Books by John Harris

John Harris has been a professional gardener since he started his working life in 1956. He got his first spade when he was ten, his first allotment when he was eleven and his first job on a Cornish estate when he was fifteen. He was taught by 'the best in the business', Noel Masters, a head gardener for many of Cornwall's leading gardens. After his apprenticeship, John worked through various horticultural jobs including running commercial garden centres and advising on large public-works projects until twenty-five years ago, when he was offered a challenge he couldn't refuse - the restoration of Tresillian Estate's famous Victorian kitchen garden that had fallen into deep neglect. He agreed, on condition that he could follow the ancient principles of moon gardening. Tresillian is now regarded as one of the UK's finest examples of a working estate kitchen garden. John's whole life has been devoted to learning and teaching the best natural ways to make the most of the soil under our feet. He shares his wisdom regularly on TV and radio, including appearances on BBC2's Gardening Stories, Gardener's World and BBC Radio Devon's Potting Shed. Numerous articles have been written by him and about him in the national press, including the Daily Telegraph, Vogue, Amateur Gardening andCountry Life. At seventy-four, John still works full time as head of the gardening team at Tresillian, and lives on the estate with his wife Olive. Jim Rickards picked up a pen at about the same age as John picked up his first spade. He has written two books, Fields of Light and Out of Africa (both published by John Blake). After working in London for twenty years as an editor and sub-editor for HarperCollins and the BBC, he now lives in Cornwall, only a pasty's throw from John Harris. Though nowhere near as green-fingered as the world's most famous moon gardener, he shares John's passion for the end product - tasty, healthy food sourced as locally as possible. And you can't get more local than your own garden.