Useful tips interspersed with lovely sketches, this is a great guide for those new to heirloom gardening. While the information may not be unfamiliar to those already heavily involved in heirloom gardening, this could still be a nice addition to their collection. The information didn't delve as deeply as I was expecting but it's a great place to start.

I have gotten into gardening more these last few years. Reading about slowing down and connecting with nature and learning more about the seeds I use was really enjoyable.

This was a bit different than I expected. A bit less informative, but still an interesting read overall. It was a fun experience to learn from the wisdom and experiences of others.

3.5 stars. The title is a bit misleading, as this book doesn't really detail much about plants or skills, but is actually a neat little collection of short essays by Forti about various subjects in the historical/traditional gardening realm. Good reading.

A little book to help us reconnect with nature and our planet. We have lived in an industrialized area for so long that most of us can't remember how to interact with nature and live in symbiosis with it.

The author takes us through the art of gardening, cultivating, and living closer to mother earth. Through these topics addressed alphabetically, he shows us how to treat and use plants, cultivate the earth and get the most out of nature. How to reconnect. Nature has so many treasures and is so diverse that we barely need anything that the industrialized world makes us think we do. Our bodies and minds have been suffering for too long from this lack of contact with nature. It is time to relearn, step by step, how we can nurture the earth and ourselves.

This book is a great encyclopedia of nature, and maybe it could be a staple to have for everyone wishing to expand their horizons and start gardening and taking care of their heirloom.
It is nicely written, with the heart, and kind of engaged too.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Timber Press for sharing an audio copy of this book with me in exchange for an honest review.

The Heirloom Gardener is a nice book - covering crafts, gardening, and historical skills. It's interesting - more essay than how-to guide, but if you're expecting a serious gardening guide for heirlooms, this won't be it. Perhaps a bit of a misleading title. Good for a coffee table.

This is an attractive and informative book that would make an excellent gift for gardeners, homesteaders, hobby farmers, witches, or anyone interested in getting "back to basics." It is a great coffee table or display book. There is really no narrative here and not something most people would want to read cover-to-cover in one go. I don't know that it is the right fit for libraries who are short on space and are moving away from reference materials, but this would be a nice modernized source for libraries with large collections.

The Heirloom Gardener is a very charming book of essays. I enjoyed the illustrations. Keep in mind this is not so much a guide as a book of entertaining, informative essays.

It's a fascinating read short essays about what it is being a heirloom gardener. Plants, concepts, skills: there's plenty of fascinating topics in this book and I found it entertaining and engrossing.
I loved the pictures and think this would be great in paper.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The author give a good perspective on how we have lost what our ancestors gave us in terms if gardening and many pother subjects. He goes into heirloom gardening both plants and vegetables. He also covers how to fertilize your garden without chemicals. There are very good tips and ideas plus some of the history of plants and herbs. I enjoyed this book and recommend it for gardeners and those who are interested in plants and history.

⭐⭐

Not really what I was expecting. I thought this would be more of a "how to" Heirloom Gardening, however it was more alone the lines of essays about certain plants, and things like that. 🤷🏻‍♀️

**ARC Via NetGalley**

This books isn’t what I expected when I received a free review copy. It’s more a series of essays and memories than a guide to gardening and related skills. This is not, however, a bad thing. John Forti presents a glimpse into a world few get to discover in our modern society, a slower-paced life at one with the land. Not only that, he presents an invitation, giving enough detail to allow those that want to join in on this life to start.

The Heirloom Gardener is a multi-purpose gardening and philosophy guide by John Forti. Due out 22nd June 2021 from Workman Publishing on their Timber Press imprint, it's 264 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

The author has collected culture tips, some traditional skills, and philosophy in an alphabetical primer format. The chapters are arranged from angelica to zucchini and visit such skills as foraging (safely), grafting, and foraging and using kelp to help increase biomass and trace minerals in soil along the way.

There are no photographs nor step-by-step tutorials. The illustrations (see cover) are woodcut primitive style and really suit the "old farmer's almanac" traditional vibe. This one fits in my library alongside the John Seymour books and more philosophy minded conservation books such as Muir and Carson.

I would recommend this to smallholders, gardeners interested in more gentle, conservation minded, and traditional methods of culture, gardening groups, allotments and community gardens, schools, urban gardens, and similar.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The author is former curator of historic landscapes at Strawberry Banke Museum in Portsmouth, N.H. where he restored backyard gardens. He was also director of horticulture and education for the Massachusetts Historical Society. His book is a collection of essays that cover aspects of heirloom gardening. Many chapters focus on specific plants and foods and he discusses the various merits of the plants and ways to harvest and use them in recipes. Sustainability and a return to old-fashioned methods are the focus. A pleasant and thought-provoking read.

An enjoyable, informative gardening resource in an old fashion format. Listed alphabetically, the vegetables are easily located throughout the book. I have it as an e-book thanks to netgalley. I will get it in print edition.

This is an interesting book on the historical growing practices and uses of plants, including distilling oils, tinctures, victory gardens, benefits and attributes of various plants including edible, flowering and medicinal properties, as well as a wide range of other interesting botanical and gardening points of interest. This is not a gardening book, but it is a book that gardeners will enjoy and learn additional ways to enhance and expand the benefits of their gardening endeavors.

John Forti has designed heirloom gardens all over New England from Strawberry Bank in Portsmouth, N.H. to Plymouth Plantation in S.E. Massachusetts . Like the slow food movement for which he was a consultant this beautifully designed compendium of selected heirlooms presents a leisurely observation of plants and practices reflecting centuries of important cultivars. Forti lovingly recounts the history and use of angelica and rhubarb and describes the value of elderberries and Dent de Lion , the ubiquitous jagged tooth Dandelion ignored by many but sought by others for its medicinal properties. It would be a mistake to consider this an essential book on heirloom plants. Rather, with its beautiful woodcuts by noted Vermont artist Mary Azarian and charming individual essays this is a book to give as a gift or to keep by the bedside to pick up and savor just like fascinating heirlooms it describes.

Such a lovely, relaxing and thought-provoking book about where we are and how we got here as stewards of the soil and plants as gardeners and foragers. But it's far more as the author examines ethnobotany and sentimentality, what it means to be an artist and crafter, how to enjoy a lifestyle which is mindful of choosing the foods we eat and preserving gardening techniques and passion. The author is a horticulturalist and ethnobotanist and shares his wealth of knowledge, experience and remarkable insight in this beautiful book which also includes nostalgic illustrations. He defines heirlooms and gives wonderful examples including gardening, of course. Each short chapter in alphabetical order is about a craftmanship, skills, vegetables and fruits, community, growth and preserving.

As the author says, it is time to capture these ideas and share them or they will be lost entirely. As a master gardener, forager and amateur horticulturalist, I agree wholeheartedly. We need not live as though we are in a bygone era but we can certainly adopt methods which make so much sense. I wish we would slow down and engage with the soil, nature and weather. In this book, the author includes my favourite quote by Louis Nizer, "A man who work with his hands is a laborer. A man who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist."

Not only do connecting and creating with your hands feel great physically and mentally, it is important for eating better, learning about what grows best in our area, maintaining tradition and teaching. It is healthy for our land. Growing what we eat can give such joy. So does preserving it. Reaching for homemade pickles, jams and dehydrated mushrooms in our -40s C winters gives me pride and joy. I also live part time in the Mediterranean where on one walk I can pick wild herbs, many fruits, mushrooms and nuts (my favourite is chestnut which is also described in this book)...nothing gives me greater satisfaction. As yet, no GMOs, either.

Amongst the topics include botanizing and herbaria...yes! Love the idea of kids starting herbaria and going on nature walks. The author says many kids now can only identify ten flora and fauna. I saw a child recently who pointed at a goose and did not know what it was. Heartbreaking. Another topic is cordials. My favourite is elderflower. He talks about fiddleheads, foraging, indigenous plants, quince, raised beds (my husband built several for me which included a seating area all around for comfort), rosemary, Victory Gardens, Xeriscaping (very important in areas of severe drought such as mine), wreaths and yarrow.

This book really resonates with me, right up my alley as a gardener, crafter, reader and cook. You need not be a gardener to enjoy it...all you need is curiosity and a corner to curl up in.

My sincere thank you to Timber Press and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this fabulous book.

A perfect book to read as the days are getting longer and the greenery is starting to sprout.

A lovely collection of history and useful information about gardening, foraging and being outdoors.

I can't pick a favorite part, but there were so many chapters and sections that reminded me of being a child roaming the fields and bush, picking flowers and plants to bring home. I learned so much new information and expanded knowledge of some plants I was familiar with.

I loved the images in the book. It would be a delightful coffee table book and a great gift for any gardener. I'm deffinatly getting a copy for my Grandpa.

This was a quick enjoyable read, but I'm not quite sure who the audience is that Forti is writing to. I feel like he's really preaching to the choir, and I'm not sure if the people who he wants to reach are necessarily picking up this book. It's not really a reference guide and it's not really a coffee table book and it's not really a memoir but somewhere in between all three. Unfortunately I didn't think it really served the purpose of any one of those genres fully. It was still a fun read since it's in my area of interest. I would have liked some supplemental photos along with the illustrations.