The author surveys a range of herbaceous borders of many National Trust gardens and talks to the people in charge of them. The book gives practical tips from propagation and planting, through staking and dead-heading, to defences against pests and diseaes. Penelope Hobhouse and her husband Professor John Malins are responsible for the upkeep of the important National Trust garden at Tintinhull House in Somerset. She is a lecturer and broadcaster and writes articles for a large number of publications on both sides of the Atlantic. She is also the author of Colour in Your Garden, The Private Gardens of England, and The National Trust: A Book of Gardening.