Amazon.com (ISBN 0789441500, Paperback)

Full of solid, practical advice and plenty of how-to pictures, Herb Gardens is an ideal title for those looking to have gardens as useful as they are beautiful. From a simple kitchen window box to a traditional, boxwood-trimmed garden, you'll explore all kinds of options for dealing with different styles and climates, and find direction for growing healthy plants and creating your own unique haven.

Designed to be a complete do-it-yourself guide, don't let the small format of this book fool you--it's absolutely jam-packed with ideas for all styles of gardens, and as always, publisher Dorling Kindersley manages to take fairly complicated projects and reduce them to a manageable size that even the home improvement novice can handle. Practical considerations are dealt with firmly--no skipping such detail work like proper bed preparation or planning for seasonal climate changes. The aim of this book is to get you professional-quality results, and if you follow directions carefully, you'll get the job done beautifully. The plant listings supply plenty of ideas for all climates and special needs, and new gardeners will find all kinds of useful tips.

Inspirational ideas are plentiful--the garden photographs are lush and detailed, and provide all kinds of unusual notions for creating a truly unique gardening space. Whether you're looking for a small window box full of medicinal choices for homemade herbal teas or planning a full-scale formal extravaganza, you'll find options for all your projects that will combine your specially chosen plants with striking edgings of surprising textures and materials. --Jill Lightner