Growing and Using Herbs and Spices

Growing Herbs and Spices by Milo Miloradovich has been in my gardening library for quite a while. It's a straightforward book - no glossy photos, no URLs. It's straightforward, black and white advice about what each herb is about, what it's used for, and how to grow it. You get histories, locations, and even mythology. Some of the stories are fascinating. For example, Red bergamot is native to New England. This was the "Oswego" tea from the native American tribe of the same name, and during the tea boycott it's what the colonists drank instead of English tea. Sage, named from the Latin verb "to save", comes from the mediterranean. It's used in meat dishes, stuffings, sauces and cheese. You learn how to grow and harvest the various herbs, how to use them, what to watch out for. The book covers spices as well, and then goes into practical how-tos for a variety of crafts. You learn how to make lotions, moth preventatives, and more. Finally, a thorough index means you can dig through the book and find exactly what you need. Well recommended as a solid primer.