In 1965 Deborah Kellaway and her husband bought a small thatched cottage at Bressingham, near Diss in Norfolk on a difficult site. They set about making a garden, which since it was intended for school holidays and occasional weekends, was planted accordingly. It is now a combination of pond, woodland, vegetable, herb and rose gardens. The book provides a combination of information and personal anecdote, with practical details on plants, their characteristics and the conditions in which they thrive. There are separate chapters on different elements of the garden, with plans to show lay-out and development and discussion of her successes and failures.