Herbs: How to Grow Them and How to Use Them

"With the revival of interest in the old herb gardens of our forefathers we need some compilation of scattered bits of information about the culture of herbs and their uses in cookery and medicine, as well as of the folklore, superstitions and legends connected with them, for every country today has forgotten much of the herb lore which had accumulated with its growth and that of its people."

Originally published in 1939, this book from "The Gardener's Library" describes in great detail how to grow herbs and how to use them.

Contents Covered:

• Foreword
  • Use of Terms: Herb, Wort, Simple, and Yarb
  • Classes of Herbs: Medicinal or "Physic Herbs" -- Pot and Salad Herbs -- Culinary Herbs -- Aromatic Herbs
• Early Periods and Designs of the Herb Garden
  • Roman, Virgil and Bee Gardens
  • Mediaeval Gardens
  • Cloister Gardens and Mint Pool
  • Garden of Pot Herbs
  • Renaissance Gardens
  • Tudor Gardens
  • Knot Gardens
  • Shakespeare Gardens
  • Stuart Gardens
• Colonial Gardens
  • "Yarb Patch" of Seventeenth Century
  • Formal Herb Garden of Eighteenth-Century Manor House
  • Old Roses for the Herb Garden
  • Scented Geraniums
  • Herbs and Shrubs Mentioned in Colonial Gardens Before 1700
  • Colonial Garden Herbs After 1700
• A Garden of Native Herbs
  • Suggestions for Native Plants of Herb Interest
• A Few Important Herb Families and Their Genera
• Doctrine of Signatures
• General Horticultural Directions for Herb Gardens
  • Annual or Short-Lived Herbs
  • Perennial Herbs Best Propagated by Root Division, Layering and Cuttings
  • Herbs More or Less Evergreen
  • Herbs as a Substitute for Ground Cover
  • Herbs for Crevices
  • Herbs for Edging
  • Herbs for Window Gardens and Porch Boxes
  • Tender Herbs for Summer Gardens
• Drying and Curing Herbs
• Uses of an Herb Garden
  • Seventeenth-Century Posies, or Tussle Mussies
    • Symbolism
    • Superstitions
  • Potpourri and Perfumes
  • Miscellaneous Uses of the Herb Garden
    • Incense
    • Lotions
    • An Old Cough Remedy
    • Aromatic Vinegar
    • Snuffs
• Cooking with Herbs
  • Teas and Cooling Drinks
  • Vinegars
  • Cocktails
  • Salads
  • Soups and Meat Dishes
  • "Kitchen Bouquets"
  • Miscellaneous Recipes
  • Garnishing
  • Menus
• Check List of Herbs for Modern Gardens
• Bibliography