The Green Guide to Herb Gardening: Featuring the 10 Most Popular Herbs [Paperback]

Many herb books are encyclopedic, covering dozens, if not hundreds, of varieties but not providing much depth. Such works have their place but can be confusing to beginners and sometimes don't provide enough information to those wishing to grow and study the most common varieties of herbs. Harding, who publishes the Pryme Thyme online newsletter, has written an outstanding guide that provides extensive information about ten of the most popular herbs--basil, calendula, chamomile, chives, garlic, lemon balm, mint, oregano, parsley, and thyme. Each herb gets its own chapter, which provides information about the herb's history and folklore; gives growing, harvesting, and storage instructions; and suggests culinary, medicinal, cosmetic, and ornamental uses. Harding's information on propagation and preparation after harvest (infusions, tisanes, decoctions, tinctures, elixirs, and poultices) is excellent, and his well-written recipes and instructions should prove helpful to both beginners and enthusiasts. Recommended for all public libraries.
-Jonathan N. Hershey, Akron-Summit Cty. P.L., Akron, OH
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Basil, chives, garlic, oregano, and parsley are among the 10 most popular herbs that Harding features in her guide; they are popular because they are easy to grow, she says. Harding describes what they look like and explains their history, magical properties and folklore, propagation, and growing methods, along with harvest and storage techniques, and the herbs' uses (culinary, remedies, aromatic, cosmetic, ornamental, and more). The author begins with a chapter on propagation, preparations, and preservation, offering basic information on the different growing methods (such as seeds, division, and layering), on how to use herbs in infusions or tea, and on how to save herbs by freezing or drying. This handy guide contains 95 recipes, everything from mint julep and mint jelly to oregano cheese bread and parsley dumplings. George Cohen

Explore the magical world of these amazing plants through ten of the easiest and most useful herbs to grow. This book takes you from seed to harvest to storage. What's more, you get 95 easy recipes in which to sample the fruits of your labor, including refreshing mint julep, mouth-watering lemon balm pesto, crowd-pleasing thyme fish fillets -- and the world's best pizza sauce.