Herbs

Your Backyard Herb Garden: A Gardener's Guide to Growing Over 50 Herbs Plus How to Use Them in Cooking, Crafts, Companion Planting and More

Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (Llewellyn's Sourcebook Series)

The Unlikely Lavender Queen: A Memoir of Unexpected Blossoming

“I couldn’t help but question how I’d gotten to this strange spot in my life, so far from what I’d expected for myself. Yes, there had been a heady romance a few years back. Then a slew of subsequent decisions, fueled by love and yearnings I didn’t even know I had. But I never, ever would have suspected that this was where the sum total of them would bring me. That afternoon a new doubt dripped into my mind. When do you know, I wondered, whether the choices you’ve made were the right ones?”

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In 1990, Jeannie Ralston was a successful magazine writer and bona fide city girl—the type of woman who couldn't imagine living on soil not shaded by skyscrapers. By 1994, she had called off an engagement, married Robb, a National Geographic photographer, and was living in Blanco Texas, population 1600.

THE UNLIKELY LAVENDER QUEEN is the intimate story of a woman who gives up a lot for the man she loves – her beloved blue state, bagels and all-night bodegas—only to have to wonder: Was it too much? Ralston offers a lively chronicle of her life as a wife, new mother and an urban settler in rural Texas. As she labors to convert a dilapidated barn into a livable home, deal with scorpions and unbearably hot summers, raise two young children while Robb is frequently away on assignment, she realizes her ultimate struggle is to reconcile her life plans and goals with her husband’s without coming out the proverbial loser. And just when it seems like she might be losing that fight--and herself-- a little purple bloom changes her life.

For centuries lavender has been a mystical herb, so valuable to ancient Romans that a bushel would cost nearly a month’s wages. But when Robb returns from a trip to Provence with a plan for growing lavender on their land, Ralston is not convinced—in fact the last thing she needed or wanted was to take up farming on top of everything else. Then, much to her surprise, she slowly but surely falls in love with lavender, and in the course of growing and selling blooms, hosting the public at the farm, and creating lavender products, she discovers a new side of herself. A few short years later, Ralston had built Hill Country Lavender, a thriving commercial enterprise that transforms both her little corner of Texas and her life.

THE UNLIKELY LAVENDER QUEEN will resonate with all women who have faced the tough choices that come with “having it all” and secretly (or not so secretly) hoped for great adventure to come along and surprise them. Ralston’s honest, funny, and poignant memoir is a testament to the fact that such adventures await us around every bend in life.

Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically

Burpee has created a truly encyclopedic, but non-intimidating, guide to organic vegetable gardening that can be used and appreciated by anyone, whether or not they've ever stuck a seed in the ground. All the essential information is here--how to condition the soil, how and where to plant, sprouting schedules, what kind of yield to expect from each plant variety, and harvesting tips--in beautiful, bountiful, illustrated detail; the book's largest section, "Plant Portraits," contains explanations of the many cultivars of each vegetable and herb. If you're a novice vegetable gardener or new to organic gardening and can only afford one gardening guide, this may be your best value.

A Backyard-Gardener's Guide to Growing a Bountiful, Great-Tasting Harvest

The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener features:

• A full-color encyclopedia of over 100 vegetables and herbs with detailed, expert advice on growing them successfully from planting to harvest
• Planting and growing techniques that keep maintenance to a minimum
• Entries on how to grow unusual edibles, such as refreshing mesclun for salads, colorful edible flowers, spicy mustards, and more
• Descriptions and photos of a host of succulent vegetables, both hybrids and heirlooms, from common to exotic
• Complete information on improving even the poorest garden soil using safe, organic techniques, plus practical advice on making compost
• Recommendations on garden tools you need-and those you don't
• Information on controlling pests and diseases organically, without resorting to poisonous sprays
• Spectacular full-color photographs of vegetables and herbs, food gardens, and edible landscapes, plus 30 black-and-white line drawings

Betty Crocker's Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Cooking Today

Betty Crocker is on the health bandwagon. Not one for fads, Betty sensibly bases this 175-recipe cookbook on the Food Guide Pyramid guidelines recommended by the American Heart Association and many other medical and nutrition professional organizations. You learn tips for cutting down on fat and cholesterol, understanding the different kinds of fat, and making smart food choices for heart health. The idea is to reduce fat by making ingredient substitutions and small alterations, but not making drastic changes. The recipes are varied and creative and don't resemble "diet food": Ginger Shrimp Kabobs, Vegetable Potstickers, Stuffed Veal Chops with Cider Sauce, Vegetable and Ham Jambalaya, Curried Chicken and Nectarines, Caribbean Fish Salad, and Thai Shrimp and Rice Noodle Nests. The desserts include Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake with Raspberry Topping (only 20 percent fat!), Blueberry-Lime Torte (about 15 percent fat), and Double Chocolate-Date Cake (about 25 percent fat). Recipes are labeled with symbols indicating "low-calorie," "low-fat," "moderate-fat," "low-cholesterol," and "moderate-cholesterol," so you can choose how far you want to go. Each recipe has a hefty amount of nutritional information: calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, carbohydrate, fiber, protein, vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, and diet exchanges. Cooks who love knowing what the dishes should look like will enjoy the 45 mouth-watering color photos. --Joan Price

Everyone's favorite cooking expert Betty Crocker has completely revised and updated the perennial favorite, Betty Crocker's Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Cooking Today, with updated information about fat and cholesterol, and lots of easy-to-understand tips for establishing a healthy eating lifestyle. But with Betty Crocker it can't only be easy--it has to be delicious. And true-to-form, 120 recipes prove that healthful eating can also be enjoyed by the whole family.

With Betty Crocker, low-fat and low-cholesterol eating is a snap!

Growing 101 Herbs that Heal: Gardening Techniques, Recipes, and Remedies

An excellent guide for novices and experts alike, Growing 101 Herbs That Heal combines gardening, cooking, crafts, and natural healthcare into one sturdy manual. The author's care and concern for healthy plants and people are evident on every page, and there's an astonishing amount of detail in every section. Simple plant listings cover multiple pages, outlining everything from drainage preferences to the size and color of blooms. The different garden styles presented range from formal knot gardens to carefree wild gardens, with lots of choices for raised beds and containers. Organic methods for fertilizing and pest control are emphasized--time to get familiar with beneficial nematodes!

If you've already got an herbal garden in place and are now wondering what to do with your harvest, look no further. Delicious recipes for breads, soups, and salads are here, along with medicinal tinctures, creams, and bath soaks, which are great for gifts or home use. There are also straightforward tips for starting an herb-based home business from your own creations. The last section is a fascinating materia medica that devotes a separate page to each herb, going into beneficial companion plants, harvesting time, market value, and home pharmacy uses. From common peppermint to the unusual yerba de la negrita, you'll enjoy the lovely pictures at least as much as the helpful information. --Jill Lightner

Complete instructions for successfully growing 101 medicinal plants using totally organic techniques. Hartung, a certified organic grower and board member of United Plant Savers, shares all the secrets of propagation, soil preparation, natural pest management, harvesting techniques, and even garden design for both beauty and highest yield. Also includes herb-by-herb profiles and a guide to making medicines and delicious healing foods.

Growing & Using Lavender: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin A-155 (Storey Publishing Bulletin, a-155)

Since 1973, Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins have offered practical, hands-on instructions designed to help readers master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.

The Color Encyclopedia of Hostas

Hostas are consistently voted the gardener's favorite perennial---their clean lines, sumptuous leaves, and elegant flowers offer great potential for striking specimen plantings and also make them the most accommodating of companion plants. The core of this encyclopedia is a fully illustrated collection of the world's finest hostas. This valuable resource provides a full description and color photograph for more than 750 plants. Informative sections on hosta classification and botany, gardening ideas, advice on pests and diseases, and a quick-reference list of the best hostas for different purposes add depth to this comprehensive review of the present-day hosta.

Hostas are consistently voted the gardener's favorite perennial, with their clean lines, sumptuous leaves, and elegant flowers. This valuable resource provides a full description and color photograph for more than 750 plants. Informative sections on hosta classification and botany, gardening ideas, advice on pests and diseases, and a quick-reference list of the best hostas for different purposes add depth to this comprehensive review.

Golden Gate Gardening: Year-Round Food Gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area and Coastal California

The Edible Garden (Sunset)

Putting delicious food on the table doesn't get more fulfilling-or fresher-than this!Whether you have a tiny rooftop plot or a serious chunk of dirt, The Edible Garden is packed with practical advice for designing a horticultural haven that's as tasty as it is beautiful-just think of it as art you can eat! This appealing text covers tried-and-true methods as well as more avant garde approaches to growing herb gardens, vegetable plots, fruit trees, edible flowers, and more.