Zia Allaway is an author, editor, and journalist. She writes a regular column on gardeners for Homes & Gardens magazine, and has written a range of titles for DK, including Grow Compost, Grow Eco-Gardening, RHS Practical House Plant Book, RHS Practical Cactus & Succulent Book, Indoor Edible Garden, and RHS What Plant Where, and has also contributed to RHS Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers.

The Royal Horticultural Society, founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UKs leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Yorkshire), Rosemoor (Devon) and Bridgewater (Greater Manchester); flower shows including the Chelsea Flower Show, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, Tatton Park Flower Show and Cardiff Flower Show; community gardening schemes; Britain in Bloom and a vast educational programme. It also supports training for professional and amateur gardeners