author
Montague Free
1885–1965
A practical gardening expert with a gift for making plant care feel approachable, this British-born horticulturist wrote clear, useful books for home gardeners. His work helped bring professional gardening knowledge to ordinary readers, especially through guides on houseplants, propagation, and garden design.
1 Audiobook
War Gardens: A Pocket Guide for Home Vegetable Growers
by Montague Free
About the author
Born in 1885 and remembered today as a British horticulturist and gardening writer, he built his reputation through hands-on expertise as well as clear, reader-friendly instruction. Sources consistently connect him with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and with later work in the United States.
He is especially associated with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, where later descriptions of his career credit him as a horticulturist and an important figure in the garden's development. He also wrote widely on practical gardening topics, including houseplants, plant propagation, perennial gardening, and vegetable growing, producing books aimed at helping everyday gardeners succeed.
What makes his work stand out is its straightforward usefulness: the books are meant to be consulted, tried, and learned from in the garden itself. Even decades later, his name remains attached to classic how-to gardening titles rather than literary celebrity, which gives his writing a steady, trusted charm.