Bring the outside in: how to style your home to make the most of nature

This contemporary home maximises its location with outdoor rooms and picture windows

With its seamless indoor and outdoor living spaces, and its Australian owner, this contemporary family home is more Brisbane than Britain. Tucked behind a suburban street, the plot, which formerly housed garages, is bordered by a stream with parkland beyond and surrounded by greenery.

“When I get back from work I’m greeted by views of woodland, and the sounds of water and birdsong; it’s instantly calming,” says Pia Fairhurst. She shares the home with her husband Jonny and their daughters Paris, nine, and Amelie, six. “We loved the idea of having no direct neighbours, and access to the garden from all sides.”

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How to grow winter salad | Alys Fowler

In the first of a two-part special, our gardening expert on leaves to see you through the season

The perfect winter salad has a little peppery heat, is robust enough to take strong-flavoured dressings, and has a sweetness that can only be brought on by cooler nights. I love a mixture of crisp lettuce, rocket, the sweet anise of chervil, and a little mustard or mizuna. As this is a subject dear to my heart, I’m going to split it into two: this week we’ll deal with lettuce, and next week all the other flavours to spice it up.

It is hard to be made to think of long nights and cold mornings when sandals and short sleeves are in order, but if sown now, winter lettuce will be up in no time, and will put on enough growth before the shorter days and colder nights set in. You can sow until the first two weeks of September to have pickings this side of New Year, and from the end of September to October to harvest the other side.

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Gardening tips: plant sneezewort for sprays of tiny white flowers all summer long

Then sow parsley seeds for an overwintered crop, and get festive with some chillies

Plant this If you need a “good doer” for a white border, wildlife garden or cut-flower patch, take a look at easygoing perennial Achillea ptarmica ‘The Pearl’ – AKA sneezewort. It does well in sun or partial shade, producing sprays of tiny white flowers all summer long. Height and spread: 70cm x 70cm.

Sow this Parsley is biennial, meaning it needs sowing twice a year to ensure a constant supply. Sow now for an overwintered crop under a cloche or cold frame. Seeds don’t transfer well, so sow in situ in pots or into a prepared seed-bed. Even easier, let existing plants self-seed and find their own sweet spot.

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What is stamp duty and why do I have to pay it?

Here's all you need to know.

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What does an energy diagram illustrate? Nottingham Estate Agents

OnTheMarket.com explains Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) and offers tips to save money on fuel bills What does an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) look like? It’s a little coloured chart which shows how well the property is rated in terms of energy efficiency. The best rating is A (dark green), the worst is G (bright red). […]

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Country diary: shaking branches meant the blackbirds were feasting

Allendale, Northumberland: Birds queue up along the wall to feed on the amelanchier like holidaymakers at an ice-cream van

Agitated bird calls drew me to the window that overlooks a long gravel path. At its end, growing either side of a lichen-covered bench, are planted a pair of amelanchiers. From their vigorously shaking branches I knew the blackbirds were having their annual feast of their small berries. Together with a song thrush, they queued up along the drystone wall like holidaymakers at an ice-cream van.

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Country diary: shaking branches meant the blackbirds were feasting

Allendale, Northumberland: Birds queue up along the wall to feed on the amelanchier like holidaymakers at an ice-cream van

Agitated bird calls drew me to the window that overlooks a long gravel path. At its end, growing either side of a lichen-covered bench, are planted a pair of amelanchiers. From their vigorously shaking branches I knew the blackbirds were having their annual feast of their small berries. Together with a song thrush, they queued up along the drystone wall like holidaymakers at an ice-cream van.

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