The Lavender Garden: Beautiful Varieties to Grow and Gather

If you consider yourself a lavender lover--that is to say, if you are mesmerized by the plant's delicious aroma, enchanted by its long, rich history, and passionate about its medicinal uses, The Lavender Garden is for you. This lovely book offers instructions on growing, maintaining, harvesting, and drying the plant. Author Robert Kourik includes a comprehensive profile of each variety including history, cultivation, bloom period, flower and foliage shapes, and landscape and culinary use--information that's most useful in determining which of the 16 varieties are right for one's garden. Each entry also contains suggestions on companion plantings that achieve the most aesthetic effect.

The sections on craft projects and culinary uses are outstanding. Kourik offers simple instructions on making oils, potpourri, perfume, and pillows, and the ins and outs of cooking with lavender. Twelve recipes and a list of display gardens and seed sources round out the back of the book. If you are looking to grow your knowledge about varieties of lavender, or would like to foster a friend's interest, The Lavender Garden is sure to delight. --Karen Karleski