A diary and collection of accompanying watercolours throw rare light on a hitherto unpublished great garden at an important time in its history Geraldine, Countess of Mayo, made an exquisite and extremely important garden in Ireland between l890 and l925. The garden was subsequently completely destroyed. Her gardening diaries span more than 30 years. They are brought together here with watercolours of the gardens and the plants she brought from all over the world, evoking a paradise now gone forever. The diaries are a lively insight into the world of gardening at the turn of the 20th century - the problems she faced, the triumphs, and the disasters. The watercolours are immensely accomplished, and because they have never been kept in the light are as fresh and bright as the day they were executed. Gardening was a grand passion for Lady Geraldine Mayo - and her illustrated diary still has power to astonish and inspire us more than a century later. - Daily Telegraph.