This illustrated work is based on "The Sunday Times" series published in Summer 1988. It is a history of the garden arranged thematically rather than chronologically, from the first budding of a cultivated plant in prehistory to plant genetics and the geodosic dome. Each component of the garden is minutely examined as a subject in its own right: the physical environment of soil, topography and climate, food plants, trees and shrubs, flowering plants, protected environments and garden design. A special supplement lists details of 100 historical gardens to visit throughout the British Isles.