As an avid gardener since the age of 6, city dweller Brian Fawcett has planted gardens wherever he has lived and, in the process, has managed to make a virtue out of restricted space. In The Compact Garden, he shares with us not only his own often idiosyncratic view about living on the planet but 40 years' worth of firsthand gardening know-how. Writing for those of us who have limited time to devote to yard work, Fawcett devises strategies for creating a garden that will provide respite from the urban wilderness. Whether addressing when to exercise diplomacy with one's neighbors (usually), when to compost (always) or when to grow marigolds (never), Fawcett's text is a lively, lighthearted account of the urban gardener's travails and joys.