Handful of Herbs

Herbs have been valued for thousands of years for their aromatic, health-giving and culinary qualities. Today they are also loved as attractive additions to a garden, as a sweet-smelling form of decoration in the home, and for their soothing and therapeutic effects. A Handful of Herbs celebrates herbs in all their beauty and variety, opening with profiles of the 20 most popular varieties, including basil, lavender, rosemary and thyme. Distinctive features of each herb are described, and the profiles explain how to grow healthy and productive plants, as well as summarizing their culinary and curative uses. Growing Herbs is then explored in detail, with essential advice about cultivation in beds, borders and containers. There are imaginative ideas for using herbs as ground cover, as hedges and in the vegetable garden. Living with Herbs presents creative ideas for making the most of herbs in every room in the home – as part of a table setting, as an invigorating potpourri in a hallway or as a focal point on a kitchen windowsill. There are recipes for simple beauty and therapeutic treatments using herbs. The book also offers 35 recipes for cooking with herbs, covering everything from snacks to sweet things, and includes infused oils, herb butters and refreshing herbal drinks. There is an A–Z of 75 common herbs, summarizing essential information about each plant’s character, cultivation and growing habits, and the book concludes with an indispensable directory of suppliers.