Amazon.com Review
Handmade Gifts from a Country Garden is a classic example of what a crafts book should be. The text is charming without being cloying, the photography is exquisite, the crafts are lovely and unique, the directions are clear and simple, and the various appendixes and indexes are truly helpful. Moreover, Laura C. Martin has a pleasant and encouraging voice, like a cross between a sincere homeroom mother and Martha Stewart.
The 60 projects are arranged seasonally, and time, cost, materials, difficulty, and shelf life are given for each one. The projects run the gamut of complexity, from small pots of herbs (rated one pair of scissors--the easiest) to a lacy bridal-flower album (rated four pairs of scissors). It's not necessary to actually grow the ingredients--all can be purchased. Several pages at the beginning of the book detail what is needed to start out, and a section at the back gives relevant information for growing the various plants used. Handmade Gifts from a Country Garden would be a marvelous gift for anyone who has a bountiful garden or simply loves plants and crafts.
From Publishers Weekly
"To give of your garden is to give of yourself." Martin (Laura C. Martin's Southern Garden), an Atlanta gardener, culls her garden for ingredients and ideas to create holiday toys, trifles and crafts. Her book is appealing, neither too lavish nor too homespun, and offers a reasonable range to readers who would like to dip into their backyards for the raw materials of such home projects as pressed flowers and evergreen wreaths. (Also included are recipes for pickled peaches, pesto sauce and apple pie.) After a general overview, the author organizes the book and the gifts by season (and so, violet-jelly shortbread is found listed under spring, since that is when violets bloom). Her aesthetic varies from formal (rosebud napkin rings) to truly rustic (corn-shuck dolls). Certain items may seem overly prim. But directions are clear and careful. In closing, Martin tells us how to plan a garden that will readily yield the makings of crafts. A source list for materials is included, as well as a bibliography. Author tour; Better Homes & Gardens Book Club main selection; BOMC selection; Crafters Choice Book Club selection; Garden Book Club selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
