5 comments about The Summer Book.

1. This is my all-time favorite book by Susan Branch! The recipes, the ideas, the personal stories all bring it home. When the dog-days of summer hit I reach for my copy and escape ~ she has so many ideas that don't take a lot of pre-prep. Her recipes are great (try the potato salad or the pacific coast peelers). A great addition to anyones cooking library and a must for those soon-to-be-brides! I have even given this book as a hostess thank you. You won't be disappointed!



2. This is a unique book, full of beautiful illustrations, easy to use recipes, quotes and ideas for making Summer a special season.



3. Susan Branch is a talented woman. Her cookbooks are beautifully illustrated with her drawings throughout. Her stories convey a warm sense of family and fun and will make you daydream about summer even in August.
   
   Her recipes are simple and fairly easy to make and she leans heavily towards family friendly comfort foods with a little bit of pizazz. In fact, it is her ideas for presentation that make some of the recipes so special (the Bowl of Vegetables comes to mind...a simple twist on crudite that is elegant and delicious).
   
   Those with picky children may find this book to be a surprising source of ideas (Lemon Linguini, Corn Salad, Lemon Chicken, Sweet Potato Fries, Kiwi Cups and Tortilla Roll-ups to name a few).
   
   Her recipe for Crab Cakes is very good as is the one for Fish Tacos. Her recipes for vegetables are among her best; very simple and often quick ways to make vegetables special without drowning them in anything.
   
   The Profiteroles recipe is my husbands favorite; the shells are simple to make and freeze very well. I love to make the Crostini for parties, the recipe is very flexible and all of the variations are a treat.
   
   I love that she is not afraid to mix ideas and food and drawings and inspirational sayings all together in one book. You might not think that a quote from Gandi and a recipe for Jell-o shots could co-exist, but they do, and it works.



4. Great book I enjoy reading cookbooks and this is a cozy heart warming along with recipes. Once I got this one had to order more. The recipes are easy and good. I enjoyed the whole book. Its very cute with all the little drawings and stories. I'm hooked on her books.



5. This book is delightful. If you enjoy gardening,herbs,cooking and summer fun,this book will bring you pleasure. Simple,light and tasty recipes.It is a great book to pick off the shelf in Feburary and escape the winter blues.

No comments about The Black & Decker Complete Guide: Build Your Kids a Treehouse (Black & Decker Complete Guide).

3 comments about Deck Designs: Plus Pergolas, Railings, Planters, Benches.

1. Deck Designs packs in a wealth of deck design ideas and patterns, featuring designer's unique approaches and their tips on how the deck feature was achieved. Color photos of patterns and decks supplement information on design considerations and details on construction techniques for the homeowner who wants to create his own custom deck.



2. I almost made the mistake of letting the contractors design my deck. They came up with a big boring rectangle. Thank goodness I bought this book first! It is packed with many wonderful ideas, including photos and tips to making a deck interesting and functional. It covers layout, railing design, and yard and use considerations. It is a very small investment for a big project, I suggest that anyone building a deck take a look at this book before proceeding.



3. If it hadn't been for this little gem of a book, I'd have ended up with exactly what I thought a deck was: a 10x30' rectangle on stilts outside my back door.

   Thanks to the inspiring designs outlined here, I was able to upgrade my $4K do-it-yourself deck with some snazzy details and useful layouts with little additional work and expense. Please do yourself the favor of flipping thru the pages of a book like this - if for nothing else than to see how it can be done by the best designers and builders.

   No, just like me you will never be able to afford the hand-sanded grade A redwood beauties that are featured on a couple of these spreads - materials alone would run into six figures. But you will be able to steal the design of the railing, or perhaps the notion of a split level or a nifty little nook for a bench or some other detail from the top end decks. There's enough closeups and sketches of the design to run with a concept that you find appealing, and the narrative will help you think thru the elements of your design that might open up new possibilities.

   After reading it from cover to cover a couple of times I shared the book and my comments on post-its with the contractor I had hired to help me complete my project, and it inspired him to come up with some ideas of his own, as well as better understand where I wanted to go with the project.

5 comments about Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs.

1. This book has almost every herb you can think of with sugesstions on how to grow them and use them. It's awesome.



2. Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs is the best of the bunch. It gives a bounty of information on each of the many herbs listed: origin, uses, cultivation, lore, and much more. The illustrations, both drawings and color photos, are superb. The book does contain errors; it says, for example, that sassafras extracts are carcinogenic. But on the whole this book excels.



3. I love this book. Not only does it tell you all about the herb it tells you what food it go's well with. I bought this book for my daughter when she started to grow her own herbs.



4. A truly informative herbal book. The uses for herbs are endless. I enjoy the quick reference this book provides.



5. I have been in the herb plant business for 28 years, and find this to be the best general reference for herbs, especially for customers. I took it to farmers markets, where I was a vendor, and customers could look up recipes, cultural intructions, soil and growing tips, plus the wonderful color pictures. This book has always held a prominant spot in my herb books library. Sidebars--such as "chefs' tips","soil requirements",etc. One of the best publications from Rodale Press. (Multiple contributors.)

5 comments about Perennial Vegetables: From Artichokes to Zuiki Taro, A Gardener's Guide to Over 100 Delicious and Easy to Grow Edibles.

1. I very seldom buy new books, and even more seldom buy books as expensive as this. But I had a $25 Amazon gift certificate, so I went ahead and bought it, and I'm very glad I did.
   
   The first section of the book is useful information on growing perennial vegetables (and other perennials, for that matter), and on landscaping using these plants, many of which have great ornamental value.
   
   Part Two is a listing of each of the more than 100 (I didn't count) perennial vegtables, with information on each species. About half the listed plants have quite extensive growing information, and about half have shorter descriptions. A map is included for each species, showing where it will grow as a perennial and where it can be grown as an annual. Toensmeier has not included plant 'thugs' such as kudzu or Japanese knotweed, and warns the reader if any of the other plants may naturalize.
   
   The author's inclusions of certain species (as vegetables) may be slightly questionable: we are more apt to think of them as fruit or as herbs, for example, rhubarb and lovage. (However, my daughter cooks a lot of Persian food, and uses rhubarb as a vegetable in a meat and vegetable stew.) Also, this book will be of even more use to people who live in a warmer climate than I do (northern Pennsylvania in the mountains, with Zone 4 weather). I actually already grow four of the vegetables in the book: rhubarb, lovage, Good King Henry, and sorrel. I discovered some others that I'll definitely try - two of which I had never even heard of before. Those who live considerably further south than I will find a wealth of species to try.
   
   The book is well written, and carefully edited. It includes a list of recommended reading, a list of recommended web sites, a list of sources for seeds and plants, a list of sources for garden supplies and equipment, a bibliography, an index by both scientific and common names, and a really valuable list of perennial vegetables that will grow in each of the various climate types in the USA (including Hawaii).
   
   If you're at all interested in growing perennial vegetables - or in permaculture in general - I think you'll want to read this book and probably to own it. I think it's a very useful book and a pleasure to read. I recommend it most highly.



2. I have to give it 5 stars for being the first real comprehensive review of perennial vegetables, and the organization of this book is fabulous. Some of the information I found at odds with my own experience, such as that I have found hardy varieties of clumping bamboo available. Also, I question the sustainability of some of the quarantine methods for more invasive varieties he suggests (what happens if someone stops mowing?). Overall a fantastic book for gardeners who love perennials!



3. I have spent a lot of time with this book. It is very well done and the standard of excellence is very high. Like many, I think we face the real possibility of having to be largely self-reliant as many different global crises converge, water, oil, climate change, etc. The antidote to despair is getting busy and one of the very best core strategies is to plant perennial vegetables and do edible landscaping.
   
   As noted above, not only is this book very thorough and very complete, it will point the reader to seed, plant, and other resources to implement their ideas. I consider it a master work and far more valuable than its very reasonable price. Get it, it will be one cornerstone of your self reliance toolkit.



4. This is an interesting book with nice photos, but of limited use to me here in USDA zone 5. Most of these plants require much warmer weather than I have, and from those I have grown, I'd say that while some may be easy enough to grow there are reasons they're not in widescale commercial production.
   
   Take the sunchoke, or Jerusalem artichoke, for instance. It's currently growing like a weed in a corner of my garden from six tubers I planted last year. I thought I had dug up the majority of what had grown last year - apparently not from the volume of new growth that sprouted this year. A friend of mine told me he had had a patch that got completely out of control before he mowed it into submission and gave up on harvesting it. I found the tubers really didn't have much taste until after frost, which meant there was only a narrow window available for harvest in the late fall/early winter before the ground froze but not completely. They are small and knobby and a pain to peel, and don't store all that well once they've been dug up out of the ground. All in all, easy to grow but not easy to use and certainly as likely as not to become a pest in the garden. I've tried New Zealand Spinach, too, and I'd have to say it was not very tasty - very tough and bitter. I'm glad it didn't survive the winter.
   
   So, while it's a lovely coffee-table book and an interesting conversation piece, I'd say it's "buyer beware" on the actual "veggies" featured in the book itself.



5. This is a good book well worth owning. I personally think that the layout could have been done better. There is a section at the end with lists of plants by climate zone, that really needed to give page numbers for the plants. Also the grouping by family, well very scientific, can make it hard to find what you are looking for. If you don't happen to know what family it is in you have to look in the index. Be prepared to become very friendly with the index if you are looking for a certain plant. Also don't take the maps too much to heart, the delineation of zones on the maps are wrong (he puts Vancouver WA as a Cold Temperate Climate type... we are zone 8 and rarely get snow.) but that is probley more a printer error then anything else. Add in the fact that the author has a HEAVY bias toward the warmer climes (like my zone 8 garden). Although a good part of that slant could very well be that there is a lack of research on edible perennials for the colder areas.
   
   All that said I don't regret buying this book, it is a good book with lots of interesting information.

5 comments about A Dyer's Garden: From Plant to Pot Growing Dyes for Natural Fibers.

1. I particularly recommend this book as a visual source for historical re-enactors.

   Too often there are descriptions of what dye-plants were used to color garments, but, no examples of what those colors would look like. This book provides clear, vivid color photos on a whole range of dye-plants grown during pre-medieval, medieval, Colonial, and later times. Additionally, it shows the same dye used on different fibers, sometimes with different mordants (fixers). Fiber samples include linen, wool, silk, and cotton.

   I recommend this book to people interested in making clothing from "modern" material...it gives them the best opprotunity possible to try to find close color-matches. Alternately, it provides solid information to dye cloth by hand.

   Also, the low price can't be beat!




2. For those doing creative re-enactment (SCA, Renn faires), this is an essential reference for growing and using natural dye plants. The book includes plants to grow, plants NOT to grow (invasive species), and plants that pay off with dye materials in one season. The margins of the book are organized by color family, and there are lovely schematics on how to organize a dye-plant garden for production or for high-intensity cultivation with raised rows--or just a pretty border. There are some basics of plant dyeing, information on mordants (salts that change color or cause it to stick to fiber.) A small but potent book, probably a must for anyone doing authentic reproduction of antique fibers or for anyone who likes the idea of home-dyed fiber but with naturally-obtained materials. Great for home schooling. Highly recommended.



3. the recipient was very happy, & is busy putting in beds of plants to do home dyeing of medieval faire clothing.



4. This book focuses mainly on the home growing and use of dye plants. There is even a section devoted to the layout of the home dye garden. General mordanting and dye bath info is given at the beginning of the book. In the "Portfolio of Dye Plants" which follows, two pages are devoted to each dye plant. For each plant, 4-10 color photos illustrate the results obtained with various mordants on different fibers. The instructions for using different plants are not in traditional recipe form. Instead, Buchanan indicates how much plant material is generally required for a given amount of fiber ("flowers from 8 plants," etc). This fits in with Buchanan's emphasis on diversity of color over reproducibility, but it could be troublesome for users of purchased dyestuffs. In short, this book is nice to look at, easy to use, and appears to contain highly useful information for dyer/gardeners.



5. This was my first introduction to the world of dyeing with plants. The photography is terrific and gives you a good idea of what you'll get from each plant. Mordants are discussed, and the plants that are included are covered thoroughly for both cultivation and dye recipes. My only regret? That I can't find the seeds for the Japanese Indigo! I recommended this book to several people when we attended our local fiber festival.

3 comments about Diseases of Trees and Shrubs, Second Edition (Comstock Book).

1. This book compiles a GREAT deal of useful information about plant pathology. It covers, as any good work about plant disease should, fertilization, nutritional deficiencies, and environmental factors such as drought, freezing, lightning, air pollution, water contamination etc. before attempting to fix the problem, the work stresses the causal effects and ,similarly, the visual pitfalls that may provide evidence of an unseen insect symptom (galling, nematodes, etc.) The work was written mainly for the temperate zone, but using it in my home sub-tropics was an eye-opener! Reccomended reading for Horticulturalists in the upper echelon, or for Pathologists as a reference, and a reminder to look to the outlying areas for an answer, It's always there!



2. Here is another one for my short list of horticulture references.
   
   As someone who makes a living looking at these diseases, let me tell you: The photos are top notch! The pictures alone tell the bulk of the story and really make this book worth it. All the latest diseases are here including Sudden Oak Death. A text like this could easily be beyond the understanding of most gardeners, but the authors use an excellent mix of common and scientific names and a wealth of descriptive text to bring things back to earth. Be a little careful making a field diagnosis from just the photos. A quick look through the book, especially the last section on physical and environmental damage, will demonstrate that a lot of things look alike.
   
   An included CD contains a complete reference list in a 333 page Word document, but nothing else. This is very useful if you are looking for more information or a specific cross-reference.
   
   My ONLY complaint is that the plants and diseases are combined into one index rather then two like the similar book "Insects that feed on Trees and Shrubs".



3. Anybody in the plant diagnostics or pathology field must have this book on their shelf.

1 comments about Organic Farming: Everything You Need to Know (Everything You Need To Know).

1. Organic Farming: Everything You Need to Know is a primer to getting one's own organic farm up and running. From obtaining organic certification and acting in accordance with laws and rules, to caring for vegetables, crops, livestock, and poultry, to alternatives to pesticides and drugs, to marketing strategies for one's products and much more, Organic Farming offers plain-terms instructions illustrated with full-color photography. An easy-to-follow, hands-on primer, enthusiastically recommended for current and prospective organic farmers.

5 comments about Grow the Best Blueberries: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin A-89 (Country Wisdom Bulletins, Vol. a-89).

1. This is a most complete and easy to understand manual on how to grow blueberries. It is uncomplicated and the illustrations are easy to follow. Best I have found.



2. A friend of mine has a blueberry orchard and has read this book to help her take care of it. She said it helped a lot.



3. Ive read it but havent started growing yet. Good reading for the beginner. Decent.



4. The information was very basic and not complete. It's OK for the novice blueberry grower but if you have been growing blueberries this book won't be terribly useful.



5. This is an OK read for a garden novice, it is easy to read and has decent drawings for illustrations. It is also dated (26 years old) which is particularly noticeable in the sections about mulches, fertilizers and pesticides. There is not enough information for backyard growers with limited space, and if you prefer to practice integrated pest management or organic gardening, you will not find a lot of information or encouragement here.
   After more than a quarter of a century, this booklet ought to be revised.

No comments about Across This Land: A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada (Creating the North American Landscape).