Illustrated with beautiful period botanical watercolours and vibrant photographs, The Secrets of Great Botanists delves into the lives of 35 revolutionary botanists driven by an insatiable desire to learn and discover, so that we might benefit from improved crops, medicines or gardens, showing what ordinary gardeners can learn from their legacies.

Matthew Biggs trained at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has presented numerous TV gardening programs and is a regular on UK radio. Author of and contributor to several books and magazines, Matthew is also a highly regarded lecturer. He has travelled widely and is fascinated by global gardening.