Here are 100 books that The Potted Herb fans have personally recommended if you like
The Potted Herb.
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I’ve always loved nature and the idea of being more self-reliant, so growing some of my own food seemed like an obvious place to start. This led me to permaculture and the treasure box of goodies it provides for each of us to make a positive difference in the world. Almost by accident, I found myself teaching and I loved it so much it became my main vocation. I write to make sense of things for myself and this is how my Design Guide came about. Books are a gift so few of our ancestors had access to. I hope you enjoy my recommendations as much as I have.
Unlike my other recommendations, Joy’s book lacks photos and includes only line drawings. Regardless, her book is a classic reference that was my go-to guide when I started growing vegetables back in the mid-1980s – before the pages eventually started falling out. This revised edition is full of detailed information on how to grow an extensive list of vegetables, along with everything else you need to know about the process of growing. While many other books may look prettier, there’s little that you might want to know about organic gardening that you won’t find within these pages. Buy a copy for your home library and another for your greenhouse or potting shed.
This revised, updated and expanded edition of the classic guide to growing your own vegetables contains everything you need to know to create a highly-productive vegetable plot. Covering every aspect of vegetable gardening from preparing soil to manures, composts and fertilizers, from growing techniques to protection, pests, from diseases and weeds to making good use of space, this is a comprehensive guide to ensuring the best results from your garden or allotment. With cultivation information for over 100 vegetables, including site and soil requirements, cultivation, pests and diseases, and cultivars, this illustrated handbook is a must for vegetable gardeners of…
Amy Goldman is a gardener, author, artist, philanthropist, and well-known advocate for seed saving, plant breeding, and heirloom fruits and vegetables. Her mission is to celebrate and catalogue the magnificent diversity of standard, open-pollinated varieties, and to promote their conservation. Amy gave up a career as a clinical psychologist to follow her first love which was kitchen gardening. In her own words from Heirloom Harvest: “I have romantic leanings and tend to follow my heart… In hindsight, I know my heart steered me straight, and toward a future I could never have imagined…My passion for the fruits of the earth has deep roots….”
Rosalind Creasy is one of my heroes. It was she who first turned me on to heirloom fruits and vegetables over 30 years ago, when I read her newly published Cooking from the Garden. That seminal tome celebrates the food garden’s bounty and uses in cookery.
Creasy is best known as a pioneer in the field of edible landscaping aka foodscaping: the practice of integrating edible plants into the landscape for beauty and sustenance. Think yummy delicious arbors, allées, groundcovers, borders, hedges, espaliers, foundation plantings, and potted plants. She spells out all the how-to’s, wheres, and whyfors in her first book, The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping; and updates it all in the second edition, Edible Landscaping. If you’re looking for practical advice, detailed instructions, design schemes, and recommended plants to feed body and soul, then allow me to point you in Ros’s direction.
This comprehensive, feature-packed book shows how you can create more beauty around your home, grow delicious healthful produce, and save money and natural resources all at the same time—by landscaping with edible plants. Author Rosalind Creasy, a landscape designer and leading authority on edible landscaping, provides all the information necessary to plan, plant, and maintain ornamental edible landscapes, with specific designs for all geographic and climatic regions of the country. Drawing on years of research into the most decorative and flavorful species—from the exotic water chestnut to the ever-popular apple—Creasy shows how edibles can form the basis for a beautiful…
Amy Goldman is a gardener, author, artist, philanthropist, and well-known advocate for seed saving, plant breeding, and heirloom fruits and vegetables. Her mission is to celebrate and catalogue the magnificent diversity of standard, open-pollinated varieties, and to promote their conservation. Amy gave up a career as a clinical psychologist to follow her first love which was kitchen gardening. In her own words from Heirloom Harvest: “I have romantic leanings and tend to follow my heart… In hindsight, I know my heart steered me straight, and toward a future I could never have imagined…My passion for the fruits of the earth has deep roots….”
Gathering: Memoir of a Seed Saver is a heartwarming story about the heirloom seed movement in America, charmingly told, with evocative details, by one of its prime movers. In 1975, Diane Ott Whealy, co-founded the Seed Savers Exchange (SSE), the nation’s premier non-profit seed-saving organization, with a gift of seeds passed down from her beloved paternal grandparents. The story goes from there. That heirloom fruits and vegetables are now ubiquitous in gardens and on kitchen and restaurant tables across the land, owes much to the dedication of Diane and her former husband, the SSE board, staff, membership, and supporters.
What Diane helped create is about a big idea: collecting, growing, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants to promote their conservation. Get the inside scoop in Gathering. I owe my own evolution as a gardener and advocate to my affiliation with SSE over the past 30 years.
Daughter of Iowa farmers, Missouri homesteader, and mother of five, Diane Ott Whealy never anticipated that one day she would become a leader in a grass-roots movement to preserve our agricultural biodiversity. The love for the land and the respect for heirloom seeds that Diane shared with her husband, Kent Whealy, led to their starting Seed Savers Exchange in 1975.
Seed Savers Exchange, the nation's premier nonprofit seed-saving organization, began humbly as a simple exchange of seeds among passionate gardeners who sought to preserve the rich gardening heritage their ancestors had brought to this country. Seeds that Ott Whealy herself…
Amy Goldman is a gardener, author, artist, philanthropist, and well-known advocate for seed saving, plant breeding, and heirloom fruits and vegetables. Her mission is to celebrate and catalogue the magnificent diversity of standard, open-pollinated varieties, and to promote their conservation. Amy gave up a career as a clinical psychologist to follow her first love which was kitchen gardening. In her own words from Heirloom Harvest: “I have romantic leanings and tend to follow my heart… In hindsight, I know my heart steered me straight, and toward a future I could never have imagined…My passion for the fruits of the earth has deep roots….”
The Garden in Every Sense and Season isn’t strictly speaking about food gardening, but Tovah Martin loves homegrown fruits and vegetables as much as I do, and that comes shining through on the pages of this book. She “lives on lettuce,” describes herself as “brassica-centric” (picture broccoli and cauliflower as the main event at lunch), is passionate about Jade bush beans and will have no other, and lusts for Chester Thornless blackberries. You get the idea?
What appeals to me most about Martin’s book, apart from her astute observations and deep knowledge about all kinds of plants – edible as well as ornamental; cultivated as well as wild – is her exuberance. About the rhythms of nature, the growth cycle, and the sensual pleasures to be had, every day in every season. I find her voice simply infectious. Reading this book is sure to make you smile, and perhaps help…
So much of gardening is focused on seasonal to-do lists and daily upkeep. But what about taking time to just enjoy the garden? The Garden in Every Sense and Season urges you to revel in what you've created. From the heady fragrance of spring lilacs to the delicious silence of a winter snowfall, writer and lifelong gardener Tovah Martin explores the glories of her garden using the five senses. Her sage advice and gratifying reflections on the rewards of a more mindful way of gardening will inspire you to look closer, breathe deeper, listen harder, and truly savor the gifts…
I love gardening and learning about unusual plants but I find that many gardening books don’t provide a lot of useful advice. I grow over 3,000 different types of plants and have a background in chemistry and biochemisty. I teach gardening to new gardeners and garden design to more experienced gardeners. My students want to learn practical things like solving pest problems and growing plants with more flowers. I am always on the lookout for books that provide them with hands-on practical advice they can use right away.
I have known Lee Reich through his writings for a number of years and I find his books factual and practical. He simplifies gardening down to some basic principles and then tells you exactly how to copy his style in your own garden.
Pruning can be a daunting task for those who have not done very much of it, but it can be quite straightforward. In The Pruning Book, Lee simplifies the process of understanding why you need to prune something and then he shows you exactly when and how to do it.
It sounds simple enough, but pruning can confound even the most competent gardener. This new edition of Taunton's award-winning book explains the dos and don'ts of cutting back; from humble houseplants to the most amazing exotics, readers learn how to make the right cut the first time, every time. With straightforward prose, over 250 photographs and 135 drawings, this essential reference walks gardeners through the process of pruning everything from ornamental trees and bushes to topiaries and bonsai. This demystifies the timing and techniques that result in the most successful pruning for healthy growth and good form. Updated with the…
I am a New Englander, born and bred. I am a 5th-generation chicken keeper and lifelong gardener. An author and Maine Master Gardener, I live on a small farm in Maine where I raise chickens, ducks, and geese and grow all kinds of vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers. My mom was a 3rd-grade teacher and my dad was incredibly artistic, so that combination resulted in me being an avid DIYer. I love to build and make and paint and raise and grow all kinds of things.
This former DIY Network writer has hit a home run with her latest book which is packed with all kinds of ideas for herbs, all beautifully photographed. From sachets and salves to herbal cleaning vinegars and smudge sticks, the author shares all kinds of projects. There are even edibles including herb butter and herbal teas. This one is not to be missed.
Capture the beauty, fragrance, and power of herbs in these delightful crafts for home and garden.
Why craft with herbs? They're easy to grow, beautiful, fragrant, full of health benefits, and are incredibly versatile! Herbs are best known for their medicinal and culinary uses, but there's so much more you can do with them. From spray disinfectants to wreaths and garlands, custom herb salts to homemade skincare products, there's something here for every room of your house-and everyone on your gift list! Learn how to make beautiful and useful items such as:
Smudge Sticks
Herb Sachets
Hanging Herbal Swag
Natural…
As we grow up, the special relationships with family, friends, and caregivers are what give us our sense of place in the world, make us feel loved, teach us the important things in life, and give us the courage to face each step from childhood to adulthood and beyond. Therefore I love books that celebrate these very special people in our lives.
This is one of my all-time favourite books. I’m a big fan of Lane Smith, I love his books and his illustrations are gorgeous – he has a wonderful ability to tweak his style to fit the specific book and storyline perfectly. Visually an intriguing delight, and a deeply touching narrative about shared time, memories, and love between Grandpa and Grandchild.
Grandpa Green wasn't always a gardener. He was a boy who lived on a farm and a child who had chickenpox. He was a soldier, a husband, and, most of all, an artist.
Grandpa Green wasn't always a gardener. He was a boy who lived on a farm and a child who had chickenpox. He was a soldier, a husband and, most of all, an artist.
Follow his grandson through a garden where memories are handed down through the shapes of topiary trees and imagination recreates things forgotten. Grandpa Green opens the door to a garden of wonder which parents and grandparents will be able to share with children for generations to come. An ode to the joys of a full life well lived as well as exploring some of the sorrow life…
I've been a mystery lover all my life, reading through all the Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie books I could get my hands on in my small-town West Virginia library. Although I enjoy watching TV mysteries, it takes a lot to trick me, and when I find shows or books that surprise me, they quickly become my favorites. As a cozy mystery author, I love bringing clean mysteries with unexpected twists (even to me as I write them!) to my readers. Writing mysteries is my happy place, and when I get reviews saying readers find my books surprising yet satisfying, I know I'm following in the steps of Agatha, at least to some small degree.
No list of spooky yet non-graphic/gory mysteries would be complete without a Phyllis Whitney novel, and although this one feels a little slow compared to the pace of contemporary mysteries, it packed a memorable punch for me—mostly because of the setting (Whitney does Gothic like no one else). I can still close my eyes and visualize the great estate. Whitney's reads are perfect to escape with on a misty rainy day or a dark and stormy night.
A suspense novel from “The Queen of the American Gothics” (The New York Times).
The nightmare was one from which I could not waken. I was caught upon a chessboard, a helpless pawn in a game of life and death, and the green rook was hunting me. That tall rook of green-black yew who had it in his power to destroy the king and end the game . . .
When Eve North returns to Athmore after three years' separation from her husband, Justin, she finds the great estate—and Justin himself—vastly changed. Eve, too, has changed. She knows now the…
As a child, I desperately wanted a pet. Even if it maybe wasn’t a “real pet” like a rock or an egg. I used my imagination for pet possibilities. When I was researching If You Want A Friend In Washington I was constantly in awe of the strange and unusual pets of the White House. I wanted this list of pet books to be as diverse and unusual as the Presidential Pets. Maybe a Glacier is the perfect pet for you?
Maybe you are looking for a conventional pet? or maybe not? Ruby, the main character thought she might want a cat or dog but found loyalty in a less conventional pet. This whimsical book will leave readers with a different outlook on pet possibilities.
In a starred review Publishers Weekly raves: "It’s an avant-garde, surrealist story with a Hollywood-style tearjerker lurking within—and a surprisingly charming and affecting one at that."
Award-winning poet Matthea Harvey and illustrator extraordinaire Giselle Potter team up to create an indescribably unique picture book about wanting to be normal, then coming to appreciate being different. Ruby would love to be like everyone else—not easy when you have a tiara-wearing mother and a father who spends his time trimming outrageous topiary. She'd also like to get a nice normal pet, maybe a dog. Then, on a family vacation to Norway, she…
I have expertise in the area of spirituality and alternative health from working for over 20 years as a shamanic practitioner, spiritual teacher, and healer. I have travelled extensively and trained with many renowned teachers all over the world. I also provide ancestral healing and train students to be ancestral healers. Through my own healing journey, I have studied many healing and alternative approaches to wellness. I have studied extensively with plants and herbs. In 2020 I wrote my award-winning book Illumination of the Shadow, which explores ancestral healing. I have always had an interest in books in the mind, body, and spirit area, and read extensively in this area.
This is a classical book on magical herbalism that has a prominent position on my bookshelf and which I always refer to when exploring plants and herbs. I love the unique way that this book connects you to the magical properties of herbs and plants, by exploring for example their astrological connections.
I have obtained so much value from this book, not only from the knowledge gained of herbs and plants but also from learning how you can use plants and herbs in different ways for healing, for example by making incenses, which is explained so clearly in the book.
Natural magic utilizes the world around us for magical purposes. Herbs are one of the most important tools for natural magic, and the best introduction to this system is found in Scott Cunningham's Magical Herbalism.
This book presents a complete system of magic using herbs. You will learn the theory of magic and the tools you'll need. Then you'll get countless techniques for using herbs for magic. Need a protection method? "Pick several protective herbs and bind the stems together with red thread, then hang them up. This practice dates back to Babylonian times." You'll find a list of over…
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