Books I Like

Ann’s Top 10 Herb Books

Build your personal library with these herb books recommended by Ann.

When I first started writing about herbs, I was frustrated with the lack of resources available at my library and on the Internet.  That’s when I started building my own herbal library.

Now I have several hundred books on every herb-related topic imaginable. Here are the ones I would recommend to you for your home herbal library.

General Herb Gardening

  • Deni Bown, Herbal: The Essential Guide to Herbs For Living, Pavillion Books Ltd., London, 2001.
  • Steven Foster and Christopher Hobbs, Peterson Field Guides: Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs, Houghton Mifflin, New York, NY, 2002.
  • Kathleen Gips, Flora’s Dictionary: The Victorian Language of Herbs and Flowers, BookCrafters, Chelsea, MI, 1995.
  • Better Homes and Gardens, Herb Gardening, Meredith Corporation, Des Moines, IA, 2012.
  • Madeline Hill & Gwen Barclay with Jean Hardy, Southern Herb Growing, Shearer Publishing, Fredericksburg, TX, 1987.
  • Claire Kowalchik and William H. Hylton, editors, Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs, Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA, 1987.
  • Adelma Grenier Simmons, Herb Gardening in Five Seasons, E. P. Dutton, New York, NY, 1964.
  • Jack Staub, 75 Exceptional Herbs For Your Garden, Gibbs Smith, 2008.
  • Arthur O. Tucker and Thomas DeBaggio, The Encyclopedia of Herbs: A Comprehensive Reference to Herbs of Flavor and Fragrance, Timber Press, Portland, OR, 2009.
  • Jekka McVicar, Grow Herbs, Dorling Kindersley Limited, London, 2010.
  • Sol Meltzer, Herb Gardening in Texas, Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, TX 1997.
  • Carole Saville, Exotic Herbs: A Compendium of Exceptional Culinary Herbs, Henry Holt and Co., New York, NY, 1997.
  • Rosalind Creasy, Edible Landscaping, Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA, 2010.

Using and Enjoying Herbs

  • Phyllis Shaudys, The Pleasure of Herbs, Storey Communications, Pownal, VT, 1986.
  • Phyllis Shaudys, Herbal Treasures, Storey Communications, Pownal, VT, 1990.
  • Marie Nadine Antol, Healing Teas, Avery Publishing Group, Garden City Park, NY, 1996.
  • Marietta Marshall Marcin, The Herbal Tea Garden: Planning, Planting, Harvesting & Brewing, Storey Communications, Pownal, VT, 1993.
  • Gruenwald, Berndler, Jaenicke, et. al., PDR For Herbal Medicines, Medical Economics Company, Montvale, NJ, 1998.

Specific Herbs and Herb Families

  • Jim Becker and Faye Brawner, Scented Geraniums: Knowing, Growing, and Enjoying Scented Pelargoniums, Interweave Press, Loveland, CO, 1996.
  • Thomas DeBaggio and Susan Belsinger, Basil: The Herb Lover’s Guide, Interweave Press, Loveland, CO, 1996.
  • Virginia McNaughton, Lavender, The Grower’s Guide, Timber Press, Inc., Portland, OR,  2000.
  • Barbara Lawton, Mints: A Family of Herbs and Ornamentals, Timber Press, Portland, OR, 2002.
  • Barbara Lawton, Parsleys, Fennels, and Queen Anne’s Lace, Timber Press, Portland, OR, 2007.
  • Betsy Clebsch, The New Book of Salvias: Sages For Every Garden, Timber Press, Portland, OR, 2003.

Reproductions of Historical Herb Books

  • John Gerard, The Great Herbal, or General History of Plants, Dover Publications, New York, NY, 1975, originally published in 1633.
  • Mrs. M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal, Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1996, originally published in 1931.
  • John Josselyn, New-Englands Rarities Discovered, facsimile published by Applewood Books, originally published 1672.
  • Richard Mabey editor, The Gardener’s Labyrinth, by Thomas Hill, originally published in 1577, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, 1987.
  • Amelia Simmons, The First American Cookbook, originally published 1796, republished in facsimile by Dover Publications, 1958.
  • William Wood, New England’s Prospect, University of Massachusetts Press, 1977, originally published in 1634.
  • Helen Philbrick, and Richard Gregg, Companion Plants and How to Use Them, Devin-Adair Co., New York, NY, 1966.

The History of Herbs and Herb Gardening

  • Bertha Reppert, A Heritage of Herbs: History, Early Gardening, and Old Recipes, Remembrance Press, Mechanicsburg, PA, 1976.
  • William Gates, An Aztec Herbal: The Classic Codex of 1552, Dover Publications, Mineola, NY, 2000.
  • William Coles, The Art of Simpling: An Introduction to the Knowledge and Gathering of Plants, Provoker Press, St . Catharine’s, ON, 1968.
  • Timothy Silver, A New Face on the Countryside: Indians, Colonists, and Slaves in South Atlantic Forests, 1500-1800, Cambridge University Press, 1990.
  • Lisa Manniche, An Ancient Egyptian Herbal, University of Texas Press, Austin, TX, 1989.
  • Eleanour Sinclair Rohde, The Old English Herbals,  Dover Publications, Mineola, NY, 1971.
  • Judith Sumner, American Household Botany: A History of Useful Plants 1620-1900, Timber Press, Portland, OR, 2004.
  • Ann Leighton, Early American Gardens: “For Meate or Medicine”, University of Massachusets Press, 1970.
  • Amy Stewart, The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Created the World’s Great Drinks, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 2013.

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