An informative and consistently readable book, which covers all the main developments in the history of gardening in the UK. A good "beginners" guide, well written and entertaining; the author's personal fascination with her subject comes across very well. Likely to whet the reader's appetite to explore the history of gardening further; there is a very good bibliography which will point the reader to other, more detailed studies of particular periods or gardening personalities. Deserves to become a staple of the garden history bookshelf, it seems to be almost permanently "out on loan" from my local library, which is a recommendation in itself.