The re-creation was made possible by the tracking down of Jekyll's original plans now held at the Reef Point Collection in the United States. Rosamund Wallinger, who with her husband owns the Manor House, personally undertook the exact restoration of this Edwardian masterpiece of a garden.

Meticulous records and photographs kept throughout the restoration have enabled Rosamund Wallinger to produce a beautifully illustrated and historic account of her experiences. Full of useful horticultural details, and tinged with a sense of humour, her very readable narrative includes both her mistakes and her successes and will fascinate anyone with an an interest in gardening, garden design and garden history. The lessons she learnt in the course of restoration will be a source of inspiration and practical advice to anyone undertaking a similar project on a smaller scale, as well as providing an intriguing real-life insight into the methods of Gertrude Jekyll.

It is a remarkable and very personal story. Rosamund Wallinger not only had to learn about Gertrude Jekyll, more dauntingly still, she had to learn about gardening and gardening on a scale which few would be prepared to undertake in this day and age without the assistance of the gardeners and groundsmen of Jekyll's time. Five acres is not small bymodern garden standards and it is very large indeed when the restoration of a virtual wilderness had to be undertaken at times singlehandedly and at others with a minimum of help. Sheer unrelenting hard work and dogged persistence year in and year out paid dividends in the end and the present garden is a tribute to that unflagging spirit.