Present danger

AS most of the garden settles into a state of restful melancholy, there are a few plants that are stirring themselves towards an unseasonal flamboyance.

Going full tilt

Warped, twisted and wonderfully wonky, who can fail to be intrigued by the quirky glory of Britain's medieval buildings? Rob Crossan explores the asymmetrical charm of the crooked house

Better to have loved and listed

It seems odd to pay an insurance premium for listed buildings.

Wood you rather

Meticulously executed programmes of restoration and renovation have left three medieval masterpieces well equipped to face the challenges of the 21st century

Raise your glass

Restoration jobs may be keeping the craft alive, but why aren't we commissioning new stained glass? Mary Miers immerses herself in a world saturated in colour

He who pays the piper

Learning a language is one thing, getting to grips with a pig in a poke is another altogether. Octavia Pollock explores some of our best idioms

Hitting the sweet spot

How did an imported Eastern delicacy become a favourite of our Tudor monarchs and an enduring British Christmas staple? Matthew Dennison discovers why so many of us love marzipan

What to serve when

Village drinks? Teenage gatherings? Carol singers? Christmas and Boxing Day lunch? Wine savant Nicola Arcedeckne-Butler MW has a wine for every festive occasion

Well, isn't that just the icing on the biscuit?

Gin and tonics, first-aid assistance and hugs are all on the menu at Biscuiteers, where there is always a reason to biscuit'

I'll have a side of drama, please

Tableside cooking is nothing new, but modern-day diners have forgotten how fun it can be, says Tom Parker Bowles, who makes his case for its renaissance

Glory of the garden

Flower farmer and florist Rachel Siegfried uses woody plants and perennials to bring colour to late-season arrangements, three of which she has made for COUNTRY LIFE

Mastered in every detail

The stories of Henry James are full of descriptions of country houses. Jeremy Musson explores the messages these houses convey, with the help of specially commissioned drawings by Matthew Rice

Claus for celebration

Lights and turkeys and bells, oh my! Embrace the festive spirit with Amie Elizabeth White's A to Z of Christmas

County of contrasts

The Garden of England provides the ideal backdrop for three beautiful country homes

Time and tide wait for no avocet

On a lonely November day at Thames end, where the wildness of Nature is intensified by the closeness of our capital city, John Lewis-Stempel is happy to be accompanied only by the birds of the mudflats

Cure and simple

Flavoursome and flourishing, the British air-dried sausage offering is catching up with its Continental counterparts

As hard as nails

Known as ironwood thanks to its ability to blunt saws, the densely muscular hornbeam is often overlooked and frequently misidentified

Enjoy your winter greens

THE minor early-19th-century poet Thomas Hood is best known for writing ‘I remember, I remember, the house where I was born’, listing roses, violets, lilac and lilies. Less well-known is his gloomy November poem, which begins:

Devoted to daphne

The bewitching scent of daphnes hangs heavy in the winter air, making them an essential plant at this time of year

Betty, Belle and other stories

leaves the city behind to go wild in Exmoor in a Land Rover Defender

The devil is in the detail

Devil’s Dyke? Satan did it. The Devil’s Shovelful? Guess who. The Devil’s Punch Bowl? Actually that one was giants. recounts some imaginative explanations for our ancient monuments

Game, setter, match

An affectionate free spirit in a glamorous feathered coat, the English setter comes in Robin Reliant or Ferrari mode

Stirring the pot

On the last weekend before Advent, families gather to make Christmas pudding-but they probably don't serve it with roast beef.

Native breeds

Did you know?

Classicism in the Deccan

The restoration of the former British Residency in Hyderabad has helped encourage local craftsmanship, as the architect involved

My favourite painting Gavin Plumley

The Druids: Bringing in the Mistletoe

Clarity not carte blanche

Developers need clarity as to where they can build, We need to zone our countryside to prevent conflict and the erosion of this limited and precious resource

Speak like a Georgian

The 18th century was a golden age of slang, with a phrase for every body and bodily function, from 'fubbs' for curves to 'fizzle' for quiet 'emissions', finds

Ariddle wrapped in a mystery

The late Robert Kime chose his pieces as much for their history as for their quality, but the stories of some of the works sold in the phenomenally successful dispersal of his collections may never be fully revealed

Off the beaten cycle path

I RECENTLY returned from the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey after a magical week with The Slow Cyclist, a specialist tour operator I know well from previous travels in both Transylvania (Romania) and the Mani Peninsula (Greece).