The Art of the Kitchen Garden

A gorgeous fantasy for the gardener who wants everything. Replete with color photographs, charts and plans, the Gertleys' combinations of flowers and vegetables in formal designs satisfy the desire for beauty, productivity and the urge to impress the neighbors.Beginning with an overview of gardens of the past, the authors proceed to design, discussing elements of color, texture and space and offering specific and detailed photos and plans for gardens inspired by anything from quilts to honeycombs to a scaled down version of the kitchen garden at the Chateau de Villandry in France.In addition to detailed designs, the Gertleys offer guidelines and advice for drawing on your own inspiration, from mixing colors and adding elements of texture (organic or artificial) to plant height and arrangement. On the less creative side of things, they discuss planting timing and harvesting, growing from seed and buying seedlings and garden preparation and maintenance.The practical advice is basic; useful but almost an afterthought. Weeds, for instance, don't get mentioned until page 134. The designs, however, are well illustrated - from flourishing result back to graph paper plot and plant placement. This is a book for gardeners with time and ambition and dreamers who just love to look.

I thouroughly enjoyed this book! I found it full of creative and do-able ideas for the avid gardner who wants more than an ordinary vegetable garden. I love the art and color this book brings to the garden. The Gertleys help you through the entire process of garden design, from where to look for inspiration to layout to plant selection. Full of color pictures and diagrams, I was delighted with this book.

I was apprehensive about buying this book because so many gardening books are mostly pictures with little really good info. Not so with this book. It's full of helpful ideas, great pictures and old-fashioned inspiration. I know I will keep this one handy for years, maybe decades to come.

After reading this book, I am DETERMINED to try my hand at creating a Kitchen garden in this way. Why not have a vegetable garden that is beautiful to look at? The idea of mixing flowers and vegetables is charming and effective. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to put some fun and whimsey into their garden.

This is a book for any library. Examples & ideas for large or small gardens. Easy to follow directions with great illustrations & pictures. It helped me in my garden design & I've planted these ideas this year. Have given this book out as gifts. I look forward to more from this author.