Nation of gardeners: "Pests in the Garden", a 1930s cartoon, is
one of 21 colour plates (there are 87 black-and-white
illustrations, too) in The Gardens of the British Working
Class by Margaret Willes, for-merly of the National Trust, a
gardening historian whose engaging chronicle takes in 16th-century
husbandry, Victorian poverty, philanthropists, slum clearance,
changing tastes, the influence of humble gardens on the wealthy,
the competitive spirit, "Digging for Victory", gnomes, and the
BBC's Mr Middleton, and The Good Life; commended by Ronald
Blythe (Yale, £25 (£22.50); 978-0-300-18784-7)