Twigs Way: 6 books

From wedding bouquets to funeral wreaths, carnations can be seen everywhere in human culture. Their colorful but delicately folded petals have made them one of the foremost decorative flowers, from the gardens of the Ottoman Empire to American Mothers Day bouquets, via Chinese medicines and French...

It is Edwardian England, and a delightful flower garden and fruitful allotment are matters of personal pride, boons for the family dinner table, and even 'important acts of local patriotism'. 'The Edwardian Gardener's Guide' selects nuggets of wisdom from the best-selling 'One & All' garden books,...

Allotments are a much-loved part of every British city, town and many villages. At the height of their popularity around the Second World War, allotments were increasingly neglected towards the end of the twentieth century, but are now in the throes of a full-scale revival. Many allotments now have...

Women are at the forefront of garden design and the horticultural world. This work ranges from the virgins perched on turf seats in medieval illuminations and the weeding women of the Tudor royal garden to queens who introduced new plants to Britain and herb wives who had to dodge accusations of witchcraft because of their arcane knowledge.

Contrived, colourful and cultured, the Tudor garden was a paradise on earth, given over to pleasurable pastimes and aesthetic effect. Artificiality was the fashion of the age, with clipped and twining plants vying for space with brightly painted woodwork and patterned beds.Renaissance discoveries...

This War is a Food War…' In 1941 Lord Woolton, Minister for Food, was determined that the Garden Front would save England: 'Dig for Victory' was the slogan, digging for dinner the reality. With food imports dwindling the number of allotments grew, millions opted to 'Spend an Hour with a Hoe' instead...