The plants are the thing

The garden of the eminent plantsman John d’Arcy, The Old Vicarage, Edington, Wiltshire, is home to an astonishing collection of plants, finds Charles Quest-Ritson

Improving on history

A beautifully preserved Georgian house reveals the influence of pattern books in the practice of English architecture. John Goodall admires its revival and the addition to it of two well-judged new wings

It's simply pure racing

The Cheltenham Festival will be a strangely silent affair, with no Guinness, no Irish punters and no amateurs, but that won’t detract from the quality of racing, which is set to be as illustrious as ever, says Marcus Armytage

Thelwell: more than a one-trick pony

Sixty years after Penelope and Kipper rode into our lives, Alice Wright explores Norman Thelwell’s expert touch in capturing all aspects of country life

The Painting's On The Wall

Once practised by Michelangelo, Raphael and da Vinci, the art of fresco creation has changed little in 1,000 years. Marsha O'Mahony meets the artists following in their footsteps

Taking it on the chin

From how to wear red trousers with aplomb to always ‘going to the loo’, The Chin Dictionary is a self-deprecating and witty guide to being ‘posh’, observes Joe Gibbs

Circles of life

Shrouded in mystery and once believed to replenish themselves magically at night from condensation in the air, spherical dew ponds are often manmade and fed by rainfall, explains Simon Lester

Georgian grace

The late 18th century saw a wealth of fine country houses spring up in the county of Somerset

A minister for all seasons

The Defra Secretary on badgers, Brexit and other burning topics

Affairs of the heart

Romance–as well as scientific and artistic endeavour–was synonymous with Mayfair long before Bridgerton appeared on our screens, discovers Carla Passino

Brilliant blossoms

The collection of magnolias begun by a former president of the RHS is being continued by his daughter in the arboretum at Llanover in Monmouthshire, reveals Stephen Anderton

The land is yours

Official War Artist Thomas Hennell, who struggled with schizophrenia throughout his short life, should be better appreciated for both his shocking portrayals of conflict and his fine watercolours of pastoral life, says Peyton Skipwith

The right trousers

Once frowned upon, now a staple of the female wardrobe, trousers have come a long way. Emma Hughes charts the journey of this favourite garment

A Kerr-handed castle

Ferniehirst Castle, Roxburghshire A seat of Lord Ralph Kerr Rebuilt in 1598, this delightful Borders castle, built for left-handed people, was revived by bursts of sensitive restoration, as John Martin Robinson explains

Tanks For The Memories

Once a common sight across Pembrokeshire, German tanks–and the soldiers who trained in them–have been consigned to the past, laments Harry Mount

The most apt of names

Belle Isle, Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland The home of Lord and Lady Nicholas Hamilton. An 18th-century beauty spot that briefly fell into complete neglect has been restored. John Goodall tells the remarkable story of this island estate, its eccentric owners and its modern revival

The greatest shows

Five brilliant musicals that have that all-important ‘moment-of-ecstasy’ factor

Portrait of a young man

A child prodigy who sold his first sketch aged five, the great portraitist met his match in royal women, says Matthew Dennison

Interiors: The Designer's Room

Architect John Comparelli has created a contemporary garden room to make the most of its pleasing outlook

Not so prim at all

Primroses naturally produce tantalising variations that have been avidly collected since Elizabethan times. Val Bourne looks at how modern breeding has increased the arresting forms and sumptuous colours of this much-loved spring woodlander

My own private Idaho

Originally conceived as peaceful retreats in which their owners could escape from the world, many of our surviving hermitages are located in some of the most enchanting spots in the country, observes Bronwen Riley

Keeping it in the family

The Apter- Fredericks sale sent out the encouraging signal that 18thand 19th-century furniture is in demand again

Just pottering about

Inspired by wedding bouquets, native breeds and countryside walks, it is imaginative reinterpretations of past designs that give today’s regional potteries their distinctive identities, says Matthew Dennison

In The Right Frame Of Mind

Designed to protect and enhance a picture, an elaborate frame is often a work of art in its own right. Catriona Gray discovers how red-coloured clay makes gold leaf glow and why mounts are not always needed

The Man Who Loved Drawing, Dogs And Dragons

Best known for designing the First World War ‘Your country needs you’ recruitment poster, Alfred Leete was also adept at capturing canines– as well as Bertie Wooster–in pen and ink.

Medieval magnificence

The historic Dower House Garden at Morville Hall, Shropshire, has been sensitively re-created by its painstaking owner, finds Non Morris

See the blackthorn swim in snow

Bedecked with thorns so spiky it’s known as Nature’s barbed wire, the blackthorn’s delicate, starry-white flowers are also an often unreliable harbinger of spring, observes Jack Watkins

Where angels tread

A Rembrandt enchants, yet, strangely, a Botticelli fails to move; and Old Master drawings invite us to ‘compare and contrast’

The immortal journey of Dürer

Forget Leonardo: there is a case to be made for the German artist being the true Renaissance great, argues Michael Prodger

Education and inspiration

Haileybury, Hertfordshire -In 1862, the empty buildings of an Imperial training college were occupied by one of a new generation of public schools. John Goodall looks at the story and development of the site