O how the family affections combat. Within this heart and each hour flings a bomb at my burning soul Neither from owl nor from bat. Can peace be gained until I clasp my wombat. Perhaps one of the less known facts about the Pre- Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti is that he kept wombats in his garden at Cheyne Walk London to whom he and Christina addressed poetry he also kept zebu - a type of cattle . This is just one of the stories in this entertaining book which brings together two of the Englishman s great loves animals and the garden. Taking the reader on a journey from the armadillos owned by merchants in the City of London in the 18th century and nourished on garden earthworms to Queen Charlotte s zebra which was accommodated close to her house at Buckingham Gate and renowned for its filthy temper - perhaps caused by nicotine addiction it was fed on bread meat and tobacco - here are quirky tales of animals in the garden through the centuries. With a wealth of little-known stories of animals some benign others less so this entertaining book illustrated with cartoons is the perfect gift for avid gardeners and animal lovers alike.