"Using humble materials, Pennington tells a terrific story of the rise and fall of ornamental vegetable gardening between the seventeenth and the nineteenth centuries, and its comeback in the twentieth. The allure of her book is in its seamless lamination of scholarship and lucid narrative. The cast of supporting characters is made up of both familiar figures (Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Pope, etc.) and obscure heroes of horticulture and landscape architecture. Captivating and inspiring, this book will appeal to anyone who ever tried to grow something and eat it."--Dean MacCannell, author of "The Tourist"