CATEGORIES

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

An art form that makes us think

One of Britain’s greatest living sculptors reflects on a new cathedral project

Wall-to-wall brilliance

Inside the early-18th-century walls of Hopetoun House, West Lothian, bold planting schemes and original designs are providing an exciting new use for this 12-acre former kitchen garden, discovers Noel Kingsbury

Reaching for the top

IN THE GARDEN

‘And your English summer's done'

Deciding to ignore Kipling’s gloomy assessment of August, John Lewis-Stempel and his labrador cool off after a day’s combining with a dip in the stream

Beyond Our Wildest Dreams?

Wilder farming is as close to a silver bullet for the future management of our marginal lands as we’ll find and it’s high time to embrace this new way, contends

Island retreat

Holly Kirkwood has the pick of properties for sale on the Guernsey open market

In the ribbons

Whether pinned on a politician’s lapel or won in the show ring, rosettes can be more precious than shiny trophies

Age is no barrier to greatness

The play’s the thing as Sir Ian McKellen gives his Hamlet and classic musicals are given enlightening new twists

A sailor's playground

From pristine bays and teal waters to seals and puffins, Emma Bamford relishes boating around Guernsey

Rebecca

Britain's greatest mastepieces