"Gardening is not a hobby but a passion," quips novelist Charlotte Mendelson. "No, I can't drop everything to come in for dinner; it's a matter of life and death out here." Despite owning only six square meters of urban soil and a few pots, Mendelson is an extreme gardener, the creator of a tiny but bountiful edible jungle. Reflecting on the origin of her obsession and its life-changing capacity, Mendelson writes of composting, garden design, the wonder of quinces, and her attempts to buy lion dung from the London Zoo.