Blooming marvellous

EIGHT glorious gardens have been short-listed for the Historic Houses (HH) Garden of the Year Award 2025 and the public is now invited to vote for the winner.

For the love of Cecil

IT'S been 45 years since Sir Cecil Beaton died, yet the Vogue favourite retains a certain cool factor that has inspired three new exhibitions this year.

Past and present master

As TEFAF Maastricht nears the 50th anniversary of its first incarnation, astounding works from earlier centuries still make their way to the Dutch fair, but the size and quality of its modern and contemporary art offering has also increased

In search of Arcadia

In any country estate, owners ought to be able to find refuge from the busy world—something entirely possible at these three properties

Like duck to Turner

TURNER’S HOUSE in Twickenham, west London, is more than his home: it’s a window into his life.

Island state of mind

Libby Brodie reveals everything you need to know about the Maldives, from getting there in style to sustainable certifications, as Rosie Paterson visits four of the best resorts

A house of many inspirations

High Wardington House, Oxfordshire The home of Mr and Mrs Norman Hudson A pre-eminent country-house adviser has created a home from a 300-year-old farmhouse and farmyard

It all happened on Booksellers' Row

Fire, murder and regicide plotting—Cecil Court has a colourful history and remains one of London's most atmospheric streets, says Huon Mallalieu, who has spent a lifetime browsing there

The imitation game

Feats of cunning and creativity, Britain's thousands of defensive pillboxes were disguised as Gothic lodges, haystacks, public loos or even branches of WHSmith, discovers Harry Pearson

All 'Clough-ed up'

A romantic experiment surrounded by the natural majesty of North Wales, Portmeirion began life as an oddity, but has evolved into an architectural phenomenon kept alive by dedication, discovers Ben Lerwill

A touch of honey

THE first coffee of the day, the first warm-car interior of late winter that promises imminent spring, the first late-spring swallow: firsts hold a special place in our hearts and so, too, the first fruit of the year.

Are you sitting sociably?

Carefully placed furniture encourages conversation, says Emma Burns of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler

Joe Henson and native breeds

JOE HENSON was described, by television presenter John Craven, as 'himself a rare breed', as well as a 'true gentleman'.

London Life

Your indispensable guide to the capital

A prince among plantsmen

The magnificent magnolias, many of them collected as seed in the wild, are only one aspect of this enthralling garden

Queen of the hedgerow

With a scent like summer, frothy heads of elder were once used to minimise the ravages of smallpox, but avoid sitting under the tree, warns John Wright

Always in style

Old rectories and vicarages have never lost their crown, taking architectural pride of place in villages across the country for centuries

From this slumber you shall wake

The dozy, golden-coated hazel dormouse may have got its paws under the Mad Hatter's table, but numbers of this elusive woodland rodent are worryingly low

Close to your chest

Whether plain or resplendent with marquetry, chests of drawers have made their way into nearly every room, big and small. Huon Mallalieu charts their history

Having a meltdown

IN Book 11 of the Iliad, Homer describes a brief domestic scene in a battlefield tent where the slave girl Hecamede, 'fair as a goddess', concocts a drink for her master, Nestor, King of Pylos, and the wounded warrior-cum-surgeon, Machaon.

A song of the four seasons

When the words of poets elide with the music of composers, the resulting song cycles may form some of the most beautiful, evocative works in the classical repertoire. Henrietta Bredin meets the two artists who have joined forces to produce ‘Seasons’

The art of the home

Janine Stone & Co began with a passion for fine furnishings and exceptional design, deeply rooted in its founder's artistic upbringing. This heritage continues to influence the company’s commitment to creating houses that reflect the unique stories of their clientele

A brush with greatness

Victor Hugo found solace in art, but dismissed his drawings as mere things made 'during hours of almost unconscious reverie'. Now, a Royal Academy exhibition reveals how powerfully they engage the imagination

Havens and hideaways

Some houses offer that little bit extra– a garden building to enhance your quality of life

A night on the tiles

From bloody beginnings of drunken mayhem in public houses, it is somewhat surprising that the game of dominoes reached pearl-encrusted heights in our royal palaces

The legacy Gertrude Jekyll and herbaceous planting

Until Gertrude Jekyll showed us how to plant a flower border brimming with satisfying waves of colour, form and texture, no one had thought to do it.

Building on a dream

Evenley Wood Garden, Northamptonshire When Nicola Taylor took on her plantsman father's flower-filled woodland, she knew more about horses than trees, but, as Tiffany Daneff discovers, that hasn't stopped her from making a great success of the garden

Take a seat

What makes a chair supremely comfortable? The rake, the suspension system, the frame or the fillings

Sour to the people

Vibrant, tangy and full of flavour, malt vinegar is still the best British condiment to slosh over hot fish and chips

My favourite painting Sir James MacMillan

Le Christ en banlieue (Christ in the suburbs)