The Complete Book of Herbs: A Practical Guide to Growing and Using Herbs

by Lesley Bremness

With more than 340,000 copies sold in hardcover, this essential, full-color resource is now available in paperback. Revealing the enormous potential of herbs, this sourcebook includes information on planting, growing, and harvesting herbs, as well as the main uses of herbs. It also offers an exhaustive identification guide, recipes, ideas for gifts, and much more.

Genres: Gardening, Reference, Nonfiction, Herbs, Plants, Health, Cookbooks

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Aino Lahteva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Whenever I get an urge to plant something new in the garden I always flip through this to see if I can find something that is both beautiful and useful. The pictures are wonderful, and there is so much useful information when starting out. I'm also delighted with the small bits of mythology and different beliefs about the plants and naturally the actual useful info on which parts of the plant are usable and for what. The recipes for both food and handicrafts in the back are sort of a bonus feature but a nice one.

[Natalie]

Jane thornler's rec

[Ruric Amhari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent reference book split into three main sections:

1. Herbs in the garden - some word sof advice on planning a herb garden and a few plans and planting plans given (illustrated with full colour sketches).

2. A-Z of herbs - plenty of info on history, cultivation and uses - each entry beautifully illustrated with excellent photos of flowers, leaves, seed, roots and fruit wher appropriate.

3. Using herbs: split down into sections on herbal decorations, culinary herbs, household herbs, hearbs for beauty, essential oils, herbs for health and more info on cultivating and harvesting.

[J. Wootton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much the first and last reference book on growing and using herbs most of us will ever need. Gorgeous and informative.

[Kian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. There is such a lot of data to include: energetics, properties, restorative purposes, food prep, and my number one - - natural associations. The environment is likely quite possibly the main thing we can learn, as I would see it since it shows us how everything finds a place with each other.
I am always looking for a place where I can find information related to herbs like https://maritimemedicinals.ca/. This book is a helpful resource for someone who is just beginning to learn about herbs. This book will prove useful to those who have been working with herbs for years.

[Keekee Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A digestible and comprehensive read! I was excited to see entries for wildflowers that I currently have growing in my yard. I've been putting off learning how to properly dry flowers, but now I can get started!

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my FAVORITE herb book. It is so thorough, easy to understand and beautiful. I love the way Lesley Bremness writes. I will never get rid of this book.

[Jhoanna Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

[Inshi · Rating 3 out of 5]

zero

[William Sowka · Rating 4 out of 5]

A complete and comprehensive guide to growing and using herbs. Easy to use, probably a bit over complicated for my taste, but a good resource nonetheless.

[Tami J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and useful book if you like herbs for any reason... growing, cooking, folklore, medicinally, magic...

[Alyson Maier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first herb book, that I bought at a school fair when I was about 10 years old. Absolutely loved it then and still love it now. Practical, useful tips and uses for a wide array of herbs.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful and is a wonderful resource.

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful and practical guide, but not quite as encyclopedic as I would have liked.

[Iona Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an exceptionally beautiful book with lovely illustrations of all the various herbs. Chapter titles are: A modern herbal, Cooking with herbs and spices, Household herbs and spices, Cosmetic herbs and, finally, Herbs for health.

But the book was not quite what I had envisaged, in fact not at all, the main interest I have in herbs being for health purposes. And in the section on herbs for health the author states that since partaking of herbal medicine can be dangerous, "the recipes that follow are all of a simple and domestic nature, being mild remedies for sore throats,'flu, bowel troubles, indigestion and so on". These are not areas that I need help with, my ailments being of a more serious nature.

I was thus somewhat disappointed with this book and can only give it 2 stars, this judgement being completely subjective of course. On the positive side, I can state that the book contains a good recipe for an antiseptic garlic dressing, suggestions for soothing the sites of insect bites together with instructions for dealing with warts, corns and chilblains. In fact the whole section on herbs for health is quite useful and instructive, just not so interesting to me personally.

This may be a valuable book for those primarily interested in the horticultural aspect of herbs and spices and how to identify these plants. The section on cooking with herbs and spices may also be interesting to many.

[Anjie Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was more an arts and crafts book than a herbology book. It had some interesting points like how to make herbal potpourri and facial care products, but it also had a huge section on how to make wreaths, swags, and floral arrangements with herbs. I'm not crafty in that way, so it wasn't really the book for me. Although, some one who's very good at arts and crafts would probably do very well with this book.

[Vanessa King · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!
Bought this book used on Amazon.ca for 23cents. It arrived today and I am blown away! It is so extensive and detailed, including: several wild edibles, medicinal uses for all herbs, how to grow, recipes, making dyes, beauty products, decorations (including children's toys!), storing/preserving and detailed photographs of entire plant (root to tip)!!
An amazing encyclopedia of knowledge, I'd recommend to anyone interested in medicinal plant cultivation and wild edibles.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for the novice herb-grower, with lots of information on growing, using, and otherwise loving herbs. Complete and comprehensive? No, of course not. But the author does offer other sources if you are looking for further information. The book itself is beautifully formatted, and is perfect for anyone interested in exploring the realms of herb gardening.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It's very comprehensive and covers the uses of many plants and herbs for household, medicinal, cosmetic, and culinary use. It is illustrated very well and gives great picture examples of mature specimens as well as how to grow them. It has more than 80 recipes in the back for all sorts of good stuff. This is a great resource for a beginner.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grow some of my own herbs - after I priced them as "fresh" at Walmart, I decided it would be worth the effort to try to grow them myself - after all, we already grew most of what we eat already. The book is lovely - pictures, descriptions, handling of the harvest, etc. Great reference book!

[Kathie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is full of great information, however, it's nothing that I haven't read elsewhere over the years. It would be a great resource for someone new to growing their own herbs - culinary/medicinal.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the layout of this book. Each page/plant/picture is of a great quality and the book is filled with valuable information. Pictures of plants show from top of plant down to the root and the details provided are easy to read as you go.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I use this one alot....great for various herbs...how to grow...what they do....even has recipes....love the broild tomatoes with herbs and cheese!!

[Nicolas Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

well organized and illustrated with pictures for identification. a great desk reference.

[Ashley]

good book for figuring out what to do with herbs. Not great for the TX grower specifically, but still very informative and lots of great ideas.

[Ht · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for beginners. Good information on basic herbs.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huge variety of information - from planting to recipes to crafts to natural remedies. Well organized with nice pictures. I didn't find much that is applicable to me now, but it's a good overview.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I use this as a reference often!

[Tara & Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An indespensable resource!

[Vannoy Fite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a colorful, pretty and well informed book about all aspects of herbs.