Machynlleth hosted the launch of acclaimed author Alys Fowler’s newest book, Peatlands: A Journey Between Land and Water.

The sold-out book launch on 29 May marks the gardener and award-winning writer's eleventh book.

Hosted by Pen’rallt Gallery Bookshop at Senedd-dŷ Bookshop, the new work takes her readers away from the garden and into the wild world of bogs.

Known for her Guardian column, work on BBC Gardeners’ World and National Geographic predominantly on gardening, the book instead follows Fowler’s journey into the ancient and depleting world of bogs and peatlands to discover the rich history, science and significance of these land-water systems dubbed “the world’s air conditioning unit”.

Fowler, being surrounded by bogs in her mid-Wales home, brings readers on her personal journey into bogs as she discovers the ecosystems that were, until recently, not well understood.

Publisher Rupert Lancaster from Hodder & Stoughton introduced the author by saying: “[This book] is so much more than landscapes and bogs.”

Peatlands is described as “a fascinating, impassioned invitation into the hidden mystery of bogs” and “enchanting”, with Fowler dubbed the “ideal guide” by reviewers Olivia Laing and Jessica J Lee.

Explaining her journey to writing her latest, Fowler said she was at one point almost thrown out of the Royal Horticultural Society for being so staunchly against the use of peat in compost.

She added: “I quit my job at the Guardian to write a book about peatbogs... after 20 years of campaigning against peat use in gardens...

“Using peat that is between 500 and thousands of years old to grow a tomato that's going to sit underwatered in a B&Q aisle before ending up in a skip is like using ivory tusks - it’s crushing.

“I ended up having a crisis with my whole industry.

“People claim horticulture wouldn’t survive without peat, but it’s not true - tomatoes in the wild would never have come anywhere near peat.”

Peatlands is then described as both a work of prose and non-fiction, as well as an appeal for others to understand, love, and protect these “complex and delicate” lands, at a time when an estimated 92 per cent of UK peatlands are damaged, whilst being a vital part of how the world can tackle climate chance.

UK peatlands hold double the carbon of the UK's trees, but dried peatlands currently emit more carbon than cars due to the damage humans have caused these huge carbon sinks.

In her research, Fowler explored peatlands across Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland - noting that though Ireland has now stopped selling its peat, British growers instead import it from Estonia.

Delving into the phrases that have linked bogs with negative connotations, “bogged down”, “bog-standard”, “bog off” or “bogging”, Fowler interrogates this notion and flips the idea of the bog on its head - being both “unbelievably beautiful” and a resource for saving the planet.

Peatlands is available online for £20, and at Pen’rallt Bookshop for £16. The author encourages readers to support their independent bookshops where possible.