Landscaping with Herbs CL

How satisfying to come upon a book that serves up dessert before the nutritious, but sometimes dull, main course. Here Wilson ( Landscaping with Container Plants ), host of TV's The Victory Garden , devotes chapter after chapter to designing with herbs--borders, large and small; kitchen gardens; edging materials; container gardens--and makes it all sound inviting and easy. Then he gets down to the practical basics of growing, harvesting and preserving the herbs. That's not to say that his information for the latter is dull; it isn't. But most gardeners read books for ideas first, implementation second. Wilson brings a seasoned, practiced background to his subject, because for a number of years he owned and operated a nursery that specialized in herbs. That experience is evident on every page--from the herb cultivators he chooses to mention and the step-by-step directions he describes for growing and maintaining healthy plants to his delineation of container capacities (so readers can finally eliminate guesswork in selecting size per number of plants) and plant characteristics--foliage color, plant height, soil preferences, special scents. Wilson's design ideas for readers are shown as often as not in photographs as in words, and his captions will help many toward an increased confidence in experimenting with plant combinations and placements. Lastly, the usual chapter of plant descriptions--herb species for landscape use in this case--is short enough to skim and yet is packed with varieties that meet his criteria of beauty and usefulness in a garden setting. This newest book will join Wilson's others as required reading for those starting out with this popular class of plants. (Apr.)