Down the Garden Path has stood the test of time as one of the world's best-loved and most quoted gardening books. The secret of this book's success - and its timelessness - is that it does not seek to impress the reader with a wealth of expert knowledge or advice. Beverley Nichols proudly declares his status as a newcomer to gardening: 'The best gardening books should be written by those who still have to search their brains for the honeysuckle's languid Latin name'. From a disaster in building a rock garden - 'It reminded me of those puddings made of spongecake and custard which are studded with almonds' - to further adventures with greenhouses, woodland gardens, not to mention cats and treacle, Nichols has left us a true gardening classic.