Happiness in small things

Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming

Colour vision

In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan

'Without fever there is no creation'

Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines

The colour revolution

Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili

Bullace for you

The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright

Lights, camera, action!

Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary

I was on fire for you, where did you go?

In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one

Bravery bevond belief

A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth

Let's get to the bottom of this

Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply

Sing on, sweet bird

An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds

Civic splendour

St Mary's Guildhall, Coventry A property of Coventry City Council

Put a smile on your garden

John Hoyland celebrates the renewed popularity of the irrepressibly cheerful pelargonium

The shadows fall

SEPTEMBER brings a strange surge of energy, gleaming cosmos and dahlias and all those rusty, dry, hairy plants: echinacea, rudbeckia, zinnias.

How to time travel to spring

The anticipation of cheerful spring bulbs can keep the gardener going through the dull winter months. John Hoyland advises on what to plant for every situation, from gravel to orchards, sun, shade or in pots

The summit of achievement

The garden at Friar Park, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire The home of Olivia and the late George Harrison

All dolled up

Automata made in 19th-century France provided inspiration for the work of American artist Thomas Kuntz and a vintage dolls' house, furnished with period-appropriate pieces, stars in a charity auction

Just keep walking

ALMOST 30 years ago, a chap called Ian Bleasdale wrote a guide detailing all the walks on the Greek Island of Paxos. He and his wife, Elizabeth, had fallen for the island's rugged charms and, after many visits tramping its networks of old paths, decided to share their knowledge with like-minded souls.

Delicious drupes

THERE is a peculiar magic in growing almonds. However often you see their soul-lifting, frost-risking flush of white blossom and however often you collect a basket of homegrown almonds, it's hard to lose the sense of glorious impossibility, that somehow you've cheated geography and climate.

It started with a blank canvas

The garden of Patthana, Co Wicklow, Ireland The home of T. J. Maher and Simon Kirby An exquisite small garden is rich in colour and texture and has been imaginatively extended, as you would expect of a painter's domain, reports Jane Powers

Escape to 'God's own country"

Yorkshire folk are rightly proud of their county's magnificent landscapes and rich architectural heritage, but incomers looking to settle there face strong competition from local contenders for picture-perfect country houses

By the light of the harvest moon

As autumn's whisper reminds farmers to reap their crops, inspect your produce for a suggestion of the winter to come, says Lia Leendertz

Building blocks

We can expect fireworks: Labour’s draft plans for a new planning policy contain subtle, but devastating amendments that bear closer inspection

Friends in low places

As special as orchids, as beautiful as bluebells and as important as oaks, our ground-hugging mosses are worth a look down, says Mark Cocker

Talk of the ton

During the golden age of gossip, the fashion choices of the Regency elite were frequently the scintillating subject of the scandal sheets, finds Susan Jenkins

Slopes of hazard

Skiing, ironically, is the safest thing you can do in St Moritz, says Rosie Paterson, who traces the Swiss resort's love affair with adrenaline-pumping winter sports back to a Victorian bet

At anchor down under

A thoughtfully designed ship, with infinity pool and book-lined nooks, is a great base from which to explore Indonesia and the north coast of Australia, finds Jane Wheatley

Peanuts and pencils

The thrill of a new pencil case doesn't fade with age, finds Jo Rodgers, on a visit to Anya Hindmarch's new stationery pop-up shop

Fêted and plated

Behind every powerful man is a woman and behind every successful restaurant is a wise and passionate restaurateur. Tom Parker Bowles meets some of the best

The best seat in the house

Patience, knowledge and practised skill are all required to create handmade furniture. Nick Hammond discovers how one gifted woodworker found the best possible mentor, thanks to a copy of COUNTRY LIFE

Building nationhood

A recently restored villa set in a carefully planted woodland blends traditions in pursuit of a distinctly Romanian idiom of architecture, as Jeremy Musson explains