Laetitia Maklouf was hailed as a fresh voice on the horticultural scene with her book for novice gardeners, The Virgin Gardener. For a decade, Maklouf did her own gardening on a balcony, in window boxes and inside her flat. Now living in a home with a garden, she tells the story of creating her own first garden in a year. In ten easy steps she sets out to plan, plant and maintain her garden.

Maklouf set out on the road to becoming a gardener after discovering a packet of sweet peas at the bottom of a Christmas stocking. She left an office job to enrol on a course at the Chelsea Physic Garden and has never looked back.