Beautiful & Useful
New plants, books, tools and creative designs, plus shopping inspiration
A Room of One’s Own
Although shepherd’s huts have been in use at least since the 16th century, it was in the 1800s that a new material, corrugated iron, gave rise to the distinctive convex-roof form familiar to us today. Where they once offered life-saving refuge in the past, these structures now make a fashionable garden room, being insulated, comfortable and generally requiring no planning permission. Manufacturer Plankbridge has loftier designs, including the new, two-storey Tiny House, but it’s the Snug that most closely reflects the Victorian designs. Expect cast-iron wheels, oak windows and doors and hand-crafted leadwork. Fully fitted Snug shepherd’s hut, £42,500, plankbridge.com
Modern Antique
Garden antiques specialist Architectural Heritage has built a reputation for stocking unusual items. To match demand for more popular objects, the company is now offering a range of handmade garden pieces. This includes collections of stone ornaments, forged iron furniture, lead and verdigris copper planters and water containers. This last item is handmade to order and constructed from heavy-gauge brass riveted together and patinated. Circular copper water container with rolled edge, £3,000, plus VAT, architectural-heritage.co.uk
The Hidden Life of Garden Birds by Dominic Couzens
Octopus, £18.99
Birdsong is one of the great joys of nature in early spring, but beyond that birds have complex survival behaviours largely unknown to us. Birder and nature journalist Dominic Couzens s
