To be in his company, even through the pages of his book, is a privilege and an education. As a reference book it is unsurpassed. Some 8,000 plants are listed, and more than half of them are clearly illustrated in accurate colour. There is an Award of Garden Merit list to help you choose the best of everything, and a Plant Selector tells you what to plant where. It covers Britain and Ireland, with a few just across the Channel thrown in for good measure.
Every garden has a brief but pithy description plus all the details of opening times and cost.
Old hands will appreciate the listing of gardens new this year, and there are lists of agreeable places to stay, as well as gardens that deserve two stars - Christopher Lloyd's Great Dixter among them.