Ken Thompson is a plant ecologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield. He has written over 100 articles in scientific journals, but has always wanted to write something that might be read by more than twelve people. Having been a keen gardener for many years, he has become increasingly interested in the ecology of gardens and the promotion of science to the general public. He writes a regular column on the science of gardening for Organic Gardening magazine and never watches television gardening programmes.