Little Herb Gardens: Simple Secrets for Glorious Gardens--Indoors and Out Paperback – June, 2004

This book has it all--eye-pleasing photography and concise, useful information. The heart of the book is an herb-by-herb description of how to grow the plants. It's organized in a unique way according to where you could keep them--windowsill or fire escape, inside porch, outdoor pots, pantry, etc. There are suggestions for special ornamental techniques (such as topiary) and recipes for culinary herbs. Finally, the book lists seed and plant sources in the U.S. All in all, a real pleasure to read.

LITTLE HERB GARDENS is a great book for the novice. The authors have assembled a lovely collection of photographs and interspersed them with succinct text that explains how to identify and select easy to grow herbs; when and where to buy them (spring, fall, summer, nurseries or catalogs, plants or seeds); how to pot them (containers, soil, etc.); and where to place them (balconies, patios, or in small gardens).
This little book will inspire you to create a green space in a kitchen window, an assemblage before a patio or balcony door, or a collection of pots on the balcony. Herbs grow best in full sunlight, so if your balcony faces south, you are in luck. If you live in a town house or have a small patch of ground you can think more expansively, but this book does not really deal with garden design, or the issues associated with herb gardening. Herbs are frequently garden thugs that run amuck in the open. I suggest you find a more in-depth book such as RODALE'S ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HERBS if you intend to go beyond pots and are thinking of growing mints, yarrows, violets, or some of the other "easy" to grow herbs suggested by this book. RODALE'S book also covers the poisonous aspects of herbs. (Some of them can kill you.)
The last section of LITTLE HERB GARDENS briefly covers kitchen uses of herbs including making herb-infused vinegars and herb-flavored sorbets. If you want to know more, once again you will have to turn to something more comprehensive such as THE COMPLETE BOOK OF HERBS by Lesley Bremness. Even if you can't grow herbs, you can buy them at the farmer's market and some food stores. LITTLE HERB GARDENS is not the only book available for learning how to grow herbs or use them, but it will get you started.

If you're the type of person that likes to do things without a lot of theory, this is a great book.

I'm a novice gardener and the introduction gardening instructions just didn't have enough information for me. I decided to purchase Gardening For Dummies and various other books to satisfy my need for detailed information before setting some serious time, money, and effort into a balcony garden for my apartment.

This book has great ideas and did a good job of introducing me to different herbs and plants to grow to be used in cooking. But if you want to get more "hardcore" with gardening I recommend getting other texts as well.

First let me admit I am biased, since this gem is written by someone I know and admire, here in Northern California. But it nonetheless a gem of a book with superb photographs as well as excellent advise on Do's and Don't of raising a variety of herbs. I also like the book because it shows that one can successfully raise year round fresh herbs, and do so on an acre or on a small patio. And the author also covers edible flowers another favorite of my families.

This was the second herb book that I've read. The photograpy is amazing and the insructions they give are clear.
The book is beautiful, but it shouldn't be the first one you read. It does not have very detailed instructions on growing, drying, etc.
That being said, it's not a waste of time or money, and I would reccomend this to anyone interested in herbs.

I give this a B-.

Little Herb Gardens was written by Georgeanne Brennan and Mimi Luebbermann in 1993 and reprinted in 2004. It is a beautiful book that is warm, inviting, and inspiring; as they say, a picture speaks a thousand words.

Little Herb Gardens is divided into 6 sections:
Potted Herbs to Grow on a Windowsill or Fire Escape
Potted Herbs to Grow on an Inside Porch
Outdoor Potted Herbs
Herbs to Grow in a Patch of Ground
Herbs for a sense of Vast Vistas
Fresh Herbs in the Kitchen Pantry

For the most part, each herb has a two page layout with, at least one beautiful photo, an introduction followed by a detailed How to do it. To the side is a WONDERFUL summary of What you Need, Growing Conditions, When to Buy, When to Plan and When to Harvest. For a relatively small book, this book offers thorough information. It is enjoyable to read and great to keep as a reference.