Homegrown Happiness

by Elien Lewis

Genres: Nonfiction

Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Annie McArthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and a great guide for gardening throughout the country - another one i'll constantly take out to the garden!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was recommended this by a friend and it did not disappoint. A fun informative book that suits gardeners and cooks alike. I will be repurchaseing for friends over Christmas!

[IE · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know where Elien gets her seeds from but most seed packets I see do not have 100 seeds as she claims! Definitely not tomato seeds, it’s more like 30 seeds per packet. Still love growing from seed though. This book is more like an overview rather than a full guide on gardening, some of the sections such as “pruning a new fruit tree” are way too short to be of much use, there’s a lot of topics covered in this book, but often not in a lot of detail. This is not an organic gardening book but it does have some info on permaculture. I’m pleased that the info is NZ centric. I am not sure who the target audience is though, maybe someone who has a few things in pots and wants to expand to a no-dig garden bed. The gardening photographs were not particularly inspiring, however in the recipes section the photographs are stunning and look delicious. I’m pleased there are a couple recipes in there that are refined sugar free, and there is a good mix of simple recipes and more complex ones. For those who are needing more in depth gardening info I recommend Kath Irvine’s The Edible Backyard.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book, it covers the garden and plantings including for different climates within NZ, foraging, compost and worms, insect management, and recipes.

[Katie Joy Lilburne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book with a lot of details, advice and inspiration for the garden. it gives recipes as well as dividing into seasonal advice too.