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.
A note from the editor
March • “Daffodils, That come before the swallow dares, and take The winds of March with beauty”
emporium • Gifts and buys for spring from our favourite artisans, small businesses and high-street brands
THIS MONTH Firewood and log stores • 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
40 iconic images • As Country Living celebrates its 40th birthday, we look back at how our super-talented photographers have captured the seasons over the years
The HISTORIAN WITH A PASSION FOR FASHION • She’s the history boffin on The Great British Sewing Bee and A Stitch in Time. Now, with a landmark exhibition on the horizon, Amber Butchart is immersing herself in a whole new genre of vintage clothes
CULTIVATING HOPE • Eight life-changing gardens inspired by one extraordinary schoolboy… Dr Olivia Chapple OBE tells us how her son’s dream led to the founding of Horatio’s Garden, a charity dedicated to delivering the restorative power of nature to those who need it most
6 WAYS TO HELP HORATIO’S GARDENS GROW
Throw a TULIP PAINTING PARTY • Gather up sketchbooks, palettes, brushes and paintboxes for a garden party with a creative twist
ORDER YOUR COUNTRY LIVING 2025 DIARY & CALENDAR! • Get organised for the year ahead with our beautiful stationery collection, filled with uplifting seasonal images to inspire you each month
THE NEW-LOOK COUNTRY KITCHEN • Revealed: the 20 stand-out themes set to transform our rustic kitchens in 2025. Here’s how to work them to upgrade the hub of your home
The TIME TRAVELLING ARTIST • Emily Sutton’s whimsical illustrations have been popularised by Fortnum & Mason, Betty’s and Charlie Bigham’s. But they are more than a feast for the eyes: they’re time portals, tapping into our nostalgia for an imagined past
Cool BEANS • Scott James left school with barely a qualification to his name. Now, his company, Coaltown Coffee, supplies Selfridges Foodhall and has given his neighbours in a former Welsh mining community something to leap out of bed for
TRICKS of the SHADE • From a Dorset farm, Rose of Jericho carefully mixes lime mortars and traditional paints to preserve and repair everything from Tudor cottages to Windsor Castle
For when your heart is in the country • Subscribe to the digital edition of Country Living magazine and escape into an appealing world of rural beauty and tranquillity. You’ll find a wealth of ideas for your home and garden, learn about traditional crafts, discover inspiring rural businesses and enjoy delicious recipes using seasonal produce.
AT HOME with ANTIQUES • This Kentish cottage blends a “clay-coloured” palette with an assortment of rustic antique furniture and textiles to create an easy, individual style
FULL OF THE JOYS OF SPRING • Smoky purple magnolias, cerise camellias and brilliant azaleas shine out against a backdrop of ancient oaks and clipped yew in this sprawling Devonshire garden
DOWN to EARTH • GARDENING NOTES
“My AESTHETIC is about EMBRACING THINGS that last FOR EVER” • In this radical but respectful renovation of two Victorian workers’ cottages in Yorkshire, Lee Thornley sourced everything he possibly could from the salvage yard
HOME comforts • DECORATING NOTES
NATURE and NURTURE • WELLBEING NOTES
SLOW and SUSTAINABLE • NATURE...