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Elegy to a country churchyard: The gardens at Stockcross House
A garden with a church as its focal point is both movingly effective and mellow, with nods to a horticultural hero and a ruby wedding anniversary.
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'An inspirational renaissance': The house and gardens of Sandridge Park
A historic house has been saved from ruin by sympathetic owners, who have mixed modern planting with tradition to create a garden of note in the West Country.
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The Hampshire house and garden where D-Day was planned is now a haven with sun-drenched views across calm azure sea to the Isle of Wight
Once the haunt of smugglers and sailors, the Hampshire seashore now shelters a garden where pre- and interwar plantings sit happily with impressive new areas. George Plumptre visits the garden of Lepe House.
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The former smugglers' inn that became one of the finest gardens on the south coast
Once the haunt of smugglers and sailors, Lepe House now shelters a garden where pre- and interwar plantings sit happily with impressive new areas.
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Inside the garden of Eton: A rare glimpse into the grounds of the world's most famous school
The gardens of Eton College in Windsor, Berkshire, date back to a request from its founder, King Henry VI. Over 550 years later, a recent re-design by a former pupil has brought new life to these historic gardens, as George Plumptre explains.
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Chilcombe House: the garden that's become a 'pilgrimage' and a 'living legacy' to its former owners
When John and Caryl Hubbard first moved to Chilcombe House, they created a garden that impressed and inspired. Now, after their passing, their legacy lives on through a garden that basks in comfortable maturity.
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The garden of Midsummer House: An Oxfordshire gem that's small but perfectly formed
With a stream running through it and views of the Uffington White Horse, the garden of Midsummer House in Oxfordshire — the home of Mrs Penny Spink — is a garden of great natural beauty cleverly designed and planted to make it seem much larger than it actually is. George Plumptre paid a visit; photographs by Mimi Connolly.
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Horatio's Garden: The life-changing gardens that 'give you hope and take away the darkness'
George Plumptre visits the extraordinary Horatio’s Garden in Salisbury, an 'inspirational place' that shows the power of gardening.
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Low Crag, Cumbria: A garden in perfect harmony within one of Britain's most beautiful places
The garden of Low Crag, Cumbria — home of Mr and Mrs Chris Dodd — demonstrates a thoughtful approach to gardening that has brought about a great increase in the population of birds and animal life in this two-acre plot. George Plumptre explains more; pictures by Val Corbett for Country Life.
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The gardens at Ready Token, Gloucestershire: The new, gentler blueprint for rewilding that's yielding spectacular results
Retaining the Arts-and-Crafts elements of a 1920s garden, the owners have added a sympathetic new terrace, as well as returning the surrounding fields to meadow, finds George Plumptre. Photos by Mimi Connolly.
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How Country Life helped change the face of modern gardening
George Plumptre examines how Country Life championed the marriage of formal design with natural planting, changing the garden forever.
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Urchfont Manor, Wiltshire: From local council facility to 'inspired contemporary creation'
The restoration of Urchfont Manor and its gardens has resulted in an exceptional creation that unites the formal with the informal in a modern garden that nods to the past. Even better, it's now joined the National Garden Scheme; George Plumptre, chief executive of the NGS, takes a closer look, with photographs by Claire Takacs.
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Rofford Manor: A derelict house and garden transformed into a harmonious haven
George Plumptre is won over by a sympathetic and highly individual design that gradually reveals its string of secrets.
