Island Gardens

The amazing light, vast skies and borrowed coastal views of Britain's most beautiful island gardens make them an attractive pilgrimage for gardeners. By ferry, boat, plane and car, author Jackie Bennett and photographer Richard Hanson have toured the British Isles to witness the amazing achievements of its resourceful gardeners, undaunted by salt, rain and frequent isolation.

Some, such as Tresco in the Isles of Scilly, are Mediterranean paradises, outcrops in the sea blessed with warm winds, venign winters and a wealth of summer-holiday plants; others in Orkney and the Hebrides require a special kind of determination to create a horticultural haven because the soil can be thin, the winds relentless and little grows upright or taller than a human being.

Each little gardening world faces its unique set of challenges. Yet great things happen under difficult circumstances, as you'll find out on this remarkable gardening journey.