Niki Jabbour

This is a great book for any vegetable gardeners who want to expand their horizons into more global options. It's full of beautiful (and mouthwatering) photos. Niki organizes it in a "like that? Try this!" format, and it's well worth even reading sections where you might not actually "like that", because some of the "try this" options sound amazing. There are instructions for growing, suggestions for eating (who knew you could pop amaranth seed like popcorn?), and specific variety recommendations. She tells you what works well in pots, shade, and other tricky conditions. There's no bad advice here. Both beginner and experienced gardeners will find it helpful. I've been gardening a long time and have even tried quite a few of the varieties she recommends, but now my list of things to try is so much longer!… (més)

Anyone who reads my reviews regularly knows that I love to read (and review) gardening books - most especially vegetable gardening. Growing up, we had a few tomato plants, grew potatoes a time or two, and rarely another vegetable plant, though our yard was always surrounded by trees and flowers. Two years ago my parents, hubby & I planted a small vegetable garden, and at the end of our second season, we doubled the size of our plot. I've never been much for cooking, but having my own garden has made me so much more aware of the food we eat and where it comes from, and I've slowly become a better cook as a result.

This book is put together by 73 different contributors, so there's great variety of plans, from small herb gardens to huge spreads with every vegetable imaginable. The books is exactly what the title says, a book of garden plans, so there aren't a lot of pretty photos of growing gardens, but illustrations of where to plant what vegetable to maximum your space. There is an introduction to each plan that explains what's going on in the plan, the how-to's and the why's, so you can learn from the plans & make it your own.

… (més)

This book is filled with working garden plans for people who want to grow food gardens in any environment. Organized by the type and amount of space that you have to garden in, anyone can find a garden plans that meets their needs. Each garden plan is also created by a different contributors, so you are getting 73 different points of view.

Each garden plan is formatted simply with a list of plants and an easy to understand garden map that includes dimensions and a little information about each plant. I enjoyed the Urban Culinary Herb Garden which can be grown in small spaces and used by anyone. the American Potager garden which encourages you to grow food to eat year round, Eat Your Yard which helps turn lawns into food, Chili Lovers Garden shows good varieties for heat lovers, Front-Yard Foraging encourages native landscaping with food, Wildlife-Friendly Garden encouraging beneficial plants to animals as well as humans, Edible Cutting Garden a stylish and yummy garden for a front lawn and Fall and Winter Vegetables encouraging growing all year long.

Great for anyone looking for a place to start with garden planning.

This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.… (més)