We Made a Garden

The Modern Library Gardening Series is an American gem of a find - reprints of gardening classics written and published long before today's flurry of overly bright garden books. These are true garden works, not just a photographic procession of perfect plants. Here, you'll find excitement, love, commitment and die-hard horticulturalists imparting their knowledge and experience in a way that makes learning enjoyable. From playwright Reginald Arkell's Old Herbaceous hilarious novel to Frank Kingdon Ward's diaries of daring-do in the Far East, American Eleanor Perenyi's pert comments and asides to Margery Fish's late-found desire to build a garden of her dreams in Devon, the passion and ardour with which these writers embrace the subject is sorely missed today. Margery Fish's garden at East Lambrook, Somerset, have long been a Mecca for garden lovers across the globe. Typifying all that's best of English country gardens, it is the design and determination of this classic garden writer to create something special and everlasting that has made her renowned throughout the horticultural world. We Made a Garden was first published in 1956 and has enjoyed cult status over the last few years as the epitome of gardening writing - intelligent, informative and at times hilarious. Her battles with nature, farm animals and even her husband, are imparted in a literary form readable by active or armchair gardeners alike. It is a treat to read and should be read by all gardeners who want to create something more permanent than the transient beddings displays so often seen today. - Lucy Watson