Country Life 23 March 2022

Masterpiece: Jack Watkins admires Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals, which brought the natural world alive for so many

Rhododendron heaven: At Ramster in Surrey, now 100 years old, Nature enhances man’s work in its woodland garden, finds Charles Quest-Ritson

The protector of cherry trees: A desire to make amends for Japan’s part in the Second World War led to one man’s creation of a profusion of flowering cherries, discovers Val Bourne

English homes old and new: The execution of a duke resulted in a full survey of his grand Tudor properties, reveals John Goodall, in the third in our anniversary series on the English home

For he’s a jolly good Fell: Tough, hirsute and characterful, it’s small wonder The Queen is an admirer of this native breed of pony, avers Julie Harding

Orlando Rock’s favourite painting: The chairman of Christie’s picks a splendid scene of worship

Spring fever: The best buys for gardens, chosen by Amelia Thorpe

Kitchen garden cook: Melanie Johnson on potatoes:

The trees that shape our land: To mark a new book published by the National Trust, we pick a few of our most historic, beguiling and remarkable trees

Let it fly: ‘Possibilitarian’ David Profumo anticipates the new season

The sound of spring: John Lewis-Stempel works to a soundtrack of toads and rooks

The good stuff: Hetty Lintell chooses sapphire-hued treats for Mothering Sunday

Interiors: Bathrooms awash with colour

Dedicated follower of fashion: Men’s clothing has been every bit as varied and meaningful as women’s, as Matthew Dennison finds at a new V&A exhibition

And much more