In this book, the author takes twelve enduringly popular flowers and looks at their social history, how they got their names, how they arrived in our gardens, how they were bought, acquired and displayed, and who were their devotees. She also suggests where they can be seen in all their particular glory today, from the spring-time display of fritillaries in Magdalen College Meadows to the late summer fireworks of the Dahlia Walk at Biddulph Grange.