I’m beginning to feel the gardening bug come to life again. I know, I know that is barely the middle of January, but, still, I feel it coming on. I know that my early blooming daffodils will be peaking their hopeful heads up through the cold damp earth in the next few weeks, and that will certainly signal to me that spring is not far behind. I don’t know about you, but the last week’s extreme cold has made me realize that living any further north would really be hard!
So, as I begin to think of spring, I am planning on growing more herbs and vegetables this year. I had some good success last year, but I want to grow more that I can cook with this coming spring and summer. A new book which just came into Lemuria in early December ’10 is titled: The Kitchen Gardener’s Handbook by Jennifer R. Bartley. Within this beautiful book, the food gardener will find design plans, seasonal checklists, fresh recipes, plant profiles and growing tips, and flowers for the table, as the subtitle suggests.
Seasonally subdivided, gardeners can find herbs, vegetables, and fruits for every season of the year, and as an added treat, the gardener author has even included special recipes to be made from the vegetables which he grows in his own garden. For instance, for the Spring section, one will find how to grow strawberries and rhubarb and an accompanying recipe using both. For the summer, blueberries are certainly included complete with recommended varieties, as well as a recipe for “World’s Famous Blueberry Pie”. Included in each seasonal section with the plants which grow best, is also a highly helpful chart detailing the common name, scientific name, zone to grow, and certain notes about each plant. Beautiful color photographs accompany each section.
I highly recommend this new release published by Timber Press, the prestigious guru of gardening publishers, for gardeners wanting a helpful, practical and beautifully compiled guide to growing what one wants to eat. -Nan
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