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Home Edible Landscaping Gardener’s Book Review: The Beautiful Edible Garden

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Gardener’s Book Review: The Beautiful Edible Garden

written by Jana

Gardner's Book Review: The Beautiful Edible Garden - The Hip Homestead

I don’t know about you but my garden can get out of control fast. Before I know it, it looks like an untended jungle of squash, nasturtium and strawberry madness. Well, it used to get that way… But not anymore! Thanks to my favorite edible landscaping book The Beautiful Edible Garden, my front yard gardens are not only cohesive looking but they are also brimming with gorgeous herbs, veggies, and flowers.

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I have a front yard veggie garden, not only because it was the only flat spot in our yard at the time but I’m also a bit of an exhibitionist, I like showing off that we grow our own food. But I find that sometimes veggie gardens can look scraggly and overgrown.

That’s where The Beautiful Edible Garden comes in, it’s full of really useful information on garden design, creating a focal point and how to create 4 season interest. Written by garden designers Leslie Bennett of Pine House Edible Gardens and Stefani Bittner of Homestead Design Collective this book is a must-have for any avid gardener.

So, if you want to create a garden that is as beautiful as it is productive then this book is for you.

What’s inside? A Quick Look a This Six-Part Book :

The Beautiful Edible Garden is broken into six easy to read chapters that each include their own sub-section, real-life examples, DIY projects and of course gorgeous photographs. I often find myself reaching for this book for inspiration as well as information, let’s have a quick look at each section.

Part 1 -Principles for Sucessful Edible Garden Design

The Beautiful Edible Garden focuses on first teaching the principles of garden design in such easy to understand sections that take the guess work out of garden design. Let’s have a quick look at these principles.

Garden Design Principle #1 – Balance

Principle 1 is balance and teaches that edible landscapes need balance, color, texture and repetition to maintain a cohesive look all summer long.

Garden Design Principle #2 – Arrangement

Principle 2 teaches about using arrangements such as symmetry, height, frequency of harvest and underplanting to get the most beauty and functionality out of your garden.

Garden Design Principle #3 – Year-Round beauty and Harvest

Principle 3 is about keeping the garden looking great all year long. Which includes incorporating foliage colors, perennial plants and using succession planting for year-round production and beauty.

Garden Design Principle #4 – Unified Style

This principle is all about choosing a garden design style or theme to create a unified look for your garden.

Part 2 -Creating Your Beautiful Edible Garden

Part 2 is about getting down to work it covers soil and compost, light requirements, shade gardening, and watering. Then the chapter breaks into the five steps for creating a beautiful edible garden. It really is a deep dive into the nuts and bolts of garden design and how to get started.

Part 3 -The Beautiful Edible Front Yard

Part 3 was defiantly my reason for buying this book, I was struggling to make my front yard veggie garden really shine and not look like a wild jungle of veggie madness.

In this section, the authors cover pathways, fencing and how to create a focal point that adds to the curb appeal of your home. All of which are definitely essential for front yard veggie gardens.

Part 4 -The Beautiful Edible Backyard

Part 4 is an ode to the entertainer! It is all about creating living spaces in your backyard without giving up growing space. In this chapter, you’ll learn about creating herb beds, salad gardens, home orchards, and even edible meadows?! There is even a bit about gardening with pets. It really is the section that pulls it all together.

Part 5 -The Beautiful Edible Containers etc

No space? No problem! Part 5 has you covered. This section is all about growing gorgeous food in small spaces. It covers container gardening, window boxes and side yards or small spaces.

Part 6 -Planting and Maintaining Your Beautiful Edible Garden

Part 6 is perfect winter reading. It covers soil health, watering, seed selection, garden tools, planting techniques, mulching, organic garden maintenance and more!

Other great features of this book include:

Not only is The Beautiful Edible Garden full of practical design information but it also has great DIY projects with each section. These DIY projects are simple and so beautiful, I am really looking forward to making the herbal Wreath from my homegrown herbs this year!

So is This Book Just for Garden Designers?

Absolutely not! This book is for any level of gardener. The information is clear and simple enough for anyone to understand and the photos and garden examples are gorgeous and totally inspiring.

So hopefully by now you can see why I love this book and I’m sure you will too.