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.

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.

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.

This is the best book I've read on the emotional aspects of miscarriage. It addresses a whole range of emotions felt after a miscarriage, including anger, grief, rage, depression and just plain old sadness. I think the thing it does best is makes someone who has been through this ordeal feel that they are normal. It gives good advice on what to do for yourself after a loss, and what not to do (such as don't go to baby showers for a while). I think it is probably the only place the average women will hear this advice. It also has an excellent section directed to fathers and partners, which tells them what the women may be feeling, even if she can't. It discusses other people's reactions to the loss. Our society is not very good at dealing with death (the book claims, and I agree), especially this type of death. Again, the author makes the reader understand that they are not alone in their reactions to obnoxious comments like "oh, you can try again" and "it just wasn't meant to be" or "it's all for the best". It's a straightforward, thorough book. I highly reccomend it to anyone who has been through a loss, and to any health care professionals who deal with people in this terribly sad situation.

This book is one of the best books I've found to deal with miscarriage. It helped me to deal with the grief of my second miscarriage, and process the grief from my first miscarriage-- that I never really dealt with. It gave me reassurance that I didn't do anything wrong to cause my miscarriages. It also gave me information on how to deal with doctors and other health professionals when it came to finding out the cause of my miscarriages. It shares experiences of people that have been through, including stories of hope for carrying a baby to term after a miscarriage. Excellent book. Would be my only choice, if I could choose only one book on miscarriage!

I got this book along with my very first orchid plant that I had bought in an annual orchid show recently. It could be both an exciting and yet intimidating experience to tend to your first orchid. However this is a perfect starter guide for beginners, with simple and easy to follow instructions in caring most of the common types of orchids. It provides readers with essential information from using the right potting mix, when to water and how to fetilize. The all color photography makes it even more fun to read. Highly recommended for first time orchid grower like myself.

What a great orchid book. I'm a beginner, but I'll use it forever. Absolutely wonderful photos and references. I saved an orchid using instructions in this book. I recommend it, especially at this great price.

I am notorious among my friends and family for killing plants in no time. Yet, I got this book as a gift along with an orchid (they thought if I was given directions for use, that one plant stood a better chance...:)
Not only did the plant make it beautifully, and re-bloom, but I now own and enjoy a few more orchid plants.
This book is a great basic for your orchid library. Granted, it doesn't cover all the topics you want to know about(plant diseases for example). However, it is very invaluable and even though I now own more orchid books, I find myself getting back to this one quite often for information.
It is not intimidating, very easy to follow and an excellent introduction to a great family of plants, too often inaccurately labeled as fragile and needy.
I warmly recommend it to anyone getting started with orchids.
This book paired with an orchid plant is one of the greatest gifts I ever received...

The outstanding feature of this book is the numerous beautiful photographs. Aside from this, though, the book is fairly routine in terms of information and instructions. Still, it is a fun way of passing an hour or two one afternoon during the depths of the winter.

Lovely ideas for unusual salad gardens like salad in a wheelbarrow or an Easter basket, lovingly photographed. A gem of a book.
Havi Hoffman

Wanting to force more variety of flowers indoor, I gave this book a try. This is a fun book to read, short and to the point with little bit of history into some of the flowers. Although it didn't have a lot of variety for forcing; it gave me ideas and courage to try plant some of these bulbs because of the easy-to-follow, clear direction for care and planting. I am thrilled and can't wait to see them bloom!

This is not the first book I ever picked up on gardening, but it was the first that sparked my interest in using heirloom species. The author does a good job of explaining the background story on heirlooms vs. hybrids, pros and cons, etc. The pictures were charming, showing each species in it's place in an old-fashioned homestyle garden as opposed to the more usual catalog-style photos and illustrations I'd come to expect from books of this type.

There were generally two-page spreads on each vegetable, flower, herb, etc. that had a poetic introduction and gave step-by-step instructions in general planting. The author seemed to have picked one example of each garden favorite and expanded in detail on it. For example, the only heirloom apple covered is the Pink Pearl, the only sunflower was Inca, the only pumpkin was Lumina. Beyond that there was no real discussion on a wider scope of different species within that category. That's okay, but I wish there was a little more information on what alternative heirlooms might do well in different zones of the USA. Also, the subjects of pests and disease are treated as though the reader is already expected have enough knowledge to do without it, except to encourage the use of organic methods wherever possible.

So, don't expect this to be a teaching manual for the newcomer to general gardening techniques. But, it is a nice sampling of heirlooms you may never have heard of otherwise. Thanks to this book, I have now tasted the best tomato I have ever had in my life (Brandywine).

I was disappointed with this book's lack of specifics. I was looking for insight into which flowers should be paired together in arrangements, with specific suggestions. This book simply did not provide enough for a beginner to know how to choose the right combinations. The pictures were not what I was looking for since I want to do an impressive arrangement for a dining room, and the book showed mainly smaller basic arrangements. It's focus was more on exploring your own creativity; I ended up returning it.

This book is very pretty. However, it does not provide enough illustrations of silk flowing arranging. I don't think many people buy it just to look at pretty pictures. Most want instruction, examples and ideas. The book is really lacking in all three.

I have many books on silk flower arranging and this is the most exquisite I've ever seen. Robba can manipulate the flowers to appear absolutely real. His arrangements are elegant, and the text is inspiring. If you already know the basics, this book will spark your creativity. It takes arranging silks to the ultimate artistic level. I enjoy it and recommend it.

I originally looked at this book because it had information on something that I was interested in -- propagation. However, I am now a little bit wiser.

The reason this book is disappointing to me is only 1/3 is related to general care of cacti. The other 2/3's of the book focuses on common species of cacti and how to take care of that particular species. I also find this to be inaccurate, because care of species also depends a lot on what type of environment you put them in. My recommendation is if you are looking for a book on how to care for cacti, look a little bit longer.

Luckily I found this book on sale because I probably would have been a lot more disappointed if I had paid more than [price]for it. The beginning section I found to be rather interesting, it's more of a general care section. The rest of the book however are tips for more specific species. If you have one of these species of cacti or succulents, it is a bit informative. If you're looking for a very general book, with some general tips, it's an okay book. If you're looking for something in depth, don't get this book because you'll be highly disappointed.