Books & Essays

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  Title:
  Gardening with Heirloom Seeds: Tried-and-True Flowers, Fruits, and Vegetables for a New Generation
  
  Date Published:
  University of North Carolina Press 2006

  Description:
  Coulter sets out to provide readers with "a sampler for heirloom seeds" to learn about and grow. Each of her four chapters focuses on a single season, with an informative essay on its tasks and pleasures and descriptions of heirloom garden plants, including an overview, recommended varieties and helpful growing tips. While the listings are far from exhaustive, they include a wide enough range of edible and ornamental plants to populate a large and varied garden. They also provide well-researched, lively descriptions, including fascinating facts about common plants and their uses throughout history. For example, readers will be delighted to learn that the green paint used to illustrate medieval manuscripts was made from spinach, and that carbon dating has placed the pea as far back as 9750 B.C. This makes Coulter's book an ideal armchair companion to seed catalogues?an extremely popular genre in their own right. Her stylish, interesting text, an exhaustive listing of sources for heirloom seeds and numerous color and b&w illustrations make this a welcome addition to every gardener's bookshelf.
  
  Book Review #1:
  "Gardening with Heirloom Seeds takes our precious heirlooms off the shelf and puts them in the garden where they can delight a new generation with their exceptional flavors, curious personalities, and great good looks. For an active form of seed saving that enriches the soil of our own lives as well as our gardens, this is an excellent guide and introduction to our vegetable and flower heritage."--Deborah Madison, author of Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets
  
  Book Review #2:
  ?Gardening with Heirloom Seeds is one of those books that warms the heart and connects us with not only nature but our personal histories.??Dr. Robert E. Rhoades, University of Georgia; Co-founder, Southern Seed Legacy Project
  
  Book Review #3:
  "Gardening with Heirloom Seeds is one of the most captivating, inspiring, whimsical, and profound books on gardening I have ever encountered. Lynn Coulter's vast knowledge and research reveal fascinating stories such as the 'howling mob' corn: a description of a scene created when the developer arrived with this delicious variety. Additionally, there are countless tips on enjoying and making the most of your garden. I cannot wait to read and reread this superbly written text as I smell the blossoms."--Frank Stitt III, Chef/Owner of Highlands Bar and Grill, Bottega, and Chez Fonfon
  
  

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