Country Living UK

Whether you live in the town or countryside, in Country Living you’ll find a wealth of ideas for your home and garden, learn about traditional crafts, keep informed of rural issues, enjoy irresistible dishes using seasonal produce and, above all, escape the stress and strain of modern-day life.

Country Living UK

A note from the editor

June • PLACES TO GO, THINGS TO DO, IDEAS TO TRY

emporium • Handcrafted gifts and seasonal buys from our favourite artisans, small businesses and high-street brands

The new GOOD LIFE • There’s never been a better time to go self-sufficient. In our ongoing series, Sally Coulthard shares tried-and-tested tips from her Yorkshire smallholding

THE FIRST LADY of FLOWERS • As Country Living turns 40, we speak to long-time CL friend Sarah Raven about cultivating a small business, growing plants for our wellbeing and why gardening is a bit like sudoku

COUNTRY LIVING MARKET PLACE • HOST A GARDEN PARTY TO REMEMBER, WHERE EVERY DETAIL DELIGHTS. GATHER LOVED ONES AROUND A BEAUTIFULLY DRESSED TABLE ADORNED WITH ARTISAN-MADE CRISP LINENS AND CHARMING TABLEWARE – WE HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO CREATE A TRULY SPECIAL OCCASION.

GREEN AND HAPPY SPACES • FOR FOUR DECADES, COUNTRY LIVING HAS CELEBRATED THE POWER OF NATURE TO NOURISH, SOOTHE AND RESTORE US. FOR OUR BIRTHDAY, 40 OF OUR FAVOURITE COUNTRY-LOVERS REVEAL THE GARDENS, WOODS, LAKES AND MOUNTAINS THAT NURTURE THEIR WELLBEING

CELEBRATE WITH US! • To mark our 40th birthday this month, we’ve gathered flower-bedecked bakes, garlands and crowns for a May Day-inspired Country Living party

MODERN RUSTIC

INTRODUCING the enhanced COUNTRY LIVING COLLECTION at DFS

GARDEN ROOM STYLES • Cultivate an indoor garden room or contemporary conservatory inspired by flora, fauna or fruit

ABUNDANT FLORA • Medieval monasteries were often built around a garden space, where healing and contemplation could grow as freely as the roses and herbs. Bring floral bounty to your favourite indoor space by thinking like a gardener: layer flower patterns with leafy indoor plants such as petunias and French lavenders, place greenery at different heights in baskets and planters, and soften rustic outdoor seating with a bed of blowsy cushions.

FRIENDLY FAUNA • From rustic birdcages to avian-themed wallpaper, there’s a hint of the museum curator about this gloriously refined aesthetic. Forget taxidermy and tropical specimens – this is a celebratory, conservation-friendly take on the timeless faunal theme. Think British wildlife – hedgehogs, garden birds, squirrels and badgers – the icons of the countryside turned into charming fabrics and spirited wallpaper.

BOUNTIFUL FRUIT • The idea of paradise, a place of horticultural abundance, has been around for thousands of years. The rich, sensual symbolism of fruit and berries went on to inform Renaissance tapestries and, much later, the work of Arts and Crafts designers such as William Morris. His (and Morris & Co) wallpapers and fabric still bring naturalism to any interior, as do botanical prints and motifs. A potted fruit tree perfectly rounds off the theme.

COUNTRY LIVING ANNOUNCES our 40 OF THE BEST ARTISANS AWARDS • “Like Country Living, my own business celebrates its 40th birthday this year and I’m proud to have helped reinvigorate an industry that was at risk of being lost. I will always be committed to supporting traditional craft skills. Being analogue in a digital world is tremendously appealing and these awards are a brilliant way of championing that.”

FLIGHT PATTERNS • From her home in East Lothian, former fashion designer Kate Millbank sketches birds flying over the Firth of Forth to turn into intricate linocuts

WHAT YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT FROGS • Sally Coulthard applauds the extraordinary...