● It had been, until that point, an ...

The latest from Carol's beautiful cottage garden… plus her diary for the week!

Our round-up of the funny, fascinating and unusual stories this fortnight

If there’s anything more joyful than making a visit to the coast in any season, it has to be heading there with your beloved dog

As winter relinquishes its grip, Tessa Waugh enjoys a copybook meet, with convivial chat, springy turf and good sport – while the real hunting aficionados demonstrate their teleporting skills

I like the slow-quick-slow burn of early spring, with the leaves unfurling slowly but surely. Some plants are decidedly cautious; whitebeams and catalpa won’t show themselves for weeks, while impatien