Beth Chatto was possibly the most influential British gardener of the second half of the twentieth century. When she started to make her garden on an overgrown area of wasteland in Essex in 1960 she was faced with a range of widely differing conditions, from drought-stricken gravel through woodland to dense, silty bog. Applying the principles of ecological gardening, she set about finding plants that would suit these very different, awkward situations. The gardens she made - the Mediterranean garden on the sunny slopes, the shady woodland garden, the damp garden for water-loving plants, the drier than dry gravel garden - have become legendary. In this book photographer Rachel Warne has traced all these different gardens through the course of a year. She is the author of many books including her classics The Dry Garden (1978) and The Damp Garden (revised 2004) as well as Beth Chatto's Gravel Garden (2000) and Beth Chatto's Woodland Garden (2002). An engaging exchange of letters with Christopher Lloyd, Dear Friend and Gardener, was published in 1998. In 2002 she was awarded the OBE for her services to horticulture. A keen advocate of organic gardening, she has lectured worldwide.

Beth Chatto: A life with plants tells the story of the most influential British plantswoman of the past hundred years. Beth Chatto was the inspiration behind the 'right plant, right place' ethos that lies at the heart of modern gardening. She also wrote some of the best-loved gardening books of the twentieth century, among them The Dry Garden, The Damp Garden, and Beth Chatto's Gravel Garden. Some years before her death in May 2018, aged ninety-four, Beth authorized Catherine Horwood to write her biography, with exclusive access to her archive. Beth Chatto: A life with plants also includes extracts from Beth's notebooks and diaries, never previously published, bringing Beth's own distinctive and much-loved voice into the book.

'I return to Beth Chatto's books constantly. For those who are new to her work, you are entering into a life-long relationship with a wise friend and gardener' Monty Don 'Invaluable to those who want to plant a trouble-free, all-year-round garden with minimum care - or watering' FLORA In today's climate of increasingly hot summers and dry winters, gardeners need guidance on plants that will thrive in dry conditions. In Beth Chatto's classic book, she uses plants that need very little attention and are naturally adapted to flourish in dry conditions to provide a year-round display of beautiful foliage and flowers. Drawing from her own immense experience, she provides valuable guidance on types of soil and on basic principles of design. She discusses the plants and plantings suited to dry conditions and includes a detailed list of plants, with notes and advice on their characteristics.

Lively exchange of letters between Christopher Lloyd and Beth Chatto, two long-established friends and distinguished gardeners.

Beth Chatto's classic volume, newly revised, updated, and magnificently illustrated with color photographs, provides expert advice on cultivating every conceivable type of damp garden, whether it has moist silt or sticky clay, whether it's sunny or shady, or whether you're starting from scratch or sprucing up an existing site. Chatto explains everything about preparation, drainage, laying the first shade bed, coping with weeds, mulching, developing water and bog gardens, and large-scale garden management. There's information about some of the hardiest plants, and some actual plans to use in designing, all with lists of flowers and shrubs arranged by season. An especially valuable A to Z of plants include perennials, bulbs, and rhizomes; a few bamboos; grasses; and ferns.

'A remarkable book from one of our greatest plant experts' DAILY TELEGRAPH With a new introduction by Monty Don In revealing what worked in her own garden, Beth Chatto passes on a wealth of advice gleaned from her personal experience. She provides detailed - and accessible - ideas on garden management, plans for every type of soil and situation, nearly twenty specially tailored lists to help with planting in various conditions, and descriptions of over a thousand suitable plants for making the most of damp ground.

'I return to Beth Chatto's books constantly. For those who are new to her work, you are entering into a life-long relationship with a wise friend and gardener' Monty Don 'Compulsively readable. Once you have it, don't let anyone else borrow it' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH Sharing the hopes and successes - and sometimes failures - of her work, Beth Chatto reveals what is really involved in maintaining a unique and flourishing garden. Written from notes that she kept regularly, this engaging book offers help on a whole range of topics. There is guidance on designing, planting and grouping. She describes methods of propagation, shows how plants can be helped to maturity, and gives advice on managing a garden and its plants and on performing all the day-to-day tasks involved.