A good vintage: the London flat filled with 20th-century collectibles

Tenanted for half a century, this mansion block flat overlooking a 1930s lido has been totally transformed

What does a landscape designer do when her own home doesn’t have a garden? The answer, of course, is to summon nature indoors. In Natasha Nuttall’s flat, devil’s ivy winds seductively around a mid-century screen in the hallway; trailing clematis tumbles from a hanging planter, and a magnificent staghorn fern strikes a sculptural note on her office shelf. “I always wanted to introduce as much greenery as possible,” Nuttall says. “The plants give a lot of movement and life to the interiors.”

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How to graft apple trees | Alys Fowler

It takes time to master this tradition but the knowledge can be picked up in an afternoon

For as long as we have loved apples (and that’s a very long time) we have been taking cuttings of them. There’s a legend that the earliest apple cuttings were pierced into their own apples so they could be carried along trade routes moist enough to be planted up farther down the line.

We owe thanks to the Romans for our love of apples and the skill to graft them. All apple trees are grafted because apples don’t come true from seed: if you want to ensure a cultivar, you have to take a cutting. Grafting is the process by which you take a cutting from an apple variety that you like and graft it on to a desirable rootstock with a certain vigour (or lack of, in case of dwarfing variety) and resilience.

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Gardening tips: plant Clematis ‘Winter Beauty’

Then visit the new winter garden at Wakehurst and start planning your potato choices

Plant this You’ll need a sheltered spot such as a south-facing wall to make Clematis ‘Winter Beauty’ thrive, but it’s worth it for the waxy, bell-like flowers that come out this month. This evergreen climber, with its dark green foliage, will reach up to 3m x 3m, and nicely clothe a house wall or tall fence.

Visit this Snowdrops raise a particular passion in many gardeners. To see what all the fuss is about, head to Hill Close gardens in Warwick this weekend for their event celebrating all things galanthus, including more than 100 varieties on show. Details at hillclosegardens.com.

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New-build homes: why some owners are left feeling the cold https://t.co/rdkOJZ9COE Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/eLmKfiYyW9

New-build homes: why some owners are left feeling the cold https://t.co/rdkOJZ9COE Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/eLmKfiYyW9 (via Twitter http://twitter.com/conveyandmove/status/1091619806665682944)

New-build homes: why some owners are left feeling the cold

We investigate shoddy building practices that mean higher-than-expected heating bills

Newly built homes are more energy efficient than ever, the government said this week. But thousands of buyers are finding that their expensive new homes are cold and draughty with heating bills far higher than expected. The culprit? The finger of blame is pointing towards builders rushing to meet targets, lax standards and poor inspection, with badly installed dry lining at the heart of the issue.

Dry lining became popular in the UK in the 1980s, replacing traditional “wet” plastering with ready made plasterboard attached to walls and ceilings. It means plastering can be done in a couple of days rather than weeks.

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Oldies are pampered. We should offer a new deal to the young | Patrick Collinson

Older people benefit from a raft of tax reliefs, while Generation Rent has been dealt a bad hand

At the lovely Meyrick hotel in Galway, I had my first experience of a freebie solely because I had just tipped over 55 years old. The hotel pointed out I could now benefit from their “golden years” package, knocking quite a bit off the price. Meanwhile at my gym, I now qualify for a low-cost deal because I’m over 55. And in a few years’ time I get the big one: the TfL pass giving free 24-hour travel over the city’s entire transport network.

I shall continue to benefit from sizeable tax relief on my pension contributions – worth far more to older people like me on higher salaries, as I obtain 40% tax relief, while young people on smaller salaries get just 20% relief. I also benefit from Isa tax relief as I can afford to save when young people can’t. Then there is the juiciest of all tax reliefs: no capital gains tax when I sell my home – while Generation Rent grimly hand half or more of their take-home pay to landlords.

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Oldies are pampered. We should offer a new deal to the young | Patrick Collinson https://t.co/NZ8D6xbNku Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/eLmKfiYyW9

Oldies are pampered. We should offer a new deal to the young | Patrick Collinson https://t.co/NZ8D6xbNku Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/eLmKfiYyW9 (via Twitter http://twitter.com/conveyandmove/status/1091595854329331717)