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.
About Ann McCormick
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