There are also the moments at the end of a long week (with music turned up and a glass of wine at hand) of happily making flower arrangements for the entire house.

WSJ: Potting Rooms: A Place to Potter Around

They go to a lonely country house, inhabited by a pair of wealthy oddballs called Flower (Charles Durning) and Stone (Joel Grey), who trounce Pozzi at poker and then demand an unusual repayment: he and Nashe must build a stone wall in the grounds.

NEWYORKER: The Music of Chance

Enjoy the relaxed, open-air atmosphere of a 1920s Thai home at the Issaya Siamese Club, where local celebrity chef Ian Kittichai turns out dishes seasoned with herbs grown in the house garden, such as red chilli-glazed seabass (pla aob prik) and jasmine flower flan (kanom dok mali).

BBC: Business trip: Bangkok