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COUNTRYSIDE ▯ HISTORY & HERITAGE ▯ CRAFT ▯ COOKERY ▯ GARDENING ▯ TRAVEL
Life at nature’s pace
Jan / Feb 2018
Haunting beauty in charcoal and oil
Drift of winter’s sweet perfume
Land of water, wool and stone
www.landscapemagazine.co.uk
1
NATURE’S promise

Contents
January / February 2018
20
100 10
In the garden
In the kitchen
Craft
10 Beauty of a hillside garden
20 Pink flowers of winter scent
26 The garden in January and February
38 Under the frozen pond
64 Miniature indoor glasshouses
44 Restoring hot chocolate
46 Parcels filled with flavour
54 Sweet orange marmalade
60 Regional & Seasonal:
Bathams Brewery
30 Golden cups of winter sun
42 Being creative with ice
70 Cosy hot-water bottle cover
78 Crocheted necklace
4

92
44
70
Country matters
History and heritage
116
Regulars
86 Dance of the grebes
100 Capturing light and dark on paper
106 The land of wool and water
72 Precision in a blade
80 Medieval graffiti in Norfolk
92 Message of an unfinished building
116 Cinema restored to life
6 Readers’ letters
8 Our LandScape
37 In the garden
52 In the kitchen
62 Subscription offer
68 In the home
120 UK events
5

Rising above the
mist-cloaked valley,
the exposed garden of
Church Farm Cottage
reveals rounded shrubs
huddled together. They
are interspersed with
sturdy pots, leading the
eye along the path.
A HILLSIDE ROMANCE
10

On the windswept slopes of Thomas Hardy’s Dorset, a couple
have created a structured terrace garden defined by winter’s touch
11

FLUSH OF
RICH PERFUME
The pink buds and flowers of Viburnum x bodnantense
bring a sweet fragrance to frosty borders
20

21

RESTORING
WARMTH
Smooth and satisfying, a warm, creamy chocolate drink is a delicious
pick-me-up during the cold months
Perfect hot chocolate
Makes 2
100g good-quality
milk chocolate,
chopped, plus extra
to grate
400ml whole milk
1 vanilla pod, halved
lengthways
100ml double cream
Pour the milk into a large saucepan and simmer on
a medium heat for 4 mins until warm. Add the
vanilla pod and chocolate. Whisk for 1-2 mins,
while the liquid is simmering, until the chocolate is
completely combined.
Remove the vanilla pod and divide the mixture
between two sturdy cups. In a small bowl, whisk
the cream with an electric whisk for 3 mins until
firm. Scoop a spoonful onto the top of each hot
drink, grate over the extra chocolate and serve.
“Winter is the time for comfort, for
good food and warmth, for the touch
of a friendly hand and for a talk
beside the fire: it is the time for home.”
Edith Sitwell
FOUR SHORT VARIATIONS
Dark cherry and chocolate: Instead of the
vanilla pod, make 5 tbsp cherries in kirsch, or
tinned cherries with juice, into a paste using a
blender. Substitute 100g dark chocolate,
chopped, for the milk chocolate. Scoop a cherry
and a little juice on top of the drink in place of
the grated chocolate.
White chocolate: Omit the vanilla and use
white rather than milk chocolate.
Chocolate orange: Substitute the vanilla pod
with the peel of 1 orange. Replace the milk
chocolate with dark.
Malt chocolate: Instead of the vanilla pod, add
2 tsp malt extract.
• Recipes: Liz O'Keefe • Photography: Food & Foto
44

45

PLAYING
WITH ICE
Wrapped up warm, Harry enjoys
time outside creating ice scenes
and making frozen decorations
I
T MAY BE tempting to stay indoors during a
cold spell, but a drop in temperature can also lead
to exhilarating activities. Dressed in his warmest
clothes and with the help of an adult, Harry
creates shapes from broken-up pieces of puddle ice.
He also makes simple castles and structures from
pots of water which have been left outside to freeze.
Going outside to play on a chilly day creates a sense
of adventure as the new frozen world is explored.
Containers of all sizes
are part filled with water.
Left outside to freeze
overnight, they become
ice mosaic pieces.
Arranged alongside
chunks of puddle ice,
imaginary scenes are
created in the grass. The
addition of food colouring
before freezing makes a
bright contrast.

MATERIALS
• Fresh water
• Clean containers
• Bucket
• Food colouring
• Twigs and leaves
• Large sticks
• Thick string
• Balloons
• Thin wire
• Clothes pegs
Harry places one end of a length of string, together
with leaves and twigs he has found, inside a small pot.
Water is poured over the top and the pots left outside
to freeze. In the morning, the frozen decorations are
gently pressed out and strung around the garden.
On particularly cold nights, larger ice structures can be made to stand tall in the
garden. Plastic buckets are filled with water, and three large sticks, approximately 3ft
(1m) long, arranged inside in each one. They are assembled like a tripod to create a
stable support. In the morning, a trickle of warm water helps loosen the ice from the
bucket. Once turned out, an ice building on stilts is created.
As these ice baubles turn,
they fragment the sunlight,
casting rainbows and
sparks. With the help of
an adult, Harry curls one
end of wire into a spiral
and feeds it into a deflated
balloon. The balloon is filled
with water and pegged
outside. When frozen,
the balloon is removed to
reveal a misty white ice
decoration. Eggshells can
also be used. The shell will
crack as the
ice forms, but that
does not matter
as the water
is solid.
Ice collected from puddles or carefully removed from the
edge of a stream forms the walls of a frozen castle. After a
special place in the garden is found, such as a tree stump,
rock or log, the pieces of ice are fitted together. Sprinkling
the sculpture with water helps to seal the edges, while
sticks and stones add support.
Adapted from
THE WILD WEATHER BOOK
By Fiona Danks and Jo Schofield.
Published by Frances Lincoln, an
imprint of The Quarto Group, £9.99.
www.franceslincoln.com
43

A cake stand provides
a platform for a
miniature garden
under its glass cover.
Fronds of Selaginella
kraussiana and
glossy-leaved
Tradescantia zebrina
are bound by moss to
keep in moisture.
MINIATURE
GLASSHOUSES
Small, easy-to-care for plants enclosed in
transparent containers create captivating
natural displays in the home
64

Clusters of sempervivum heads
are placed in bowl-shaped and
fluted glasses for a simple but
effective table decoration.
Through the facets of a leaded dome, a delicate
air plant is held between pieces of curved bark
on a bed of wood chippings. These plants are
able to absorb nutrients through their leaves.
Sprigs of succulents and wispy air plants,
which do not need soil to survive, are placed
on silver sand in a trio of sealed bottles.
Photography: Loupe Images

A WATERBORNE
DANCE DUET
Played out on lakes and rivers, the elaborate
courtship ceremony of the great crested grebe
is one of nature’s most spectacular

92

TESTAMENT TO ONE
MAN’S COURAGE
An unfinished Northamptonshire building is filled with
religious symbolism, a representation in stone of a
Tudor nobleman’s perilous beliefs
93

RETURN TO A
GOLDEN ERA
A local community came together to
help restore an Art Deco gem
The projectionist sets up the
film. The standard length of a
35mm reel is 1,000ft (305m).
IN THE DARKENED auditorium and trailers fade away, a smartly
of a unique Art Deco building, a soft dressed man steps onto the stage in
whirring breaks the silence which front of the screen. He is James
has fallen over the packed house. Hannaway, founder and chief executive
Full of anticipation, audience members
await the turning of the film reel which
will project an image onto a screen
framed by a graceful proscenium arch.
For them, watching a film is more
than an evening’s entertainment. It is a
special night out; an experience to
savour. This is no giant multiplex, but
a restored treasure, which the residents
of a small Hertfordshire town have
officer. Before every screening, James
welcomes the community of
Berkhamsted which has supported The
Rex’s resurrection from a derelict
eyesore into a celebration of an iconic
age of the cinema.
Most nights, the screenings of films
old and new are sold out. Timeless
classics, such as Casablanca, are
brought back again and again.
rallied behind. In this monument to
days gone by, they can immerse
themselves in the atmosphere of the
1930s, the golden age of the cinema.
Shell-shaped recesses along the
walls emit a golden glow, and discreet
stair lights reveal the cinema’s name,
The Rex, woven into the carpet. An
usher’s low torchlight passes plush red
seats radiating from the balcony edge.
Below, in the stalls, red swivel chairs
are positioned around circular cocktail
tables. From here, film lovers can enjoy
the nostalgia of café-style viewing.
Once the inevitable advertisements
Forging a future
The origins of entertainment on the
site date back to 1938. Before then an
Elizabethan mansion, Egerton House,
stood there. This was owned by the
Llewelyn Davies family, close friends
of author J M Barrie. Some believe the
family’s young son was the inspiration
for Barrie’s Peter Pan.
Berkhamsted already had one
cinema, the Court, acquired circa
1930, but its owners wanted to open a
second. They chose the Egerton House
site as it was close to the town centre, ›
116

Cinema founder James
Hannaway’s décor choice of
black, red and gold reflects
the glamour and style of the
Art Deco era. The ornate
proscenium, with its floral
designs, enhances the stage.
117

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