Product Description

This is all-time classic gardening bestseller with over 350 varieties of herb to grow and over 200 delicious and inventive recipes. It is a spread-by-spread reference work bringing together all aspects of an individual herb - history and folklore, species to grow and cosmetic, medicinal and culinary uses. Chapters on propagation, harvesting and making herb oils are complemented with ideas for ten different designs for herb gardens and a unique yearly calendar. Accurate colour photography means that identification for the reader is simple as well as making the book a glorious companion - the only book on the subject the reader will ever need.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17875 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Review
Jekka's is a must-have book for everyone who loves gardening and cooking. I'm her biggest fan. The book is fantastic and so is her amazing knowledge of herbs. She has wonderful ideas to make your food taste the best and to make you feel good. This is the herb book to have --Jamie Oliver

This book is a milestone in the publishing of herb books; with it you can grow them successfully. Its organisation makes it stand head and shoulders above the competition --Garden Centre Association

A great Christmas present- if you can bear to part with it (Alan Titchmarsh, Daily Mail). Jekka's complete herb book is one I often turn to for quick information about the wide variety of herbs gardeners can grow. She gives excellent advice about propagation, different species and varieties, and other aspects of herb culture, with wonderful culinary ideas as well. --Barbara Damrosch, Washington Post

Synopsis
This is all-time classic gardening bestseller with over 350 varieties of herb to grow and over 200 delicious and inventive recipes. It is a spread-by-spread reference work bringing together all aspects of an individual herb - history and folklore, species to grow and cosmetic, medicinal and culinary uses. Chapters on propagation, harvesting and making herb oils are complemented with ideas for ten different designs for herb gardens and a unique yearly calendar. Accurate colour photography means that identification for the reader is simple as well as making the book a glorious companion - the only book on the subject the reader will ever need.

About the Author
Jekka McVicar has run her Herb Farm for 22 years. She presented the RHS video on herbs, and has won eleven gold medals at RHS Chelsea and is on the RHS council. Jekka is also well known for her regular appearances on TV and radio gardening and cookery programmes.

Customer Reviews

A delight to own
This is a superb book from Jekka McVicar. She has to be one of the country's foremost authorities on herbs and, in association with the RHS, has produced a book that is comprehensive, informative, and visually pleasing.

The book is arranged in alphabetical order of the plants' botanical names. For each herb there is an enticing close-up photograph, a description of the various varieties available, instructions for cultivation, including which varieties can be grown from seed and which succeed better from cuttings, whether the plant is suitable for growing in a container, and a tempting recipe. As well as the culinary and medical attributes there is a warning if the plant can prove toxic. All the familiar favourites are there, plus some I had never heard of.

There follows a useful section with details of propagation - growing herbs from seed, taking cuttings (hardwood, softwood, root) and layering. The chapter on planning a herb garden gives all the information and instructions anyone could need, although more photographs of established herb gardens would have added to the visual appeal, and there is a final chapter on pests.

This is a book I keep dipping into. It would make a wonderful present, although some knowledgeable reviewers have suggested that it is not detailed enough. But for the rest of us, whether keen gardener with oodles of land or beginners interested in growing a few fresh herbs in a pot, I think it's a treasure and thoroughly recommend it.

A book written for this age.
By "this age" I'm referring to the countless disclaimers that this book contains. It's a very nice book, hardback, lovely photographic illustrations and plenty of info on herbs that even I hadn't heard of. But what gets my typing finger working is the endless warnings that have been written to save the writers legal backside. There are warnings about almost every herb you can think of being illustrated by a red warning triangle! As if we 45 year olds need educating. Stop this Political nonsense now woman. You are writing about herbs not Heroin! She also tells you about being precautionary when digging up wild herbs like Cowslip. For God's sake! Who is going to be bothered? Is the local plastic bobby going to arrest me and take my DNA for digging up Horseraddish? Yes I think they will get round to that someday. They've started on Mushroom hunters on Wimbledon Common so who knows. Apart from this it's a good book and I'd recommend you buy it.

everything you always wanted to know about Herbs
i bought this book as a gift so i did not take a quick look at it until it was opened by the recipient when i did i was suprised how informative it was. I think i will now be ordering one for myself. very good book ideal for the beginer and so many ways you can use Herbs. very easy to understand well worth the money.