CATEGORIES

Gardening without plastic

There is a lot of talk about being sustainable, but what actually works? Sally Nex has been experimenting and reports on her finds

Future-proofing your plate

We all want to eat more sustainably, but what does that actually mean? Emma Hughes explores the options

Beach you to it

Britain has a beach for everyone. Rosie Paterson rounds up 10 of the best

A graze success

More and more British farmers are switching to sustainable practices. Jason Goodwin looks at the benefits of these measures and meets six farmers helping in the fight for our planet’s health

A glimpse of the future

The exceptional houses of tomorrow are already being built today, thanks to Paragraph 79

Make This Your Best Year In The Vegetable Garden

Old May Day is the traditional time to sow runner beans. It’s also the perfect time to add some finishing touches to beds and plots, says Val Bourne

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

No rainy picnics, no loo queues, no cost–thanks to the wonders of streaming, Claire Jackson can re-create the summer country-house opera season at home

Making an impression

As the London Original Print Fair exhibits online, Emma Crichton-Miller explores the appeal of original prints for both artists and collectors

Letters from Hillside

In the third of a quarterly series from his Somerset home, plantsman designer Dan Pearson considers the hedges: a haven for wildlife and markers of the landscape

Bring me my spears

Whether steamed and eaten hot with lashings of melted butter or dotted through a fresh-tasting risotto, asparagus is the darling of spring vegetables for Tom Parker Bowles

In the garden: Shelf life

PAINTED by John Nash in 1945, Window Plants shows an old woman, with a cat on her lap, dozing next to her potted plants. I’ve always loved that image and always wanted to have a windowsill wide enough for as many flowers in terracotta pots as I could muster, rather than the indestructible house plants that thrive in airports and hotels.

Tunnel vision

The Private Gardens at Petworth House, West Sussex The home of Lord and Lady Egremont The making of a secluded garden within the landscaped acres has been managed with great charm and panache, reveals Non Morris

An epoch-making idea

Chequers Court, Buckinghamshire, part II By courtesy of the Chequers Trust In 1917, the newly restored Chequers was gifted to the nation as the country seat of Britain’s Prime Ministers. John Goodall turns to a personal diary to explain how this came about

Absolutely marble-ous

Marbled paper has been popular, on and off, since the 9th century. Now it’s enjoying a micro revival

A mysterious affair: the phenomenon of Agatha Christie

It’s 100 years since her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, was published. What is the secret of Agatha Christie’s enduring popularity? Emma Hughes investigates

What the doctor ordered

The virus has put an end to any big adventures, but a local round along a Cotswold canal is proving restorative

Vying for virtual space

Dealers and fairs alike are responding to lockdown challenges in sterling fashion, with online viewing rooms, essays and videos galore

Peas in a pod

I’M not much of a competitive gardener—I’ll marvel at an oversized pumpkin as much as the next person, without any intention of growing one—but I do gamble on an early sowing of peas.

A Londoner who immortalised Georgian life

Francis Wheatley RA (1747–1801) is best known today for his ‘Cries of London’, but, as Matthew Dennison explains, he was also a painter of delightful and accomplished portraits and landscapes

For the love of a longwool

The ancient, golden-fleeced sheep that once drove the British economy are now in need of conservation help. Kate Green reports

Star spangled meadows

Camassias are tall, elegant and simple to grow– it’s easy to see why people fall in love with these American beauties, says Val Bourne

Playing at chequers

In the first of two articles on the country seat of Britain’s Prime Ministers, John Goodall uses a diary to explain the circumstances of its magnificent Edwardian transformation

Interiors The designer's room

Having rescued this Tuscan villa from near ruin, its British owners commissioned Artichoke to design a hard-working kitchen

Born to be wild

Bird’s-foot trefoil, yellow rattle, rock-rose, scabious and selfheal: the limestone grassland of the Cotswolds could soon be flooded with wildflowers once again, thanks to a new planting scheme. Nicola Chapman finds out more

A BRIDGE WORTH CROSSING

Jack Watkins takes a trip down the River Thames and a look back at London’s illustrious bridge-building heritage

With Their Own Fair Hands

Interior designers can dream up the best furniture, says Arabella Youens

The Power Of Patience

The architect George Saumarez Smith describes how he created a home by slow evolution, rather than revolution

TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF

There are 8.3 million trees in London, almost one for every member of the capital’s population, but they need our protection now more than ever, finds Jack Watkins

The feathered home-wrecker

It took one man years of observation to convince the world about the sinister behaviour of cuckoos. More than a century later, as the bird’s population plummets, his work is still revered, says Jack Watkins

Splendid isolation

The resilience of these three superb Sussex houses, one owned by the Shelley family, reminds one that there will be good times ahead