Herb Garden Book Reviews

March 10, 2004 by Evelyn J. Hadden

Recently I decided to make a Useful Plants garden, one that includes herbs, vegetables, fruits, and some cutting flowers. I consulted a lot of books, trying to figure out (a) what plants to grow and (b) how to design the garden. I read about two dozen books on herb gardening and skimmed a few others. Here are brief reviews of some that I found helpful and some that I could take or leave.

The Complete Herb Gardener
Paul Seitz (1996)
The most appealing herb garden designs of the bunch, plus solid information - indeed a complete reference. Read my review.

The Complete Herb Gardener at Amazon.com

The Kitchen Garden Planner
Darrell Trout (1999)
Gorgeous visual format, heavy on photos with snippets of text. Read my review.

Kitchen Garden Planner at Amazon.com

Rodale's successful Organic Gardening: Herbs
Patricia S. Michalak (1993)
Enough basic information to help a beginner grow herbs, but not much help with design. Read my review.

Herbs at Amazon.com

Garden Herbs
(2003)
Not a hugely exciting book, but it provided good basic information. Read my review.

The Herb Garden
Sarah Garland (1996 ed.)
Packed with well-written, interesting and useful information with many lovely color illustrations. Read my review.

The Herb Garden at Amazon.com

Herbs in the Garden: The Art of Intermingling
Rob Proctor and David Macke (1997)
Daring and delightful use of herbs within plantings encourages gardeners to experiment with design. Read my review.

Herbs in the Garden at Amazon.com

The Butterfly Book
Donald and Lillian Stokes and Ernest Williams (1991)
Excellent resource for gardeners who want use plants to attract butterflies (larvae and grownups). Read my review.

Butterfly Book at Amazon.com

Herbal Tea Gardens: 22 Plans for Your Enjoyment and Well-Being
Marietta Marshall Marcin (1999 ed.)
Imaginative design ideas plus plant-specific information and enticing recipes for nearly 100 herbs. Read my review.

Herbal Tea Gardens at Amazon.com

Gardening with Herbs
Emelie Tolley and Chris Mead (1995)
A series of garden profiles with more attention to herbs than most books of this type. Read my review.

Gardening with Herbs at Amazon.com

Landscaping with Herbs
James Adams (1987)
Dense, knowledgeable, and interesting text with unremarkable drawings and color photos. Read my review.

Landscaping with Herbs at Amazon.com