This guide to gardening reveals the secrets behind Penelope Hobhouse's distinctive style of gardening. Taking as her model, Tintinhull, the National Trust garden in Somerset which she has tended over the past 14 years, she sets out her principles of gardening, and explores the elements that compose a garden of excellence. Through practical examples, drawn from Tintinhull and from gardens she herself has designed all over the world, she shows gardeners how they can achieve the results they want, and shares her labour-saving tricks as well. Close-up photographs show how she takes cuttings, plants up pots, prunes shrubs, clips topiary and generally keeps the garden looking wonderful.