Book Club

The Passionate Grower’s Guide to Herb Gardening (Ross, D.: self-published, 2022)

Reviewer: Claire Hattersley

In his new 328 page book, Duncan Ross generously shares a lifetime’s experience of working ‘up close and personal’ with herbs. This book is both practical and inspirational and is jampacked with the sort of ‘how to grow’ and ‘how to use’ guidance that only comes with many years of authentic experience.

The plants, of course, take centre stage. Many herbs are important pollinator and food plants for wildlife as well as having culinary or medicinal uses, and it’s Duncan’s wish that this book “will widen the interest in their cultivation so that more can be done to help not only nature but also ourselves and our health.”

The geographical range of herbs featured is extensive, from a chapter on the native herbs of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland to chapters featuring the herbs of Japan and North America. I particularly enjoyed reading about Duncan’s herb hunting trips to the Himalayas— “probably the most spectacular and spiritual mountain range in the world” — and learning of his search for the elusive Jatamansi, a rare medicinal herb.

In his opening chapter, Duncan shows us how, by weaving an awareness of the four elements (earth, water, air, and fire) and the four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) into our herb gardening, we can enrich and expand our connection to nature. This is further explored when Duncan introduces us to biodynamic gardening, sharing his personal insights and experiences throughout the book.

This book is a fabulous resource for anyone who wishes to introduce more herbs into their lives, and they couldn’t be accompanied by a better qualified teacher than Duncan Ross.