LITTLE HISTORY OF BRITISH GARDENING

This lively 'potted' history of gardening in Britain is coloured by Jenny Uglow's own love for plants, and brought to life in the many vivid illustrations. It deals not only with flowery meads, grottoes and vistas, landscapes and ha-has, parks and allotments, but tells, for example, how the Tudors made their curious knots; how housewives used herbs to stop freckles; how the suburbs dug for victory in World War II. With a brief guide to particular historic or evocative gardens open to the public, this is a book to put in your pocket when planning a summer day out - but also to read in your deckchair with a glass of cold wine, when dead-heading is simply too much.