the winter latest, from new Swiss ski lifts to the high life in Courchevel
Arts & antiques
Benvenuto Cellini’s golden Saliera is a 16th-century cellar worth its salt, as Carla Passino discovers
And much more
