Living with Herbs: A Treasury of Useful Plants for the Home and Garden

by Jo Ann Gardner

Overview

With vivid stories and an infectious delight in the garden, Jo Ann Gardner shares her wisdom and useful tips on planting, growing, and harvesting more than 90 different kinds of herbs.

Every gardener will benefit from the author’s intimate knowledge of herbs and their histories, growing needs, and uses in the kitchen and home. The wisdom she shares—with vivid stories, a self-deprecating wit, and an infectious delight in the garden—will be useful to herb growers living anywhere in the United States or Canada.

Included in this practical guide is instruction on:

• Planting, caring for, and propagating herbs indoors, outdoors, and in containers
• Harvesting, drying, and preserving herbs, flowers, and seeds
• Two dozen ways to use herbs in the home, from aromatherapy and infusions to vinegars and wreaths
• Landscaping with herbs, with plans for a harvest bed, rose garden, and other themed gardens
• The growing needs and unique uses of more than 90 herbs, along with favorite recipes

“Readers from all regions will benefit from these simple strategies for dealing with common problems.” —Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781581572292
Publisher:	Countryman Press, The
Publication date:	03/31/2014
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Jo Ann Gardner has been growing, preserving, and baking with small fruit for over forty years. She and her husband, Jigs, operated a small hand/horsepowered farm on a remote peninsula on Cape Breton Island, Canada, which inspired books, articles, and lectures beginning in 1978. Together they wrote Gardens of Use and Delight, describing how they transformed a bare farm into a lush landscape using simple methods. Jo Ann and Jigs now live in Westport, New York, in the Champlain Valley where they have established a small farm with extensive gardens.

Table of Contents

Preface to the New Edition 9

Introduction 11

Part I

Chapter 1 Basic Growing Methods 19

Starring Herbs From Seed 20

Starting Herbs Indoors 24

Starring Herbs Outdoors 27

Soil, Site, and Planting 29

A Sample Harvest Bed 34

Growing in Containers 35

Care and Propagation 39

Growing Herbs Indoors 44

Chapter 2 Handling the Harvest 49

Traditional Method of Harvesting and Drying Herbs 50

Alternative Method of Harvesting and Drying Herbs 53

Other Alternatives: Microwave and Freezer 59

Chapter 3 Using Herbs in the Home 61

Aromatherapy 61

Bath Herbs 62

Butters 63

Candied Flowers 64

Cheese Herbs 64

Cooking with Herbs 65

Decoctions 65

Dried Flowers 65

Edible Flowers 66

Essential Oils 67

Fines Herbes 67

Fixatives 67

Infusions 68

Jellies 68

Medicinal Herbs 69

Oils 70

Potpourri 70

Sachets 72

Swags 74

Teas 74

Tussie-Mussies 74

Vinegars 77

Wreaths 78

Chapter 4 The Integrated Landscape 81

The Starting Point 82

An Island Bed 83

The Art of Naturalizing 86

A Harvest Bed 87

A Rose Bed 89

Gardening at the Edges 90

Herbs for Landscaping 91

Part II

Chapter 5 The Herbs in My Life: 74 Herb Portraits 95

Bibliography 277

Source Appendix 279

Index 281

Editorial Reviews

Part manual, part memoir, this volume blends Gardner's broad knowledge of common herbs with the intimacies of her spartan gardening life amidst the poor soil and harsh climate of Nova Scotia's Cape Breton, where she's lived for 25 years. Guided by principles of "economy, simplicity, and conservation," Gardner (The Heirloom Garden) has compiled a bounty of tips (from drying herbs to building cold frames) to go with a houseful of graces (from swags and sachets to candied flowers). While pragmatic gardeners will be struck by the low-tech tools and equipment designed by Jigs (Gardner's husband), others will be romanced by the sensual pleasure of making potpourri and sachets and the poetic language of flowers (yes, rosemary for remembrance; but also lamb's ears for surprise and lady's mantle for comfort). Two-thirds of the book is devoted to plant "portraits" that include the growing requirements and unique uses of 75 herbs, wildflowers and shrubs. In this section, unexpected topics (violas versus violets) and intriguing recipes (white clover room fresheners and rose petal sandwiches) invite casual perusals. American and Canadian plant sources cited. Line drawings by Elayne Sears. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

While at first glance these two titles might seem very similar, they approach their subject from different angles, down to the different varieties of herbs discussed. For Gardner (The Old-Fashioned Fruit Garden, Chelsea Green, 1991), life revolves around herbs, and she joyfully draws on her extensive experience with them. Opening with a section on growing methods, she includes information on soil preparation and propagation, traditional and alternative methods of harvesting herbs, uses of herbs in the home (from aromatherapy to wreaths), and a short section on landscape design with herbs. More than half of Gardner's book is devoted to 75 herb portraits, each focusing on one herb (or in a few cases a wildflower or shrub) that the author has found useful. In her culinary-inspired work, Saville (coauthor of Herbs: A Country Garden Cookbook of Collins Pub. San Francisco, 1995) examines unusual herbs. After providing readers with a short chapter on growing herbs, she moves right into an up-close and personal look at 60 uncommon herbs, with a soupon of history and folklore, scientific and common names, growing instructions, culinary uses, and even recipes. While Gardner covers a broader range of topicseverything from crafts to building your own drying racksSaville prefers to concentrate solely on the growing and culinary usage of herbs. Gardner's charm and commonsense approach will appeal to the herb neophyte, while Saville's poetic and lyrical writing style will inspire the adventurous gardener/cook looking for new ideas and unusual varieties of herbs to try out.John Charles, Scottsdale P.L, Ariz.

Library Journal