The Roman Book of Gardening
ISBN: 9780203356999
Platform/Publisher: Taylor & Francis / Routledge
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Unlimited; Download: Unlimited
Subjects: Humanities; Classical Studies; Roman History & Culture; Classical Language & Literature;

The first book to look at this particular subject, The Roman Book of Gardening brings together an extraordinarily varied selection of texts on Roman horticulture, celebrating herb and vegetable gardening in verse and prose spanning five centuries.

In vivid new translations by John Henderson, Virgil's Georgics stand alongside neglected works by Columella, Pliny and Palladius, bringing to life the techniques and obstacles, delights and exasperations of the Roman gardener. We also hear of the digging, hoeing, planting and weeding which then, as now, went into creating the perfect garden.

This is a timely and valuable contribution to our understanding of gardening history, Roman culture and Latin literature.


John Henderson has taught Classics at Cambrdige since 1975. He has written many books and essays on Latin literature and Classics, including Classics: A Very Short Introduction (with Mary Beard).
hidden image for function call