Book Review: Herbs!

Herbs!

Creative Herb Garden Themes and Projects

by Judy Lowe

192 pages

Cool Springs Press, 2011

List price: $19.95

Books on edibles - both growing them and preparing them – abound, but here’s one of a different nature. Herbs! by Judy Lowe is a collection of ideas for gardeners who want to grow herbs, but it’s also a book for those who don’t actually grow herbs themselves. Most herbs are edible, of course, but they’re also highly prized for their aromatic qualities and Lowe gives many ideas for using them in this way, too.

The information is slotted into appropriate chapters according to the theme of the garden growing a particular herb, along with beautiful illustrations and photographs. But many herbs fit into many categories, so to get a complete picture of a particular herb's characteristics, you'll want to check out each garden description. In addition, those clever folks at Cool Springs Press have color-coded (green!) the pages in the middle that contain concise plant descriptions for more than 45 herbs. It’s a scrapbook of sorts, and a testament to the versatility of herbs.

Beginning with basic facts, all the way through the various themed gardens described in the bulk of the book, to the reference and source material at the end, this is a book that gardeners who grow herbs already and those who have a desire to grow them will put to good use. It’s also a book for which the index is a necessity, so as to not miss finding nuggets of inspiration for each particular herb.

Judy Lowe has had a lifelong love of gardening, and has been writing about it for more than twenty-five years. She has been the garden editor of the Chattanooga Times-Free Press in Chattanooga, Tennessee and The Christian Science Monitor in Boston, Massachusetts. Her numerous articles have appeared in many magazines, including Woman's Day and Southern Living. She has been active in the Garden Writers Association, serving on the board for fourteen years and as president for two years. This is Lowe's eleventh book.