The Elegant and Edible Garden

Welcome to the Elegant and Edible Garden! If you know of Linda Vater, the beauty of this book will not surprise you. Linda is an Oklahoman youtuber who is self taught and well known for her design aesthetic, media work and gardening is life philosophy. Linda is also known as the host of The Potager Blog (@potagerblog), --potager are based in a the idea of a French "kitchen garden" a style of gardening that incorporates herbs, fruits, and vegetables with flowers and ornamentals. The idea is that these gardens are functional and beautiful!

The book is organized by Apriation (why) , Inspiration, (how) and Motivation (he when, or now). Best practices and advice are contained in every chapter to assist you from designing your dream garden to upkeep and maintenance. It is so lovely - it is elegant just like the title. You won't need much motivation once you see the photos! If you are a gardener, gardener want to be, farm to table lover, or just a vegetarian plant lover like me, #TheElengantandEdibleGarden is for you! #NetGalley
#Quarto

This book is worth buying for the photos alone. Her garden is GORGEOUS. Vater mentions that she has acute imposter syndrome, and she need not! She may not have a official master gardener title, but she is the master of her own garden. This woman knows what she is doing.

In addition to the drool-worthy photos, this book also has a lot of practical tips and advice. Some of it you have heard before, and some of it is much more detailed and in-depth in other books that cover that particular subject, but this book, as a whole, is an excellent starting point and overview for any gardener. I especially appreciated her advice of garden stewardship and being able to let go of things in the garden if they just aren't working or you have reached a stage in your life where you just can't make it work. Maybe I was particularly emotional today, but the Emotional Chlorophyll and Comfort stories and the section on Community and Seasonal Celebration actually brought tears to my eyes. I appreciated this personal touch.

I got so much inspiration and heart warmth from this book. Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Cool Springs Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Elegant and Edible Garden by Linda Vater is an amazing and beautiful guide to keeping the perfect garden. The book contains gorgeous full-color photos of gardens, and the author gives us tips and tricks for growing our own gardens and keeping them like the ones in the photos. According to the description, readers will "discover how to partner ornamental plants with edible ones for a garden that offers both storybook appeal and a plethora of culinary delights."

Overall, The Elegant and Edible Garden is a gorgeous book that would make an excellent coffee-table book as well as a guide to gardening. One highlight of this book are the amazing photos. I was blown away by how beautiful some of the gardens looked. Another highlight are the wonderful tips that the author gives us from her experience growing beautiful gardens. It felt very relaxing to read the author's words. If you're intrigued by the description, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in April!

I was so impressed by this book - a kitchen garden has long appealed to me (I plot out my dream kitchen garden for stress relief and fun) and this highly inspirational author shows and explains the how-to’s.

Gorgeous photos and recommended for any hopeful kitchen garden creator and caregiver.

Fantastic book that made me think of long ago-Victorian kitchen gardens and also inspired me to start out plotting my own kitchen garden now that we’ve settled down in one place for the long haul.

The Elegant and Edible Garden is resplendent with splendid photography and information about gardening in general but particularly author Linda Vater's garden, that of Barnsley House and those of friends. Not only does her garden look gorgeous in front of and behind her "fairy tale" house but it is also a practical potager garden from which she harvests fruits, herbs and vegetables. As a master gardener who gardens part time in pitiful Zone 2a and part time in the beautiful Mediterranean I am in awe of Vater's ambition, knowledge and skills without any formal gardening or horticultural training. My sister is like that. Her gardens are the prettiest for many, many km around and her knowledge and experience would rival that of the most experienced with horticultural degrees. This book is about starting from scratch, making and revising plans and making and learning from mistakes. Gardening is therapy and teaches one about life in so many ways.

Potager gardens are amongst my favourites and I have had the fortune of seeing hundreds all over Europe. Though I am unable to grow many of the plants in this book including box, rosemary and blackberries in our 90 frost-free days a year in Canada, it is shocking what we CAN. This book inspires and fires my curiosity anew. The author's sweet pumpkins story is so relatable! I love that her garden is structurally stunning, full of whimsy, lush, uses the rule of 3, full of her mindful signature touches, incorporates secrets and surprises, uses texture and pattern and follows a rhythm. The importance of colour and repetition is outlined. Also explained is square foot gardening and gardening in tiny spaces such as balconies with tower planters and containers. Not only that but she talks about gardener responsibility and stewardship, attracting pollinators, pest management, climate restrictions, what to grow, drainage and harvest.

New and experienced gardeners will find reasons to love this book, regardless of the climate or skill level. The author reminds us that gardening is about discoveries, wonders of nature, trial and error. It does not provide instant gratification but is a learning process, incredibly fulfilling! Every day you see something new. Have I mentioned the enchanting photography?

My sincere thank you to Quarto Publishing Group - Cool Springs Press and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this sublime book.