An American abroad explores the history, practice and eccentricities of British gardening.

From the unique perspective of an American gardening enthusiast living abroad, Charles Elliott plumbs the far reaches of the British gardening psyche, musing on moles, on giant vegetables, on privacy in the garden and the popularity of the National Gardens Scheme, 'that godsend of the horticulturally nosy'.

From the question of why this country is so wet, to an account of Charles Darwin's obsession with earthworms, here is a sparkling exploration of the history, practice and eccentricities of gardening in Britain, 'the world's greatest potting shed'. There are tales of legendary gardeners like Edward Augustus Bowles and William Robinson. There is the history, too, of lawns and lawnmowers, and a method for working out the age of your hedge. There is also the phenomenon of the `ha-ha' ('I suspect it may have got its name when somebody fell into one'), and the eighteenth-century landscape designer who recommended fake volcanoes.

As Charles Elliott brilliantly proves in this book, few activities are quite so revealing of human nature as gardening - or as entertaining to read about.

Charles Elliott is an editor and writer who lives in London and gardens in Monmouth near the Welsh border. He is a regular contributor to Horticulture magazine, and has been a magazine editor and senior editor for Alfred A. Knopf in New York. He has written A Gap in the Hedge: Dispatches from the Extraordinary World of British Gardening and The Potting Shed Papers (Frances Lincoln, 2002) as well as editing The Quotable Gardener, The Quotable Cat Lover and The Greatest Cat Stories Ever Told.

'Charles Elliott has an excellent range. . . . All in all, this is a delightful read, delightfully written.'
CHRISTOPHER LLOYD

'Here comes an American who has infiltrated deep into the world of English gardening and writes on it with a lively pen and a detached, quizzical and revealing eye. His teasing is just what we need. I enjoyed every word.'
HUGH JOHNSON

'One of the most delightful books of any kind I have read all year.'
BILL BRYSON