Margaret Willes is an enthusiastic gardener and the former publisher at the National Trust.
'This is a wonderful book, and an unusual addition to the gardening
shelf. It reveals the democracy of gardening and its being both a
craft and an art – a mixture of hard labour and passion. Margaret
Willes's book shows how people with no money and little time to
themselves produced riches on small plots – little paradises, even.
How begging, borrowing (and stealing), they would create wealths of
flowers and food, and find joy in doing so. How gardening would
become their chosen taskmaster – and their deliverer. Willes's
history is a constant statement of how green fingers have
transformed lives. The book is a delight.' - Ronald Blythe, author
of Akenfield 'An encyclopaedic and enjoyable read, so well
written and so informative that it should appeal to anyone
interested in history and horticulture.' - Bob Flowerdew, regular
panel member of BBC Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time
'Garden historians characteristically focus on the gardens of grand
houses and their makers. By contrast, this is an intriguing study
of an often overlooked area of both horticultural and social
history. Through dauntingly energetic research, Margaret Willes has
produced a colourful and remarkably detailed account of how a
passion for flower and vegetable gardening has enriched the lives
of millions.' - Michael Leapman, author of One Man and His Plot
‘…in this wonderfully rich study, Margaret Willes reveals the
forgotten history of Britain’s working-class horticulturalists’—PD
Smith, the Guardian.
*The Guardian*
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