Book excerpt: From the golden age in English history to today s gardeners and designers, this volume recognizes women s contributions to gardening in Britain and around the worldspanning more than four centuries. Despite growing vegetables for their kitchens, tending herbs for their medicine cupboards, and teaching other women about the craft before agricultural schools officially existed, women have been mere footnotes in the horticultural annals for specimens collected abroad. These pioneers influence on the style of gardens in the present day is illustrated here in a style both accessible and scholarly. Presenting a rare bouquet, this collection shares the stories of more than 200 women who have been involved withgarden design, plant collecting, flower arranging, botanical art, garden writing, and education."