Every man his own gardener

Every man his own gardener. Being a much more complete gardener's calendar, and general director, than any hitherto published

1797

Eb 1797 A [de Beer Special Collections]

Printed for B. Law, J. Johnson [and 14 others]: London

15th ed.

John Abercrombie (1726-1806), a professional gardener, was the author of one of the most successful gardener's calendars ever published. Every Man His Own Gardener ran into at least 21 editions in his lifetime. Costing 4 shillings in 1767, this calendar provided lengthy lists of plant varieties as well as copious instructions for practising gardeners. Unlike Miller, Abercrombie avoided botanical names, preferring vernacular names of plants like ‘batchelor-button' and ‘Canterbury-bells', and employed some curious spellings. In the 21st (1818) edition, he was described as ‘sixty years a practical gardiner'.

Mawe, Thomas

Prinsep, Thos.