Country Life UK - January 13, 2021

A brush with plants

This month, the botanical artist Emma Tennant celebrates her 80th birthday–and 75 years of gardening and painting. Steven Desmond eagerly anticipates her forthcoming exhibition

Our very own super savannah

‘WHEN I pay for a view, I expect something more interesting than that,’ says Mrs Richards. ‘Well may I ask what you expected to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window?’ replies Basil Fawlty.

Fury at ban

A BAN on the use of snares in Wales is likely to become law after a vote in the Senedd backed criminalising their use. The wire devices, which are principally used by gamekeepers and farmers, are designed to control predator numbers in an effort to protect lambs, gamebirds and other vulnerable wildlife. Those in favour of the ban say that the traps are cruel and indiscriminate, while those against say the ban will lead to a rise in fox numbers, which would have significant adverse effects on threatened species such as curlew.

A home at last

JOY BAKER and her late husband, John, spent 25 years amassing a collection of work by the Soper family of artists, which now amounts to more than 700 prints, watercolours, porcelain figures and memorabilia.

Follow the coastal code

ENGLAND’S first-ever national Marine and Coastal Wildlife Code was launched last week, offering advice and guidance to help people visit the coast ‘responsibly’.

Prepare to be WOW!ed

FOLLOWING the success of the inaugural project last year, WOW! house will return to Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, from June 5.

Curlew on the move

SOME 120 curlew eggs were transported to the South of England last week, the largest translocation of the threatened species ever undertaken.

Art is all around us

Wherever you are in Britain, youre never far from an interesting gallery. Here we present an eclectic round-up of 45 places to see art outside the big cities

Friends and allies

EVERY month or two, another new scientific paper shares the next increment in our understanding of how plants communicate. I love that. Every day, quiet interactions occur, most beyond our gaze; some harmonious, others less so. The tip of this iceberg of interaction is companion planting, where we take advantage of one plant's qualities to benefit others. This can take many forms.

A shimmering return to form

Spring has been slow in coming this year, but when the gates opened, the nurserymen, gardeners and designers once again achieved the seemingly impossible task of creating horticultural magic in SW3, says Tiffany Daneff