Herbs in the Garden

I read the book cover to cover twice in the first week and am now reading it again. Herbs in the Garden is pure inspiration. The title may be misinterpreted by those who have not seen the book. The focus is not on herbs, but rather on how herbs, vegetables, flowers and shrubs may be used together in garden design, or as the subtitle says, "The Art of Intermingling". The book is a breezy walk through the authors' garden, starting with a discussion of foliage as the framework, then working onward through their use of cottage and border gardens, their shade and dryland design (totally avoiding the use of the trendy term "xeriscaping") and concluding with containerized planting ideas. Written in a casual, conversational style with humorous anecdotes and comments, the strength of the book lies in its geographic versatility. The authors describe their garden but don't dwell on the horticultural requirements of the plants. This allows them to focus on design - how the hardscape and plantings interact - and on the practical knowledge they have gained in years of digging and growing. Gardeners anywhere can adapt the suggestions to fit their own locales.The book's strength, the lack of horticultural specifics, may also be a source of frustration for some. I kept a reference book handy to look up plants that I was unfamiliar with. This allowed me to quickly determine if an intriguing plant was appropriate for my climate. A beginning gardener, familiar with only a limited number of plants, might find this annoying. A reference chart at the back of the book that does give some information.Overall, Proctor and Macke have written a delightful book. It reads like a novel, has lovely photographs and will plant dreams of backyard paradises in the minds of garden fanatics. It gave me a bad case of "gardener vision".