Simon Akeroyd has written several bestselling practical gardening books: Lawns and Ground Cover (DK 2012), Shrubs and Small Trees (DK 2007), Allotment Handbook (Mitchell Beazley 2013). He is currently Garden Manager for the National Trust English Riviera portfolio but before that he was Garden and Countryside Manager at Polesden Lacey in Surrey, and a RHS Garden Manager. Between 2001–05 he worked at the BBC as a horticultural researcher and writer on various gardening programmes.