Intimate Secrets of a Flamboyant Gardener

It all started in 1928, when a determined little imp in a faded gingham frock, threw a handful of cosmos seeds into her mother's prize rose bed.

With glee and wonder she watched a riot of colour emerge over the following weeks. At five years old Babs was hooked! Gardening was to be her passion.

For over 70 years, well-known author Babs Corbett has stamped her own flamboyant gardening style on more than twenty gardens – from the tiniest inner-city concrete yard to a sprawling garden in country Queensland.

She was challenged along the way by bushfires, hail storms, drainage disasters, floods and pest plagues. All of which inspired a very original and no-nonsense philosophy – and some ingenious solutions. This is more than an eco-wise gardening book, it is a journey of discovery about nature.

Always mindful of tight budgets, Babs shows you how to transform any drab garden into a showpiece, without the drudgery of constant weeding, without mowing and without toxic pesticides.

With 140 years of wisdom handed down from her grandmother and father, Babs also reveals her own secrets to growing lush plants and creating a garden with personality.