The Kitchen Garden

by Richard Bird

Book Overview

Growing -- and eating -- one's own fruits and vegetables is one of the most satisfying experiences in gardening. Fortunately for today's small-space gardeners, fruit and vegetable plants have shed... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1556709609
• ISBN13: 9781556709609
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.0" x 11.9"

Customer Reviews

Exceedingly well conceived

I love this little gem! This succinct guide contains 20 first class photographed and illustrated projects. Often garden "project" books suffer an utter lack of grace and refinement to the extent of becoming downright gauche. The ideas herein are delightfully decorative and infinitely tasteful. As an artist and former art director, I respect the quality of illustration, handy layout design, and talented use of resources. Mr. Bird offered a practical construction idea for cages that provide protection from birds and squirrels. He has a project for fruit trees in pots. A pear "tunnel" - a pergola, or archway covered with pears as a romantic garden feature. He offers ideas on a charming bean arbor, decorative beds and borders, ways to use PVC pipe in large planters to disburse irrigation water more efficiently; and he offers plans for a very attractive double-groined trellis structure constructed with simple re-bar and installed as an apple arch. Richard Bird has an innovative "step-over apple hedge" suitable for smaller gardens that is jaw-droppingly elegant. It essentially is an espaliered apple tree with just one horizontal tier that like most of his projects; it is not difficult - but it does require patience, and rewards they that wait. For a pittance, this is a real jewel of a garden book. I am impressed.

Hard to find the other books in this 10 vol. set

I got this book as a "bargain" book at another big name book seller (bn) for about [cheap]. I'm glad I did. Unfortunately, I have yet to use any of the ideas in it, but I have to wait until I get a bigger yard! The book's set up is nice, spiral bound w/fold out pages, great illustrations. The author makes it look so effortless. The instructions that I have read are very thorough, right down to the supplies needed. Over all a nice set up.

Useful applications...

KITCHEN GARDEN by Richard Bird is one of the many books I've acquired about growing comestibles outside the back door. When purchasing a book, I look for well presented, novel, and useful ideas. KG was printed in China and contains less than perfect but colorful and informative photos, and plenty of useful information. The book includes sections on: 1) vegetable (potager, salad bed), fruit (strawberry bed), and herb plots (taste of Asia); 2) container-grown fruit and vegetables for rooftops and patios; 3) climbing fruit and vegetables (bean arbors and pear tunnels); and 4) decorative beds and borders (apple border, herb border). Each section includes a photo of a project, such as a potager, printed on a foldout page. Associated with each foldout page is a diagram of the project and other pertinent information including illustrations of various tasks required to execute the project, tool lists, plant lists, and other items. Although some of the presentations require more space than others, even folks living in townhouses with a space no larger than a deck or patio can benefit from the ideas offered in this book.One of my favorites sections is the `Patio container garden.' You might ask what could anyone say about container gardening that has not already been said, but the answer is plenty. For example, Bird shows you how to secure your recently planted container so that birds and animals don't disturb the contents. Having watched a squirrel roll around one of my containers yesterday (apparently playing, there was nothing in it but soil), I can attest to the random, senseless, and wanton destruction of run-amuck wildlife. Bird also shows in his patio container section how to irrigate a strawberry jar. In all the years I've reviewed books and plant catalogues, I have never seen his novel approach depicted.If you're looking for a cookbook approach to kitchen gardening, as opposed to an encyclopedia of possibilities where you supply the creative combinations, Bird's book of clearly described and carefully planned projects is a good place to begin. For intermediate gardeners.