In this issue

The impossible made possible
This year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show promises aromatic planting, re-imagined rock gardens and mouth-watering productive plots, as Kathryn Bradley-Hole learns.

Let’s celebrate gardening
It’s time to put ‘H’ for horticulture at the heart of the RHS showpiece, argues Alan Titchmarsh.

My favourite painting Lady Caroline Percy

Ancient Rome: Agrippina Landing with the Ashes of Germanicus by Turner

1 min

The stork cometh

A visiting stork causes great excitement, but no babies, and a cold spring holds the farm back

3 mins

The impossible made possible

Kathryn Bradley-Hole anticipates a confident return to form at Chelsea, with mouth-watering designs for productive gardens, aromatic Mediterranean planting and even a reinterpretation of the rock garden

4 mins

Time to sit and stare

The West Sussex home of Harriet Anstruther and Henry Bourne Non Morris discovers a garden that has been brilliantly designed to make you want to stop and simply enjoy its loveliness

4 mins

Delightful delphiniums

We may not all be able to grow show quality delphiniums, but even in ordinary gardens these statuesque plants still turn heads, says John Hoyland

4 mins

Let's celebrate gardening

WHAT is the point of the Chelsea Flower Show? Is it a highlight of the social calendar and the start of the Season?

3 mins

Baronial dreams

Castle Drogo, Devon, part I A property of the National Trust In the first of two articles, Clive Aslet reveals how a fascination with ancestry encouraged a wealthy Edwardian businessman to enlist the help of Sir Edwin Lutyens to build a new castle

8 mins

Here's looking at you, kid

What pygmy goats lack in size they more than make up for in personality, says Julie Harding, who meets the owners who have fallen for their charms

7 mins

When I am feeling blue

With a cobalt cap, white cheeks and tiny wings, the blue tit might be a picture of songbird sweetness, but its morals leave much to be desired, says Stephen Moss

5 mins

Gnome alone

Vertically challenged, bearded and rosy-cheeked, cheerful gnomes might make for unlikely cover stars, but-says Ben Lerwill-they've long graced books, album covers and even The Queen's private garden

5 mins

Will the hot tub lose its fizz?

Why the outdoor bath offers a more discreet, less expensive alternative

1 min

Lessons from the past

On June 13 at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, two leading interior designers will share the enduring design principles that never go out of date

1 min

Many rooms with a view

Three homes have received new life thanks to some sensitive and extensive renovations

5 mins

Homing instincts

Before artist and gardener Cedric Morris died, he had wisely appointed a plant executor to ensure his precious plants went to good homes. Without such foresight, many gems might have been lost, says Christopher Woodward, director of the Garden Museum in Lambeth

6 mins

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Country Life UK Magazine Description:

Country Life; architecture, gardens, countryside, property, the very best of British life Published by IPC Media. Country Life, the quintessential English magazine, is undoubtedly one of the biggest and instantly recognisable brands in the UK today. It has a unique core mix of contemporary country-related editorial and top end property advertising. Editorially, the magazine comments in-depth on a wide variety of subjects, such as architecture, the arts, gardens and gardening, travel, the countryside, field-sports and wildlife. With renowned columnists and superb photography Country Life delivers the very best of British life every week.