This anonymous work (the name of H. P. D., the author of the preface, is not known) was probably compiled by Samuel Orchart Beeton (1831-77), the publishing entrepreneur who made his wife's Book of Household Management one of the best-selling titles of the century. Published in 1871, it is a complete guide to gardening for the enthusiastic middle-class amateur, with instructions on everything from choosing the site to garden design, plants and cultivation, 'fountains, fish-ponds, and ornamental waters' to the use of colour, interspersed with a detailed calendar of tasks to be carried out each month. It is illustrated with line engravings and twelve plates (which can be viewed in colour online at http:www.cambridge.org/9781108049399), providing both practical information and a fascinating insight into the plants available to the Victorian gardener, the techniques for cultivating flowers, fruit and vegetables, and the then current trends in design and display.