Taming The Wilds, With Regret

Clive Aslet assesses the significance of the pioneering environmentalist and father of American landscape painting.

This Loch Ness Blackberry Is A Welcome Monster

I’VE never planted blackberries in my garden— at least, not until four years ago. I’m a country boy and I don’t see the point of cultivating a plant that’s widely available in the wild.

Portrait Of An Old Man And A Boy By Domenico Ghirlandaio

John McEwen comments on Portrait of an Old Man and a Boy

Fruits Of Paradise

Treated to little more than a dash of seasoning and olive oil, the Mediterranean flavours of ripe and juicy tomatoes take some beating

The Great Endeavour

The city of dreaming spires was home to both Inspector Morse, the nation’s favourite fictional detective, and his creator. Daniel Pembrey tours Oxford to learn more

Heroes Of The Emerald Isle

These two excellent Irish estates have histories to write home about

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

Two lots available in Christie’s summer sale dovetail beautifully with Sotheby’s, so it’s a shame that they couldn’t be viewed together

A Coach And 626 Horses

Elegant, but burly like a bare-knuckle brawler, Bentley’s new Continental GT Cabriolet is both slick and rugged.

From Out Of The Shadows

The actor on the knock-on effect of Maurice and the tedium of upper-crust roles.

Dilly-Dally Over Daffodils No More

With more than 26,000 to choose from, it can be agonising deciding which narcissus to grow. Charles Quest-Ritson asks daffodil doyenne Christine Skelmersdale for ideas.

Top C Marks The Spot

On Ash Wednesday, cathedrals and chapels will resonate to a mystical piece of music created for the Vatican’s papal choir in the Sistine Chapel. Ysenda Maxtone Graham discovers the legend of the Allegri Miserere.

There's Nowt So Queer As Folk

From tipsy manservants to illicit affairs, these three properties in Dorset, Oxfordshire and North Yorkshire have fascinating histories

A Victorian Bequest

In 2018, this celebrated building closed for a six year renovation. COUNTRY LIFE recorded its empty interiors before work began and Steven Brindle tells its exceptional story.

Eastern Promise

They have a starry following, but characterful Tibetan terriers are still a well-kept secret. Emma Hughes meets the best dog of which you’ve never heard.

The Look Of Love

Worshipped by great artists, who often fell for the faces they repeatedly depicted on canvas, many famous muses had lives tinged with tragedy and regret.

Following The Visionaries

This tranquil part of the Thames was a gathering place for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Nature Is A Language–Can't You Read?

Clive Aslet applauds a radical blueprint for rescuing the British countryside

The Man Who Makes Houses Human

The architect looks back on six decades of friendship with some of our most treasured buildings

Eye Witness

The photographer has been to the dark heart of many of the world’s worst conflicts, with heartbreaking results, writes Michael Murray-Fennell

New Looks For Old Plays

Two famous works–Tartuffe and Equus–are given different twists

The Hills Are Alive

Prime properties in the Surrey Hills AONB are worth waiting for

The Softly, Softly Approach To Decluttering

IN these days of political polarisation, the concept of ‘hard’ versus ‘soft’ has extended to our everyday lives. For example, there are now two schools of decluttering: the ‘hard’ method preached by Marie Kondo in her Netflix series and the ‘soft’ version of Debora Robertson in her new book, Declutter.

Humble, But Fit For A Lord

The Pitt family controlled one of the kingdom’s most notorious Parliamentary boroughs from this now compact house

A Cut Above The Rest

Sometimes, off-the-peg simply won’t do. Jemima Sissons reveals some of the finest bespoke tailoring houses for women in London

The Designer's Room

Kit Kemp explains how shelves of carefully chosen books can transform a room

The Cottage Industry

Owning a weekend cottage is a dream to which many aspire. Flora Watkins finds out how to achieve

Goodbye To All That

Roger Bowdler explores Tate’s Armistice exhibition and discovers how the conflict acted as a catalyst for major changes in art and life

Flower Power

The plantswoman on dahlia trends and the colours for 2019

The Shaming Of The Shrew

How did the character of this inoffensive little creature of meadow and garden become cruelly impugned, wonders Ian Morton

The Seeds Of A Solid Future

Gardening and investment both require an eye on the future