Toby Musgrave
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Toby's 13 books have been translated into 13 languages. 

Please click on the title to visit the Amazon.co.uk page.

Signed copies are available upon request.

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Published by Phaidon The Garden Elements and Styles is a thoughtfully-compiled and varied compendium of 209 expressions of ornamental garden art. The selection of elements, features, planting and garden styles is global and covers a timespan of about 2,000 years, and organised alphabetically from Allée to Zeitgeist the individual entries consist of an illuminating, exploratory text complemented by a rich selection of stunning contemporary photographs. The Garden: Elements and Styles is not a garden history text, yet to have some understanding of the what and why of ornamental gardens old and new - the components and styles and reasons for their expression - makes not only gardens themselves that much more interesting, but it also opens up a whole cornucopia of ideas and inspirations. These are the aims of the book: to shine an exploratory (perhaps even on occasion, a revelatory) light on an selection of heritage and contemporary elements, features and styles; to celebrate of gardens and their component elements as works of art; to explain their artistic and cultural expression and merits; and throughout to be absolutely relevant to and inspirational for today’s gardeners, garden-makers, garden designers, garden visitors and those interested in the story of the garden. ​

Heritage Fruits & Vegetables

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Tells the stories of how our favourite fruits and vegetables came to be in our gardens and introduces many old fashioned cultivars  still available to grow.

Here for a video intro.

Fra Vildnis til Paradis

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Published in Denmark and based around our garden, Fra Vildnis til Paradis is an inspirational and instructional journey that takes the reader by hand and gently reveals to them all that is needed to know to make their dream garden come true. Be it the whole garden or just a part.

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The Multifarious Mr Banks

Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) was  one of the most  influential yet now overlooked figures of the British Enlightenment who travlled with James Cook, founded Kew Gardens etc. He changed the world and was instrumental in laying the foundations for and shaping the development of what would become the British Commonwealth.

Paradise Gardens

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Plants and gardens have always been a cornerstone of all major world religions. Paradise Gardens examines, explores and interprets the divine gardens, earthly paradises and symbolic plants associated with seventeen global belief systems spanning 5,000 years.

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Green Escapes
 
​Many cities around the world have well-kept secrets - small hidden gardens in which it is possible to escape the concrete urban jungle for a while. Green Escapes is a revelatory guide that identifies, locates and describes 260 these most intimate of urban oases in which to revivifying  and gain some inspiration.

 Blue Orchid & Big Tree

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Based on much new research this is the biography of two of England’s most prolific and daring plant hunters, the Cornish brothers William and Thomas Lobb. Who, in the heyday of Victorian garden mania they spent almost 30 years collecting for the great nursery of James Veitch & Sons. 

The Head Gardeners

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The forgotten heroes of horticulture.  Sir this, Lord that, and Earl the other took the credit, but it was these extraordinary men, often poorly paid and poorly treated yet in command of fifty or more staff and an annual budget equivalent to millions in today’s terms who actually did the work and made so many gardens great.

Seven Deadly Sins of Gardening

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Pride and Humility, Avarice and Generosity, Envy and Love, Wrath and Kindness, Lust and Self Control, Gluttony and Temperance, Sloth and Zeal. Both the sins and virtues displayed by many of eccentric, dedicated, obsessive, visionary, and just plain weird individuals who gave their emotions full rein in their gardens

Cottage Gardens

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Imbued with a sense of romance and idealized by writers and painters, there is no style of garden more emotive and evocative.  Cottage Gardens offers 16 original designs. Each designs is presented in perspective with a planting plan and explanation.

Courtyard Gardens

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An inspirational guide to help you create the perfect courtyard space that will suit your tastes, lifestyle, and pocket. Within are 18 original plans, inspired by history and theme, with sections offing ideas on ‘The Framework Elements’, ‘Decorative Features’ and ‘Plants’.


An Empire of Plants

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The compelling, exciting and honest account of how tobacco, sugar, cotton, tea, opium, quinine and rubber literally changed the world. Between them they fueled the slave trade, caused wars, brought down Governments, gave birth to the USA, sponsored colonial expansion and stimulated technological innovation.

The Plant Hunters

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Meet ten of the most influential explorer-botanists and journey with them to remote and beautiful lands, many never previously visited by Westerners. Their adventures  are told as they discovery literally thousands of new plants species and learn how 'their' plants shaped Western garden fashions for over 200 years.