"A garden is what you make of it," writes William Longgood, a man devoted to fighting an honorable war against beetles, respecting the noble origins of common weeds, developing an affinity for slugs, and becoming a connoiseur of high-quality manure.

Not in any way a traditional gardening book, Voices from the Earth is an exploration of those aspects of gardening that are ever present but not often discussed: the vagaries and treacheries of weather; the perversity of the seasons; the complexity and cleverness of insects; the continuing cycle of life and death; compost and immortality; and the sights, sounds, and aromas of gardens.

Longgood also contemplates the nether world of invisible soil organisms and other creatures that make life possible, the mysteries of unidentified plant diseases, seeds that do not germinate, seedlings that refuse to grow, plants that fail to reproduce for no known rational reason, gardening triumphs and disasters, visitors and volunteers. Laced with humor and a gentle philosophy, this engaging book is a personal reflection on the nature of gardens and humans.