Comment & Opinion

The RHS: 220 years of horticultural genius

The RHS is best-known for its shows and gardens but it's the work behind the scenes which has made the biggest mark. Tiffany Daneff pays tribute to a remarkable institution as it reaches a major milestone.

'Milk, butter, eggs and honey provide a healthy variety with which industrially processed, plant-based food can’t compete'

Country Life's columnist Agromenes believes the tide of public opinion is turning against vegetarian and vegan alternative foods.

Alan Titchmarsh: The boy who left school early with one O-level 60 years ago... and found the perfect career

Our columnist Alan Titchmarsh reflects on 60 years of gardening.

Jonathan Self: The peasants are anything but revolting

The people who worked the patchwork farms of Ireland until just a few decades ago are all but gone, laments Jonathan Self.

Curious Questions: Why was a lifeboat hauled 13 miles overland in the midst of one of the worst storms of the 19th century?

Martin Fone on the brave men of the RNLI, and the tales of Louisa and Forrest Hall.

'From the first page until the last, I was in another country, another world... It was like falling in love'

'There is beauty and there is poverty, order and corruption' — Carla Carlisle on Karen Blixen and Kenya.

Curious Questions: Why don't we all agree on how to pronounce 'lieutenant'?

Martin Fone talks about one of the great quirks of language which divide Britain and America.

John Lewis-Stempel: The beauty of the beach in winter

On a dull February morning, John Lewis-Stempel is consumed by childhood memories of the allure of the seashore, from the rhythmic, cresting waves and slippery seaweed of all shapes and hues to the shell-studded sand.

Joe Gibbs: Even the patron saint of salmon can't save these fish from the seals

After a disastrous 2023 fishing season, Joe Gibbs is hoping for better.

'The equation is inescapable. Our rich societies will simply have to pay the proper price for food'

Country Life's columnist Agromenes urges us to take a cold, hard look at the way we grow and consume food.

Opinion: Why the 'threat' of a new National Park has Galloway farmers up in arms

Galloway farmer Jamie Blackett on duck dating, snowdrop splitting, welcoming avian visitors and manning the barricades against an unwanted national park.

60 years of wisdom: 'Life is a zig-zag, a joyous adventure, and enhanced every day'

Helen Rebanks: Farming, food, the meaning of life... and dogs stealing birthday cakes

Helen Rebanks, the bestselling author who became Britain's favourite farmer's wife, joins the Country Life podcast.

The 10 most romantic declarations of love in film and literature

Jason Goodwin: 'In the garden I see myself as a god, quite Old Testament, full of wrath and vengeance'

'Bonfires spring up in my wake,' says Jason Goodwin. 'Brambles part before me like the Red Sea.'

What it's like to live and work in a National Park

Cumbrian farmer Douglas Chalmers weighs the pros and cons of living in a national park.

'The countryside can pull us together, a connecting point for a nation that sometimes feels as though it is falling apart'

After 75 years, the job required of national parks has changed. They now need to be hothouses of Nature recovery, and it’s time we got on with it, says Julian Glover.

Patrick Galbraith: "'You sound clever, but you’re really stupit,' he told me. Buoyed by his charm, I stepped outside"

A happy Patrick Galbraith celebrates his engagement by tempting fate in inspiringly cavalier fashion.

Alan Titchmarsh: The art and craft of the head gardener

There are a healthy number of estates whose gardening staff are a vital part of their continued existence — Alan Titchmarsh pays tribute.

Curious Questions: Who created the Oxford English Dictionary?

Martin Fone, who has long been fascinated by words, digs in to the story of how Sir James Murray created the first Oxford English Dictionary — despite having a full-time job and 11 children — and ended up having his own special post box.