(John) Beverley Nichols (1898 – 1985) was the author of over 60 books, and in 1932, when he judged 141, had just published his fifth novel, but also the book on which his reputation really rests – Up The Garden Path, an account, embellished, of creating a garden, which has been in print ever since. There’s a good blog about Nichols here. As a gardener, he was a pal of Vita Sackville-West.