75 Exceptional Herbs for Your Garden

by Jack Staub, Ellen Buchert (Illustrator)

Gardening expert Jack Staub continues his stimulating series on unique additions to your garden with 75 Exceptional Herbs for Your Garden. With fascinating facts, unexpected lore-including its ancient medicinal and culinary employment-elegant prose, and beautiful watercolor illustrations by Ellen Buchert, this keepsake volume offers up 75 of the most extraordinary herbs available. Sometimes masquerading as common denizens of our fields and forests, these are plants that will not only decorate our gardens, but will capture the imagination of any gardener or cook!

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Food, Reference

309 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 8, 2008

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, this is a very nice-looking book. Fabric covers, art-deco lettering, lovely illustrations for each plant. It looks like it would have been published decades ago, not just 5 years ago. On top of that, it's just a good read. I actually read it cover to cover because although it is a list, it is written in a very conversational style, with each entry providing an explanation of the name of the herb, a look at its history and historical uses, and then modern knowledge and use about it (including things like vitamin and other nutrient content). Most of them also have a suggestion for how to use it.

I know lots more about herbs than I did before, including the fact that I need a much bigger herb garden. :)

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brightened one of the darker, colder months for me with lovely, chatty descriptions of 75 herbs. For each entry, the author begins with the etymology of the herb's name (often very interesting), and goes on to relate a bit of herbal history, including what antique or ancient authors believed the herb to be useful for. Then he rounds out each description with a note on the herb's 'real' uses - that is, medicinal or therapeutic effects that more modern studies show the herb to possess. Each entry is illustrated.

Very pleasant reading, and a physically lovely book to have on the shelf for reference.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent piece of pop botany. Read as an ebook so I think that hampered some of the experience. Enjoyable enough.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lists herbs and a bit about each one.

[else fine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book - the solid, heavy blue cloth binding, the arts and crafts lettering, the satisfying heft of the book in my hand, the full color plates, and the delightfully ornate and witty prose (he had me at "weedy ubiquity") full of useful and interesting information. Highly recommended for everyone who loves plants, words, and a well-crafted book.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, simple book of herbs. So pretty I want to cut out some of the pictures and frame them.

[Agnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basic overview for each herb with colored sketches as illustrations.
Includes a short bibliography and list of websites.