Idaho Librarian

Reviews

Gardening in Idaho can be a challenge as most of us are what this book defines as a “short-season gardener. n. Optimist who grows plants in an area with summers that are too short and winters that are too cold.” Canadians Ernest Small, an international authority on plants, and Grace Deutsch have written an herb book that cool-climate gardeners will find useable, interesting, and informative.

The first sections of the book feature a plant hardiness zone map, a gardening primer for herb growers, and tips on making the most of the short growing season. Some of the information is of the type I could find in any of my gardening books, but there are sections I’ll be book marking. For example, the authors explain how pockets of warm and cold air occur in sloping gardens and give advice on where to place tender herbs.

 The “Culinary Herb Compendium” comprises the bulk of the book, featuring more than 50 species and over 100 cultivars. Herbs are arranged alphabetically by common name; the botanical name, as well as any other known names, is also listed. The coldest zone that the plant can tolerate and still be expected to survive over winter outdoors is noted. For each herb there is a beautiful, fairly detailed, color drawing, often with an enlarged cross section of the flower, the seedpod, the root, etc. Descriptions are quite comprehensive; I especially appreciate the information on which herbs may be grown indoors as well as which do well in containers.

Also included with each herb’s listing are cultivation notes, harvesting notes, culinary uses, craft uses, medicinal uses, cautions, cultivars and relatives, and herbal trivia. The trivia includes such gems as “In Victorian homes, pots of scented geraniums were strategically positioned where ladies would be sure to brush the plants with their long skirts as they passed, thereby spreading the fragrant scents throughout the room.”

 Out of curiosity, I counted how many of the herbs I could successfully grow as perennials in my zone 4 garden. I was surprised to find 28, many of them hardy to zone 3. These included some lesser-known herbs such as agrimony and hops.

I would recommend this book to any public or academic library that counts “short-season gardeners” as clientele. It would also make a nice addition to your personal gardening library.