Rich pickings: a fashion stylist’s palace of glamour

Floral wallpaper, luxurious textures and jewel-toned accents rule in Leith Clark’s romantic home

From gold-patterned wallpaper and velvet upholstery to peacock feather fabric, there is barely a corner of Leith Clark’s glamorous Victorian house that isn’t filled with rich, dramatic shades. The hallway is papered in dark floral blooms, inspired by the cracked canvases of Dutch masters; the dining room has bold gold-and-black wallpaper and shimmering brass cupboards, giving the room the feel of a jewellery box; and the master bedroom has a decadent De Gournay decorative wallpaper. A pale grey living space – the most “calming” room – is the closest this house comes to neutral.

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Gardening tips: plant a black-stemmed dogwood

Then visit the Giant Houseplant Takeover at RHS Wisley or read about modern plant hunters

Plant this Looking for something showy for your garden this month? Black-stemmed dogwood (Cornus alba ‘Kesselringii’) underplanted with evergreen grasses or snowdrops makes a dramatic winter picture. This hardy shrub will reach 2m each way and is suitable for most aspects, aside from deep shade.

Visit this Even though my family thinks there’s a houseplant takeover already happening in our house, I’ve got nothing on RHS Wisley in Surrey. From its huge glasshouse hosts the Giant Houseplant Takeover, where hundreds of plants grow wild in a Victorian house.

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Which plants are the best bird feeders? | Alys Fowler

Although I feed song birds with meal worms, suet and seeds, I’ve come to realise that my garden can do the job just as well

I was admiring the glorious orange limbs of my strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo, meandering elegantly and covered in bright red baubles of fruit among glossy green leaves, when I spotted a blackbird, its beak crammed full of a single fruit. I was contemplating preserving this year’s bounty of fruit, but the sight of that happy blackbird was enough to make me realise I didn’t need any more jam in my life. This tree is far more giving to all of us in the garden than I could have conceived when I planted it to obscure my neighbour’s shed.

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Rich pickings: a fashion stylist’s palace of glamour

Floral wallpaper, luxurious textures and jewel-toned accents rule in Leith Clark’s romantic home

From gold-patterned wallpaper and velvet upholstery to peacock feather fabric, there is barely a corner of Leith Clark’s glamorous Victorian house that isn’t filled with rich, dramatic shades. The hallway is papered in dark floral blooms, inspired by the cracked canvases of Dutch masters; the dining room has bold gold-and-black wallpaper and shimmering brass cupboards, giving the room the feel of a jewellery box; and the master bedroom has a decadent De Gournay decorative wallpaper. A pale grey living space – the most “calming” room – is the closest this house comes to neutral.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2v1qURn
via IFTTT

Gardening tips: plant a black-stemmed dogwood

Then visit the Giant Houseplant Takeover at RHS Wisley or read about modern plant hunters

Plant this Looking for something showy for your garden this month? Black-stemmed dogwood (Cornus alba ‘Kesselringii’) underplanted with evergreen grasses or snowdrops makes a dramatic winter picture. This hardy shrub will reach 2m each way and is suitable for most aspects, aside from deep shade.

Visit this Even though my family thinks there’s a houseplant takeover already happening in our house, I’ve got nothing on RHS Wisley in Surrey. From its huge glasshouse hosts the Giant Houseplant Takeover, where hundreds of plants grow wild in a Victorian house.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/30w7jnY
via IFTTT

Which plants are the best bird feeders? | Alys Fowler

Although I feed song birds with meal worms, suet and seeds, I’ve come to realise that my garden can do the job just as well

I was admiring the glorious orange limbs of my strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo, meandering elegantly and covered in bright red baubles of fruit among glossy green leaves, when I spotted a blackbird, its beak crammed full of a single fruit. I was contemplating preserving this year’s bounty of fruit, but the sight of that happy blackbird was enough to make me realise I didn’t need any more jam in my life. This tree is far more giving to all of us in the garden than I could have conceived when I planted it to obscure my neighbour’s shed.

Continue reading...

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Silver Sharers: the site helping older renters meet their match

Services assists prospective tenants in their search for landlords of a similar age

It’s not just Generation Rent that struggles with insecure lets, unscrupulous landlords and bad accommodation.

There are more than 400,000 people aged over 60 living in private rented accommodation, up more than 60% from 2007. Research predicts a third of over-60s could be renting privately by 2040, as rising divorce rates and sky-high property prices take their toll.

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