THE Cooks Herb Garden

Most gardeners today don’t have the space for a dedicated herb garden, and even if they did, this may not be the best option as not all herbs thrive in the same conditions.

The Cook’s Herb Garden Revisited advocates taking a fresh approach to growing herbs by incorporating them in the most appropriate place in the garden—whether it be in the perennial border or by the back door or tap. Providing the best possible growing conditions for each herb means generous harvests and optimum quality for the kitchen.

This fully revised edition of a classic book by three of New Zealand’s best-known gardening cooks (who happen to be sisters) shows how to achieve a varied, year-round supply of herbs and use them in more than 140 delicious, healthy recipes. From the familiar parsley to perilla and Vietnamese mint, detailed instructions and useful tips—informed by many decades of combined experience—are given on the propagation, cultivation, harvesting and culinary uses of more than 20 herbs.

The Cook’s Herb Garden Revisited is more than a gardening guide and recipe book. Illustrated throughout with colour photographs by Mary Browne and watercolours by Nancy Tichborne, it is a delight to browse through. Fascinating information on the origins, naming and historical uses of each herb, researched by culinary historian and archaeologist Helen Leach, make it a uniquely rich and well-rounded book for cooks who garden, gardeners who cook, and anyone with an interest in plants and food.