Country Life

Published by TI Media Limited 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.

Miss Olivia Owen • Olivia is a communications strategist at a reputation management firm. She is the daughter of Mark Owen of Midhurst, West Sussex, and Caroline Van Den Berg of Milton Street, East Sussex, and is engaged to Hughie Shepherd-Cross, whom she will wed at St Andrew’s Church, Alfriston, East Sussex, in September.

Turning fingers green

Country Life

Town & Country

Town & Country Notebook

Stuff & nonsense

Letters to the Editor

Words matter

Athena • Cultural Crusader

My favourite painting Taco Dibbits

Country-house treasures

The legacy • Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and the landscape garden

Spring-loaded • Layers of fresh new foliage–lime-green hornbeams underplanted with bronze and copper-leaved perennials–are set off with a brilliant selection of tulips, writes Kathryn Bradley-Hole

In fine form • Classical and contemporary sculptures for the garden, selected by Amelia Thorpe

Show stoppers • A plate of six perfect gooseberries, ramrod-straight carrots and three triumphant daffodils–the season of the local flower show is upon us. Christopher Stocks looks at the origins of this most popular–and nail-biting–sport

How to win at your local show • To secure victory, first read these words of advice from Steven Desmond

Sweet and sour source • Rhubarb is one of the easiest and most generous plants to grow. Charles Quest-Ritson digs into its history and recommends the best kinds

Keepers and chuckers

Historical resonance • Breamore House, Hampshire The seat of Sir Michael Hulse, Bt In the mid 18th century, an Elizabethan house became the seat of a family that made its fortune in medicine. Steven Brindle looks at the fascinating history of the building and its rich collections

Oh, to be in England… • With this week’s equinox marking spring’s long-awaited calendar arrival here in Britain, Jacqui Ritchie investigates the spell it has always cast over the nation’s poets

Talk to me, goose • Keeping a gaggle of geese promises to bring oodles of charm and character to the yard, says Mary Skipwith, as she takes a gander at why these stately birds become the heart and soul of family life

Luxury In season

Get in line • Classic, cheerful stripes are perfect for spring, says Amie Elizabeth White

The designer’s room • Interior designer Angelica Squire combined natural textures and tones to create a characterful country retreat

Console yourself • Slender tables offer a brilliant way to make the most of limited space and create a focal point. Amelia Thorpe chooses her favourites

Property news

Divine proportions • Originally built as homes for clergy, these five former vicarages now offer elegant living, generous gardens and the historic weight of ecclesiastical heritage

Kitchen garden cook Celeriac

The real Riviera • Rupert Clague goes in search of the authentic French Riviera that once captured the imagination of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jean Cocteau and Henri Matisse

Blooming hard • Curiosity spurred early botanists to hunt for rare plants, greed then changed our relationship with Nature and art is urging us to reset it, as the...