Herb Gardening For Dummies, 2nd edition

I will admit up front that I am a self confessed Dummie book fan. I own perhaps a dozen of them ranging from bird feeding to weather. I not only find them extremely comprehensive in their particular subject matter, but also they always seem to present their material with a humorous touch thrown in. They are interesting and educational, but also amusing and entertaining as well. This latest of the series that I picked up is no exception. Herb gardening is something of an idea that I have been batting around for some time now. I'm as much into the idea of it for fun and something to do as I am the potential bounty I hopefully will receive. Which I feel I have a lot in common with other folks in that respect as to liking gardening as a hobby. My only problem when it comes to any gardening with me personally is that I have little actual acreage to deal with that can be cultivated. That, and that I also have to admit that I am lazy, and have a nice big deck just begging for a contained herb garden. Although this dummie book devotes an entire chapter to container gardening, it still falls very much short of another book I have that deals specifically with growing herbs in pots. Magee and Stuckeys book which I have enclosed a link too. The dummie book would be my first choice if your intention is to dig and maintain a full fledged ground based herb garden. It's chock full of hints, info, illustrations, step by step guides, you name it as beginning and maintaining your own. And like all dummie books I have read in the past, it begins with their assuming you have never even heard of a herb garden. If you're a little more experienced than that, you can skip a couple of the opening chapters. But I would suggest you read them anyway. Their very informative and entertaining.Read more ›

Generally not a fan of the "...for Dummies" books because I think that they simplify things too much, but I have to admit that I learned a lot from this book. Every summer I try to grow my own herbs, and sometimes I have success and sometimes I do not. Herbs can be very nutritious when combined in dishes, and for someone like me who likes to cook, I found this book will surely be a good reference when it starts to warm up! This book really helped me to understand why some things that I grow don't succeed while others do. I also really liked the section about where the various herbs come from (didn't know that aloe was part of the onion family). Always love a book that can teach me something new. Pretty decent publication!

This is a great book for someone planning an herb garden. There are descriptions of herbs, help in planning a garden, soil needs, plant diseases, ways to preserve herbs, info on medicinal herbs and more. I love the Dummies books because they're always well-written and informative and this book is no exception. A lot of fun to read and very helpful.

  - Link: http://www.amazon.com/Gardening-Dummies-Karan-Davis-Cutler/dp/0470617780