Yew and Non-Yew

by James Bartholomew

"James Bartholomew's Yew and Non-Yew is the Official Preppy Handbook for the gardening set. (The title comes from the British terms 'U' and 'non-U,' used to define upper-class and non-upper-class behavior. Bartholomew calls the yew tree the ultimate 'U' plant.) Smart and funny, it's the ideal guide for anyone who has ever felt insecure about underplantings. The book covers everything from the top Yew roses ('Comte or Comtesse d'Anywhere and Souvenir d'Anything') to why Yew vegetable gardens contain no vegetables. The book is Anglo-centric, but then again, so are most garden snobs." House & Garden

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

James Bartholomew trained as a banker in the City of London before moving into journalism with the Financial Times and the Far Eastern Economic Review, for whom he worked in Hong Kong and Tokyo. Returning to England on the Trans-Siberian Railway through communist China and the Soviet Union – an experience which influenced his political outlook – he subsequently became a leader writer on The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail.

Reviews

[Anne]

9/23/26 I am reading this book now. I have the Arrow Books 1996 British paperback edition, which is not included in the list of this book's editions on Goodreads.

[Iacobien]

Hilarious! Very entertaining about gardens and gardenening culture.