In this informative study of Britain's rich horticultural history, first published in 1829, George W. Johnson (1802–66), a chemist, political economist and practising gardener, traces the history of gardening in England. He argues that the pursuit is an art which, like other art forms, developed by way of experiments and chance discoveries. The basic facts we know today, such as that vines must be watered, that plants flourish on exposure to the sun, and that animal manure helps to cultivate vegetables, all came about as a result of findings being passed down through many generations, and practice being improved through experience. Tracing the cultural importance of gardening back to biblical times, and relating it to the works of classical writers such as Hesiod, Cato and Cicero, as well as modern scholars such as Linnaeus and Banks, Johnson's work remains of interest to horticulturalists and botanists today.