This book SO makes me want to buy a tiny farm and have chickens help me garden! Alas, it will have to remain a dream . . . but this book made the dream possible!

Lisa Steele is known as an expert in all things chicken-related. She has written several books, appeared on tv shows and in magazines, and maintains a website where she teaches about the ins and outs of taking care of chickens. She is also a gardener and in Gardening with Chickens, she writes about all the ways that chickens can help your garden and your garden can help your chicks.

So, you may gather that I'm thinking about getting some chickens. I haven't actually taken the leap of calling my local government offices and finding out if we are zoned for such things, but I am dreaming dreams of warmer mornings when the kids and I can go out and collect some eggs from the backyard. If you find yourself in a similar position, Lisa Steele's book is a great place to start. She may be an expert, but she writes clearly for the reader who might be new to chickens (or gardening). If we do end up adding some chickens to our home, I know that they can keep my garden healthy by turning the soil and that our garden scraps can keep the chickens healthy by giving them a varied diet. And it doesn't hurt that this book has a beautiful layout, with plenty of pictures of Steele's farm.

Gardening with Chickens: Plans and Plants for You and Your Hens
By Lisa Steele
Voyageur Press November 2016
176 pages
Read via Netgalley

I have this thing for chickens, and chickens in the garden -- well, that just makes my soul sing. This is a lovely book for those who wish to be indulged in chickens and pretty gardens. Yes, they can happily coexist.

I just finished reading<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2180472064#">"Chicken Fact or Chicken Poop"</a> with all their facts about how herbs don't keep bugs out of the nest, nor do they help deworm chickens, and all sorts of other facts or fictions about raising backyard chickens.

Then I come to this book, which says the exact opposite, so take this with a grain or two of salt. The above book was written with the help of veterinarians. This book was written by a Chicken Whisperer, so your milage may vary.

If nothing else, even if you don't have chickens, this book is good for growing herbs and flowers that you can use on yourself, and your chickens will enjoy the fresh greens, even if they do not work as dewormers.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.