Mrs C. W. Earle (1836-1925) was born into the minor aristocracy as Maria Theresa Villiers. After training as an artist, she married Captain C. W. Earle, who inherited family property which enabled a comfortable lifestyle with a town house in London and a small property with a large garden in Surrey. Earle’s designs for her garden were much admired by her artistic and literary circle, and she was encouraged to write down her gardening advice. This work, published in 1899, followed on from the success of her Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden (1897). It contains a similar collection of writings on gardening, cookery, travel and art, in chapters which follow the horticultural year from September to August. An introductory section describes with verve and good humour the critical reception of Earle’s earlier book, and her reasons for writing another.