Country Living UK

Throughout this year, we have been curating a series of special features in celebration of Country Living’s 40th birthday. Our anniversary content is bringing such joy to us all in the office and, judging from your emails and letters, we think you feel the same. So many of you have been with us since the early days of the magazine and we really appreciate your loyalty. This month’s “special” has been curated for all the garden-lovers among you – and we know that there are plenty. 40 Avant Garden Trends (page 41) showcases everything coming to the fore in the gardening world right now – from the latest robot lawnmowers and AI technology to exhibitions, books and garden tours you won’t want to miss (see right). Whether you have a cottage…

“We cherish, too, the poppy red That grows on fields where valor led; It seems to signal to the skies That blood of heroes never dies” We Shall Keep the Faith by Moina Michael The 80th anniversary of VE Day is celebrated this year on 8 May. For details, go to veday80.org.uk QUAINT AND QUIRKY OAK APPLE DAY May 29 marks Oak Apple Day, which celebrates the restoration of the monarchy in England in 1660. The name comes from the story that Charles II hid in an oak tree after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. Remnants of the tradition live on around the country. In Aston on Clun in Shropshire, locals take part in a Tree Dressing ceremony in the centre of the village (on 25 May this year). Back in the…

GLOUCESTERSHIRE This pretty Cotswolds market town flourished in the Middle Ages because it produced so much wool. The weavers and traders are long gone, but the sheep remain, grazing on the surrounding countryside. Tetbury retains its charm with cobbled alleys and honey-hued stone cottages. WHAT TO SEE AND DO Climb the cobbled Chipping Steps, an old entrance to the town that’s lined with weavers’ cottages, and pop into the 17th-century Market House, where stallholders gather twice a week, selling everything from plants and produce to books and furniture. If you’re in town on 26 May, head to Gumstool Hill for the Tetbury Woolsack Races (tetburywoolsack.co.uk), a tradition where competitors run up a steep incline with a sack of wool. Or you could admire some stately homes and gardens, including the picturesque wildflower…

See overleaf for a selection of artisans exhibiting in Country Living Pavilions this spring Editor’s choice “Dominic’s spalted beech designs offer a tactile connection to Cornwall’s rugged coastline, yet it’s their utilitarian simplicity I love most; perfect for ritualising the everyday”Homes writer Maddy Ando PHOTOGRAPH BY NATO WELTON STYLING BY ALAINA BINKS. COMPILED BY MADDY ANDO PRICES AND AVAILABILITY CORRECT AT THE TIME OF GOING TO PRESS…

Meet the exhibitors featured here in the Country Living Pavilions at Badminton Horse Trials on 7-11 May and RHS Malvern Spring Festival on 8-11 May. For more details and tickets, see pages 113 and 132 FOR STOCKISTS see Where to Buy COMPILED BY MADDY ANDO PRICES AND INFORMATION CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS. *PRICES MAY DIFFER FOR SAME/SIMILAR PRODUCTS SOLD AT THESE SHOWS…

One of the most famous books about plants was by a man called John Gerard. He was a surgeon at the end of the 16th century and, as many of us do today, Gerard relaxed by throwing himself into the calming practices of gardening and foraging. Today’s London would then have been mostly fields, and Gerard spent hours recording nature’s bounty. His resulting 1597 work – The Herball, or, Generall Historie of Plantes – is a treasure trove of wildflowers, herbs and bulbs. It also reveals just how useful, and how common, one particular plant was. Wild garlic grows freely in many parts of the country and its preferred habitat is a damp forest floor. I have a favourite patch of deciduous woodland that romps with wild garlic between March and…