The Kitchen Gardener's Handbook [Paperback]

Jennifer R. Bartley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 24, 2010

No longer content with separating the plants they grow to eat and the plants they grow for beauty, gardeners are discovering the pleasures of incorporating both edibles and ornamentals into their home landscapes. The Kitchen Gardener's Handbook makes it easy by showing how a well-designed landscape can yield both bounty for the table and beauty for the soul.

Whether she's sharing tips on planting radishes in spring, harvesting tomatoes in summer, or pruning perennials in winter, Bartley's friendly advice gives gardeners the tools they need to build and maintain a kitchen garden. Readers will learn how to plant, grow, and harvest the best vegetables, fruits, greens, and herbs for every season. They'll also find seasonal recipes that celebrate the best of the harvest, monthly garden chores, eight sample garden designs, and information on using cut flowers for decoration. The Kitchen Gardener's Handbook is a guide for gardeners who want it all — the freshness of fruits and vegetables and the beauty and simplicity of hand-picked bouquets.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“It’s a book you can t help but tuck with scraps of paper and turned down page corners as you harvest a bumper crop of fine ideas.” (Chicago Tribune )

“It’s a book you can't help but tuck with scraps of paper and turned down page corners as you harvest a bumper crop of fine ideas.” (Chicago Tribune )

“At heart, this is a book pulsing with the belief that we are richer for our connection to the patch of earth outside our kitchen door -- whether it's the food we bring to our table or the beauty we tuck in a vase.” (Barbara Mahy )

“Will resonate with folks who have some space and are looking to improve it with a year-round beautiful and edible outdoor yard.” (ForeWord magazine )

“Bartley uses this book to guide the gardener to incorporate edibles into the ornamental landscape, a very worthwhile endeavor for those with limited gardening space. ... [A] good choice for gardeners to want both beauty and good food from the same garden.” (Danville Register and Bee )

“If you are looking at gardening more from the chef viewpoint… this book provides similar growing information and designs, but the real focus is the end products – the many recipes that use seasonal vegetables and fruits.” (Sustainable Horticulture )

“I have rarely seen a gardening book with such useful photos and illustrations, or one that does such a good job of making sure the images and text work together.” (Diggin' the Dirt blog )

“Lovely photographs [and] succinct to-do lists.” (American Gardener )

“One of the most complete kitchen gardener's aids we've ever seen. From design to cultivation advice to crop suggestions to recipes this book has it all.” (GourmetSeed.com )

If edible gardening is your passion, then this seasonally organized book, brimming with useful information, will come in handy. (Anne Schamberg Milwaukee Journal Sentinel )

A mouthwatering picture book… (Toronto Tasting Notes )

About the Author

Jennifer R. Bartley holds a master's degree in landscape architecture from Ohio State University, where she has served as an adjunct professor and critic in the design studios. Still living in Ohio, she is now in private practice as a landscape designer, artist, and photographer. She has traveled extensively throughout France to study traditional potagers (kitchen gardens), and has created her own versions of these gardens for American chefs and gardeners devoted to using fresh, seasonal, and local food. By emphasizing both functionality and design in her work, Bartley seeks to create beautiful and vibrant gardens that embrace a simpler life more connected to the landscape, the seasons, and the food we eat.

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press; 1 edition (November 24, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881929565
• ISBN-13: 978-0881929560
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.6 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,474 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennifer Bartley is a landscape architect and speaker. Her first book, published by Timber Press, is Designing the New Kitchen Garden: An American Potager Handbook. It is still the go-to book for creating a beautiful edible garden. Her latest book, The Kitchen Gardener's Handbook is packed with designs, decorations, herbs, fruit, flowers, vegetables and recipes for every season. Jennifer lives and gardens in Granville, Ohio.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Food and flowers January 15, 2011

By wogan TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

This is a gardener's book that shows plants in luscious pictures. Food is in beautiful plantings; lettuce among the boxwoods.
The book is divided into the 4 seasons and within each are; vegetables, sweets, greens, herbs, shrubs, flowers and the design for each season, then seasonal chores and menus. The same garden is shown in each season for design layout- basically an edible front yard.

I wish there were more pictures when examples are given, for example for those who do not know what a redbud looks like. This really is not a book for beginners. More direction is also needed--how do you plant cabbage heads? How do you harvest thyme? Do you use the leaves or do you need to dry and crumble them? This book sometimes raises more questions, than it definitely answers.
There are good recipes throughout, especially the pork tenderloin with apple and onion gravy.
The index is not really the easiest to use; if you look up herbs, it will tell you very little, you need to look up the individual names, they will not all be under the general label. Seed and fruit sources are given with their addresses, telephone numbers and web sites.

This would be a book for those who want to go deeper into gardening, especially those who wish to combine beauty and food and have an out of the ordinary garden.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mother of All (American) Kitchen Gardeners! February 16, 2011

By Book Guy

Format:Paperback

Jennifer Bartley deserves all the credit for translating the unique form of the potager from the French countryside to the American suburbs. This book is a magnificent love letter to the kitchen garden, which differs from the vegetable garden in its inclusion of beauty and ornament into the scheme--as well as the emphasis on handpicked freshness everyday for the kitchen. This book is as beautiful as it is complete. DON'T PLANT VEGETABLES IN ROWS! Buy this book to find out why.