Herbs: Gardens, Decorations and Recipes

I absolutely adore herbs. Rosemary, thyme, and lavender are my favorites, but all the others are delectable as well. Emilie Tolley and Chris Mead are the best partnership in the gardening world. Emilie really knows the cultivation of these wonderful growing things, and I adore Chris for his breathtaking photography. Together they created a volume for herb gardeners that is instructive, inspiring, and incredible. A remarkable team, this talented duo illustrate how to create an herb garden that will add to your personal happiness. They introduce us to forty herbs that will saturate your senses but will not try your patience. Follow their lead and you may end up doing what I do, reaching into your rosemary or thyme and succumbing to the most exquisite natural smells in existence. Our gardening friends show us everything we need to do to prepare the soil, care for the herbs we select, design a simple or detailed herb landscape, and grow our herbs indoors. They know we need inspiration, so Emelie and Chris provide us with some of the most gorgeous herb gardens in the world. They take us to England's Cotswolds to a reigning authority, Rosemary Verey. Her gardens are profuse and lush. Mrs. Verey's home, like many gardeners is evolutionary; she has an abundant cottage garden, a kitchen garden, and an exquisite knot garden, always maximizing the use of herbs in her landscape. The path to the kitchen garden, or potager, is laden with stones that lies between two inviting rows of lavender. There is a large section devoted to herb gardeners around the world each with their own designs and interpretations of showing off herbs in all their romantic and aromatic splendor. There is more! Turning the pages, we find methods for drying and preserving, creating beautiful crafts such as wreaths,sachets, potpourri, topiary, miniatures, decorating for holidays, and, oh my goodness, the most tempting recipes! My, oh, my! I'm diving right back into my Herbs book!

This is the most inspiring and beautiful herb book I have ever read. This is the book that got me "into"herbs and the herbal lifestyle. It truly changed my life. The pictures are beautiful, and the content is intriguing. Beginning with basic information on growing 40 common herbs, it takes you through beautiful gardens in the U.S. and Europe, Shows gorgeous herbal crafts, and has great herbal recipes. Really a great introduction to the wonders of herbs, but the experienced herbalist would love it too. A definitive herb book!

If you are new to herbs, this is THE book to really turn you on to this vast subject.If you are experienced, the book is an invaluable resource. If you just like great books with incredible photography, you will be proud to diplay this book on your coffee table. Buy it and enjoy!

Great ideas, the best recipes, and the decorating is exceptional. I planned my whole holiday party with this book! From start to finish the photos and the text give you all you will ever need to know about herbs and how to display and use them in cooking and decorating. I was honestly surprised that the content was so good. I own quite a few books on herbs and this is the only one I would recommed to someone just starting out or an advanced grower. I have tried so many of their ideas that I feel like I am their test kitchen! Read it and I think you will agree that this book is the best!