In these essays, Charles Elliott casts a whimsical eye over gardens and gardening around the globe. From the Japanese craze for the Ingurishu Gaaden (English Garden) to the relentless plundering of tropical forests for glamorous orchids, from Bishop Compton's horticultural obsessions to sex and the single strawberry, Elliott seeks to bring to life some of the more remarkable episodes in horticultural history.



He introduces great plant hunters such as the intrepid Pe re Delavay and the oddball John Johnny Appleseed Chapman. His tales come from places as diverse as the Chelsea Flower Show and the jungle-choked gorges and valleys of the eastern Andes - home of the elusive fever bark tree.