Your Backyard Herb Garden: A Gardener's Guide to Growing, Using and Enjoying Herbs

by Miranda Smith

Your Backyard Herb Garden by Miranda Smith will teach you everything you need to know about growing your favorite herbs using safe, natural, all-organic methods!

Practical tips and advice on all aspects of successful herb growing.

A wealth of great ideas and helpful how-to on using herbs in cooking, crafts, cosmetics, health care, insect repellents, and more.

Illustrated herb directory featuring all the most popular herbs-- from aloe to yarrow-- each with complete information on growing, care, harvesting, and uses.

Genres: Gardening, Herbs, Reference, Nonfiction, Food, Cooking, Cookbooks

160 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1996

About the author

Miranda Smith teaches organic and sustainable methods of growing herbs, vegetables, and fruits at the New England Small Farm Institute. She lives in Belchertown, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous book if you are looking for more information on herb gardening and what to do with them one you've grown them. It has general and specific plant information, all kinds of helpful tables, and recipes for cooking, preserving, making shampoos and stuff, making insect repellants, doing arts and crafts, etc. I bought a rose scented geranium plant this spring to make rose scented geranium jelly with!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a perfectly adequate guide to growing and using herbs. Unfortunately, it doesn't break any new ground or go into depth about the history of herbs either.

[Fi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book! I wish it focused more specifically on container herb gardening.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reference material then something you read cover to cover the book is setup to give you information on different ways to use herbs in the beginning and then moves into growing herbs. Useful information on drying herbs, using them in for tea, and the basics on storage. Great plant index and notes about growing each herb.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Features some great lists like "Light Preferences of Herbs" (where, for example, you can see which herbs prefer shade) and "Herbs for a Windowsill."

Gives detailed information on some of my favorites like Angelica, Bee balm, Borage, Chervil, Comfrey, Feverfew, Lemon balm, Lovage, Sweet cicely, Tansy, Valerian, and many others.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely illustrated informational book about the many different kinds of herbs you can plant for medicinal and culinary purposes. It also contains suggestions for a fragrant herb garden, a kitchen herb garden and a medicinal herb garden. I liked this book so much I bought it.

[Woodall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful - I'm ready to get gardening!

[Laura Gilfillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the basics about growing herbs, and some good ideas of what to do with them.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great color illustrations, though a lot of the herbs mentioned are not suitable for human consumption.

[Bill Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, not only for information about the use and benefits of different herbs, but also on planting propagation and spreading of herbs that you choose to grow on your own.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full or two page entries per herb - photos, planting info, picking info. Basically everything you'd want to know, even garden layouts & recipes.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice resource.

[Krystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

So helpful and absolutely love all of the recipes for food dishes, health and beauty, etc.