The definitive guide to the hundreds of outstanding gardens in the National Trust's care.The National Trust has the finest collection of gardens in the United Kingdom. In this book Stephen Lacey paints a vivid picture of the individual gardens, and places each one in its context within British horticultural history.All the major periods and styles of garden design are represented, from the formality of early gardens such as Hanbury Hall and Ham House, magnificent 18th-century landscapes like Stowe and Croome Park and the heady Victorian creations of Biddulph Grange and Waddesdon Manor to the famous plantsmen's gardens of the last century, such as Nymans, Hidcote Manor and Sissinghurst Castle.The text and pictures have been fully updated from the previous edition, and new gardens are incorporated.