Living National Treasure

There’s nothing better than seeing a nicely laid hedge,’ declares Tina Bath, who’s been laying hedges in somerset for 32 years.

Favourite Painting: Marcus Agius's

John McEwen comments on Irises

What's up, buttercup?

There’s far more to fields of golden-yellow buttercups than meets the eye

As History Intended

Two West Country gems have retained the purity of their centuries-old design, one overlooking the wooded valley of the Mells River, the other once owned by Glastonbury Abbey

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme

AT this time of year, the early-morning dog walk around the garden is slower than usual. Every few steps, I stop to rub the aromatic leaves of summer.

Dionysian dreams

MY early twenties redefined ‘idle’. Of the few exertions I undertook, a couple of autumnal trips to France and Switzerland to pick grapes stand out. The long, hard days were softened somewhat by the landscape, the camaraderie and the wine and chocolate given every two hours from 7.30am.

Life In A Cold Climate

The lives of the extraordinary Mitford sisters were forged by the Cotswolds of their youth. Flora Watkins makes a literary pilgrimage.

A Century Of Vision And Resolve

Untamed woodland was brilliantly transformed into a pioneering garden at Exbury, thanks to the vision of Lionel de Rothschild. Mark Griffiths discovers how his legacy is being continued.

Small Legs, Big Personality

Kate MacDougall gets the lowdown on dachshunds and discovers why their tiny stature doesn’t impinge on a ‘sausage’ dog’s zest for life.

Interiors - The Designer's Room

Bunny Turner has transformed a former accountant’s office into a family kitchen.

Living The Hi-Lux

Our correspondent and two fishing friends find the refreshed Toyota Hi-Lux is more than a match for New Zealand’s rocky terrain and a mountain of gear.

Taking The Long View

The champion racehorse trainer on quality over quantity and preserving Newmarket.

Inspired By The Past

A brand’s heritage is the building block from which it may reach new heights. Nick Hammond meets the archivists cataloguing, preserving and proudly protecting our nation’s retail DNA.

Cutting It Fine

The ancient art of wood engraving requires introspection and secrecy in order to create intriguing and intricate pieces of work, discovers Clive Aslet.

‘Treason' Or ‘Things People Liked'?

The first exhibition devoted to the British Post-Modernism Movement shows it was not only about style, but about reconnecting with the past

A Taste Of Honeysuckle

I’VE probably grown more species of honeysuckle than of any other genus except, perhaps, roses and primulas. I love them—but not all of them. An evergreen ground cover plant called Lonicera pileata doesn’t interest me at all.

Keep It In The Family

Dig deep into the history of interior design and you’ll find that the roots of countless stellar careers can be traced to the fertile partnership between the ‘mother’ and ‘father’ of classic British interior design, Nancy Lancaster and John Fowler. In unearthing the web of who worked for whom, Arabella Youens discovers the essence of the creative DNA at the heart of classic English decoration

Alive With Adventure

Whether you go in search of adventure, family fun or a quiet break, you will leave this hospitable land of history, Nature and tradition enriched and invigorated

Living National Treasure

I work all the time,’ declares James Butler MBE, RA, RWA, FRBS. ‘Every day, I go into the studio in the morning and set about things. I don’t know any other way to live.’

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bug

From paralysing snails to lighting lamps, David Profumo shines a light on the life of a glow-worm, which isn’t actually a worm at all

Stop Fly-Tipping Now

FARMING and conservation bodies have welcomed the launch of a new Government review to step up the fight against waste crime.

Why it's time to list the landscape

Michael Gove should be applauded for his desire to enhance and possibly extend our national parks and AONBs

Mind Your Manors

The mark of time is visible on every part of these three historic houses

Navigating The Pecking Order

Greeting someone has become something of a social minefield. Victoria Marston tackles the question on everybody’s lips: to kiss or not to kiss?

A Magnificent Puzzle

Crichel, Dorset , part I The Home of Mr and Mrs Richard Chilton, Jr In the first of two articles, John Martin Robinson looks at the Georgian evolution of this extraordinary building, which has, wrapped within its 1770s exterior, a 1740s house.

Coming Alive

Sometimes fiction and fact blend seamlessly and a collection sheds new light on war

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose

John McEwen comments on Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose

Saw Maker

Living National Treasure

Let's 'Ear It For The Norfolk

These feisty little dogs, the smallest of the terrier family, are short of leg, but long on personality, finds Kate Green.

Mercantile Splendour

One of the most important late-medieval merchant’s houses in the country offers a vivid insight into Tudor living on the grand scale.