This is my annual guilty pleasure. By early December I am as frantic as anyone. As I hurriedly plant the last of my bulbs and make sure to complete essential deadlines before the end of the year, I co

The first glimpse of Cressy Hall, appearing as you round a bend on the narrow serpentine drive that winds to the rear of the house, is a moment of wonder. There stands a fine red-brick building of han

REAL readers' gardens! Putting the garden to bed ...

John and Jenny Brett have created an all-year garden design at St Mary’s, combining formal plant structures with colourful insect-friendly perennials, but in winter, when dusted with white and dancing with shadows, the garden shimmers

In 1993 Sarah and Chris Vermont moved from Brixton, London, to Hungerdowns in Essex, an old farmhouse dating back to 1600 with a Georgian front added in 1757. In the garden there were existing hedges,

REAL readers' gardens!