The sceptical gardener : the thinking person's guide to good gardening

How are birds linked to house prices?How can a gardener improve theflavour of their vegetables?Do wildflowers really thrive in poor soil?In this collection of articles from The Telegraph, biologist and gardening columnist Ken Thompson takes a scientific look at some of the greater - and lesser - questions faced by gardeners everywhere in a bid to sort the genuine wisdom from the hokum. What is the ideal temperature for a compost heap? What do bees do that improves strawberries? Why are gardeners in literature always such dummies?

This is an expert's gardening miscellany, aimed at making you not necessarily a better gardener, but probably a far more thoughtful one.