Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:00:29 GMT
Sit back and relax with one of these funky chaises longues.

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:00:01 GMT
During the economic Phoney War, comfortable people have fantasised about what it might be like to Dig for Victory and live the Waste-Not-Want-Not life. You could live off your land, recycle things amusingly, use less fuel and more blankets. You could eat stew. Older and upper people fell into this line of thinking instinctively, it made them think of Anne De Courcy's funny book Debs at War, about gallant gels doing their bit. They've missed the infinite moral superiority conferred by a leaking roof over 30 bedrooms. It's secretly fun, and it all works better if you've got lots of things already, and some land to live off, and it puts the newly horribly rich in their place – they've been keen to do that for years.

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:00:01 GMT
House prices fell at a record pace in 2008 and mortgage approvals have dropped to a new low with further strain on the property market to come this year.

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:00:01 GMT
A garden is a process, not a product. It never stays still. Nor should we ever expect it to. Part of the process has to do with the way our own lives change. At different times, we need different things from the space outside. For what seemed like endless years, our garden was a loosely connected series of spaces round a swing, sandpit, gymnastic display area, bicycle heap, guinea pig run, rabbit hutch, sheep tether, paddling pool and swingball. Imperceptibly, though, the landscape changes. The sandpit becomes a pond, the swing is replaced by an apple tree, the livestock dies and is buried with extravagant pomp. The possibility of growing some decent grass at last arises.

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:36:21 GMT
House prices plunged by 16.2 per cent during 2008 in the biggest drop for a calendar year on record, Halifax said today.

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:58 GMT
Start the year in an organised fashion with one of our wonderful wine racks.

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:13:47 GMT
With headlines focusing on financial Armageddon, it would be easy to forget the highlights of 2008, a year when style and substance met in the world of international politics.

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT
Property prices are plummeting by almost 2 per cent a month, but home ownership remains out of reach for many first-time buyers trapped by the credit crunch, government figures indicate.

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:29:10 GMT
The struggling housing market was dealt another blow today as figures revealed the annual rate at which house prices in England and Wales are falling continued to accelerate in November to hit a fresh record of 12.2 per cent.

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT
Up to one in four properties have remained unsold for a year in some parts of Britain, according to a new assessment of stagnation in the housing market. In Rochdale, Lancashire, as many as 26 per cent of properties for sale have languished on the market since the beginning of 2008. A string of other northern towns have been hit by problems as difficulties finding mortgages have prevented buyers completing deals and over-optimistic sellers have failed to react to tumbling house prices.

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT
My star of the year is William Turner. Who he? Yes. That's his problem. Last year, a lot of fuss was made about the tercentenary of the Swedish plantsman Carl Linnaeus. Not a peep has been heard this year about dear William Turner, born 500 years ago in Northumberland and the author of the first plant book ever to be written in English. The exact date of his birth isn't known, which is why I've left it until the last days of the year to light a commemorative candle and celebrate his name.

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT
If anyone's wondering why I haven't mentioned the allotment of late, there's a simple reason. It's been a bit of a duff year. A "difficult" year is probably a better description, but for those who haven't had the time or wherewithal to deal with our erratic climate, "duff" seems more appropriate. Being involved with the Chelsea Flower Show, which kept me away from the plot for the best part of spring, wasn't a good start. Couple that with one heck of a lot of rain and very little by way of sunshine, and you can see why the year's harvest was so meagre.

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:46:46 GMT
House prices will fall by a further 10 per cent next year and 70,000 people will lose their homes, a property website predicted today.

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT
"And here's one I made earlier," used to be a classic refrain on Blue Peter. Whenever a particularly messy and time-consuming project was under way, out came the well-worn phrase. It got the presenters very neatly from stage one straight to the finishing post, without any of the intermediate muddles and cursing that usually attend such things.

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:16 GMT
"If it were not for guests, all houses would be graves," said the Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran. Christmas next week heralds the arrival of two things - mistletoe at home and visitors in their droves.

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:53:43 GMT
The Government today pledged an extra £100 million to help first-time buyers get on to the property ladder.

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:31:08 GMT
The head of Barclays bank predicted today that the economic gloom gripping the UK would deepen further, with house prices set to tumble as unemployment figures soar.

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT
Last week I got another reminder that most people don't share my love of conifers. Over an official dinner, an eminent gardener went into a sustained rant against the mighty cone-bearers: "I just can't stand them," he said. "They are kitsch and tacky and in my mind they go totally into this box marked '1970s sitcom plants. Not to be opened.'"