Book excerpt: This Trilogy explains “What is Horticulture?”. Volume three of Horticulture: Plants for People and Places presents readers with detailed accounts of the scientific and scholastic concepts which interact with the arts and humanities and which now underpins the rapidly evolving subject of Social Horticulture. This discipline transcends the barriers between science, medicine and the arts. This volume covers:- Horticulture and Society, Diet and Health, Psychological Health, Wildlife, Horticulture and Public Welfare, Education, Extension, Economics, Exports and Biosecurity, Scholarship and Art, Scholarship and Literature, Scholarship and History and the relationship between Horticulture and Gardening. This volume brings the evolution of the Discipline and Vocation of Horticulture firmly into the 21st Century. It covers new ground by providing a detailed analysis of the value of Horticulture as a force for enhancing society in the forms of social welfare, health and well-being, how knowledge is transferred within and between generations, and the place of Horticulture in the Arts and Humanities. Substantial emphasis is given to the relationships between health, well-being and plants by the internationally acclaimed authors who have contributed accounts of their work in this book.