Flowers for Christmas

In the garden

Chelsea as we have never seen it before

Kathryn Bradley-Hole presents our guide to the highlights of the most eagerly anticipated Chelsea Flower Show in decades

Blenheim Palace

Britain’s greatest masterpieces

A Baroque banquet

The Archer Pavilion, Wrest Park, Bedfordshire, In the care of English Heritage One of the most spectacular garden buildings of the English Baroque–as well as the architect that designed it– is ripe for reappraisal, says Helen Lawrence-Beaton

The Gate of Heaven

Bevis Marks, London EC3 Britain’s oldest operating synagogue has remained in continuous use in the heart of the City since 1701, as Jeremy Musson reveals. Its interior has been specially photographed for COUNTRY LIFE by candlelight

Something old, something new

After years of nurturing a great garden, passing on the responsibility to younger custodians is easier if it’s kept in the family, finds Catherine Larner

The drama of Arts and Crafts

Two superb small estates in Surrey and Hampshire are as desirable for modern owners as they were in their illustrious beginnings

In search of an earthly paradise

Famous for urging us to have nothing in our homes that is not useful or beautiful, William Morris’s masterful command of pattern and Arts-and-Crafts design masked a deeply unhappy marriage, says Michael Montagu

The Yellow Room

NANCY LANCASTER and John Fowler were a fractious pairing, ‘the most unhappy unmarried couple in England,’ as Lancaster’s aunt Nancy Astor put it, but their imaginative dynamic brought spectacular results.

The colour purple

With gleaming skin and a plump, elongated shape, the versatile aubergine offers subtle, yet luscious succour to countless dishes, says Tom Parker Bowles

Overflowing with good ideas

The garden at Balcombe Mill House, East Sussex Island beds brimming with naturalistic plantings of perennials and grasses have brought the once-renowned garden at the Mill House, Balcombe, West Sussex, back from the brink, reveals John Hoyland

A strange fish

With a bite like a vampire, the lamprey is a sinister-looking fish with a shady past, says Aeneas Dennison

All about Eve

Dismissed as a crank in the late 1930s for her progressive views on farming, Lady Eve Balfour went on to co-found the Soil Association, says Sarah Langford

Why We Should All Be Growing Plectranthus

The Victorian favorite is finding justly deserved favour again, reveals John Hoyland

Escape to the farm

Never has it been more important for children to learn about food production or responsibility for animals. Tessa Waugh reports on the schools taking a lead in agricultural education

The History Boys

AS a Leeds grammar-school boy pre-paring to take a scholarship exam for Oxford, Alan Bennett worked out a clever system of reducing ‘everything I knew to a set of notes with answers to possible questions and odd, eye-catching quotations all written out on a series of forty or fifty correspondence cards, a handful of which I carried in my pocket wherever I went.

The girls are running away with the ball

Sally Jones celebrates the schools that have broken with tradition to promote girls playing formerly male-dominated sports

Purple reign

It’s September and the grapes hang heavy on the vine, ripe for treading, explains Amy Jeffs

Admiration and intimacy

The Palace of Versailles, France From 1661 until his death in 1715, Louis XIV invested huge sums of money transforming Versailles into a palace that commanded international admiration. Philip Mansel considers the response of English visitors to this astonishing creation

Straight from the horse's mouth

Equus caballus has served us for millennia on the land, the battlefield and in the sporting arena, so it’s no wonder our passion for our trusty steeds remains unbridled, says John Lewis-Stempel

All the gears and no idea

The presenter on the realities of farming and why rock stars should run the countryside

Where champions are made

After Britain’s triumphant equestrian Olympics, there is a chance to watch the stars on home turf, says Kate Green

Wonderful walnuts

IN the run-up to my birthday in mid-July, it is not unusual to see me with a knitting needle heading to the nearest walnut tree.

Why Craft Makes You Happy

Among the design events that Country Life will be hosting over the autumn is one that explores the life-enhancing benefits of the handmade interior, from furniture and lighting to tableware and textiles

The golden eagle has landed

Already firmly established in the Highlands, these majestic raptors are now being reintroduced in southern Scotland. Joe Gibbs investigates their reception and the repercussions

Oh valleys of shifting light and changing skies

The brooding horizons, misty glens and dramatic castles of Scotland make it a mecca for film crews shooting anything from historical dramas to Bond films and sci-fi adventures, finds Daniel Pembrey

The classical castle

Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire The property of David Home Miller and Catherine Macdonald-Home | One of Robert Adam’s less familiar commissions, recently rescued from neglect, has a fascinating story to tell about the development of his castle style, finds Roger White

Berry unusual

There’s a wealth of juicy deliciousness beyond the standard fruitcage fare of strawberry, raspberry and blackberry. Mark Diacono explores all the other berries we should be growing, too

Majestic Scotland

Peace, grandeur and productive lifestyles are all to be had north of the border, as offered by several excellent estates

Come to the carnival

A century after his death, the versatile French composer Camille Saint-Saëns is best known for his Carnival of the Animals suite, but there was much more to him than that, reveals Pippa Cuckson