I had been busy over the holiday season – grocery shopping, buying gifts, cleaning and painting the house, etc. I didn’t have much time to indulge in reading but still managed to finish an entertaining book (a gift from my friend last month), The Virgin Gardener
As the name implies, The Virgin Gardener is tailored for new gardeners or those who feel they never have green fingers. Never mind that you don’t understand what pruning, compost, mulch is. You will have a clear picture after reading this book.
The Virgin Gardener is adorned with full-color gorgeous photos and delightful ideas for developing your urban garden (yes, even a window ledge in a tiny apartment) and dressing up your kitchen table, bathroom, garage, or fireplace with flowers.
You can also learn how to care for cut flowers; nurture an orchid; grow jungle greens, and which herbs to harvest all year from your window boxes.
The book has eight main sections: Basics, Decorate, Eat, Drink, Grow, Luxuriate, Extras and Lust List.
Basics – Many gardening books assume readers have basic knowledge of gardening which is often not true. This section fills up the gaps with advice on essential items, buying plants and definitions.
Decorate – Laetitia Maklouf gives a thorough recommendation on planting ideas and flower displays which include fern walls and turning garage flowers into a perfect posy.
Eat – lots of tasty recipes here… with peppermint creams made with real garden mint, blueberries for muffins, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, and gooseberry lollipops.
Drink – to go with the delicious food. Includes rosewater, rose geranium punch, rosehip syrup and elderflower bubbly.
Lust List – Laetitia’s favored list of plants. You may have your own preferences but looking at the gorgeous plants in her list is a good way to get started!
There are many reasons why people shun gardening, either they don’t know how to get started, have a phobia after repeated failures, or just think their little flats have barely enough space for living, not to mention planting.
Whatever the reasons, this informative, beautifully presented and easy to read book will give you the confidence to set forth in gardening with a sense of fun to boot.
