A comprehensive guide to designing a beautiful and self-sufficient garden; planting heirloom vegetables, herbs, flowers, and fruits; and cooking with natural ingredients

The best-tasting vegetables are heirlooms, the most-fragrant flowers are heirlooms, and the most-interesting plants are heirlooms. In The New Heirloom Garden, author and garden lecturer Ellen Ecker Ogden reveals why and guides readers toward creating their own heirloom gardens with tangible gardening tips, 12 themed garden designs, and detailed resources. The book is organized around those garden designs, with each chapter including a plant key with plant descriptions, an illustrated color design to inspire the reader, and five recipes that coordinate with the plant list. And to round out each design, Ogden provides recipes that can be made from each vegetable grown in that garden. It's a book designed for readers to bring to their local supply store, take outside into the garden, and then bring into the kitchen.
     Heirlooms are more than just delicious ingredients or beautiful flowers--their seeds offer us a connection with the earth, and each one tells a story. In addition to giving the novice gardener tips for starting a garden from scratch and advice to advanced gardeners, Ogden shares the whimsical history of heirlooms and the legacies of the fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers that make up a well-kept garden.