An Introduction & Recommended Gardening Reading
I was raised to garden. My Mother was a gardener, my Grandmother, my Great Grandmother before her. I have fond memories of sitting on the porch swing at my Great Grandmother’s smelling the scent of Muscadine grapes wafting from her backyard vines. I am proud to carry on the tradition to my own daughter who at three has her own little bed filled with oregano, thyme and parsley that she picked out and planted herself.
I have a particular affection for herbs and edibles and love to use them in homemade face masks and cooking. I hope to share these things with you, here on Love Sown.
Below are some of my favorite books and reference guides that I heartily recommend you add to your own library:
Books from left to right:
1. The Backyard Homesteader 2. Gardening in the Carolinas 3. The Herbal Kitchen 4. Gaia’s Garden 5. Four Season Harvest 6. Alice Waters and Chez Pannise 7. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle 8. Natural Beauty from the Garden 9. Farm City 10. In Defense of Food 11. Worms Eat My Garbage
Have you read any of the above too? What are your favorites?
6 Comments
paige.puckett
Thanks for the post, Michelle. I'm looking forward to your herb recipes :). Also, I will have to check out Farm City. That all-in lifestyle just gets my imagination going. However, I'd probably end up a vegetarian.
Andrea
Oh what a fantastic list! I've been meaning to read Michael Pollan for some time now, but I don't have the courage yet 🙂 I also started Animal, Vegetable Miracle but had to return it to the library before I finished. Time to get back in the game!
The Conservationist
Love Michael Pollan. Have looked through The Backyard Homestead meticulously at a bookstore, and have read another Pollan book, but don't own any of these yet. Will bookmark this post for later (when we have a house and a garden again). Michelle and Paige, is there any way you can note from here on out just below the title of the post the name of which author has written the article below it? Thanks!
paige.puckett
Done. It was at the footer, but I suppose that's confusing if you read and are thinking, "Wait, she doesn't have a daughter!"
Krista
I LOVED Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It made me finally get up the courage to join our CSA (which I love) and add "owning chickens" to my to do before I die list (though we have an ordinance against it here)!
Michelle
Admittedly, Michael Pollan books are rather heavy reading. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a novel so falls on the other end of the spectrum. It would be a good book to start with. I recommend Gardening in the Carolinas for anyone in this area who would like a month by month timetable for when to grow things.