The last of summer’s garden tasks | Allan Jenkins

Autumn approaches, so harvest, save seed and give quiet thanks

OK, I am calling autumn (I am honestly not alone, whether you follow the meteorological calendar or not). There may, of course, be an Indian summer, but much of growing is more about light than heat, and some of you may see your first frost this month.

So start to cloche if you can. Sowing this month is about eking out longer life. There is time (just) to sow spinach, a last scattering of coriander if you have shelter, a few hardy salads, likely the last ‘oriental’ leaf.

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The last of summer’s garden tasks | Allan Jenkins

Autumn approaches, so harvest, save seed and give quiet thanks

OK, I am calling autumn (I am honestly not alone, whether you follow the meteorological calendar or not). There may, of course, be an Indian summer, but much of growing is more about light than heat, and some of you may see your first frost this month.

So start to cloche if you can. Sowing this month is about eking out longer life. There is time (just) to sow spinach, a last scattering of coriander if you have shelter, a few hardy salads, likely the last ‘oriental’ leaf.

Continue reading...

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How to get the hang of wallpaper – to stunning effect

Think you don’t like wallpaper? Three experts explain how to use it

Ben Pentreath, architect

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How to get the hang of wallpaper – to stunning effect

Think you don’t like wallpaper? Three experts explain how to use it

Ben Pentreath, architect

Continue reading...

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Hope for some, heartbreak for others as house prices go through the roof

With pent-up demand and the stamp duty holiday sending the cost of homes soaring, we look at the groups and sectors that stand to gain or lose out

UK house prices have hit a record high since the lifting of lockdown, after the fastest monthly growth in property values in August since 2004, fuelled by the release of pent-up demand and the government’s stamp duty cut.

Despite Britain plunging into the deepest recession in modern history in the second quarter, estate agents report a surge in interest from those with the financial security to move, and from those whose priorities have been changed by Covid-19. There are, however, winners and losers in this rapidly moving market, as Covid-19 creates a period of boom and bust.

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Fantastic beasts: an artist's imaginative home makeover in France

Artist Kristjana S Williams has used the walls of her home as another canvas, letting a menagerie run riot

The artwork hanging on the walls of Kristjana S Williams’ house pales beside the walls themselves: there are giant murals featuring tropical birds, oversized leaves, green vistas, and ferns that snake up from floor height to the ceiling. Cocooning one stairwell is a kaleidoscopic wallpaper of thistles, zebras and deer against a striped background; a smaller staircase has an eye-popping geometric pattern, dotted with flowers. And her young children’s bedroom is wrapped in a wooded landscape of fantastical apelike creatures, reminiscent of Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are. Framed cases of butterflies and mounted animal heads complete the bestial look.

It all sounds rather intense, but high ceilings, pale paintwork and the more traditional elements of this 17th-century stone building – terracotta tiled floors, original panelling – tone down the excess.

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Fantastic beasts: an artist's imaginative home makeover in France

Artist Kristjana S Williams has used the walls of her home as another canvas, letting a menagerie run riot

The artwork hanging on the walls of Kristjana S Williams’ house pales beside the walls themselves: there are giant murals featuring tropical birds, oversized leaves, green vistas, and ferns that snake up from floor height to the ceiling. Cocooning one stairwell is a kaleidoscopic wallpaper of thistles, zebras and deer against a striped background; a smaller staircase has an eye-popping geometric pattern, dotted with flowers. And her young children’s bedroom is wrapped in a wooded landscape of fantastical apelike creatures, reminiscent of Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are. Framed cases of butterflies and mounted animal heads complete the bestial look.

It all sounds rather intense, but high ceilings, pale paintwork and the more traditional elements of this 17th-century stone building – terracotta tiled floors, original panelling – tone down the excess.

Continue reading...

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