Happy Earth Day -- Let's Get Gardening

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Happy Earth Day! We've all seen the news. As people are staying at home the Earth has begun to heal. The pollution is down in the big cities. The animals are becoming more relaxed and trying to take back their space. One of the things I find most interesting is so many people are planning gardens. Seeds and plant companies are having trouble keeping up with the orders. I checked out my normal seed catalog site and discovered many vegetables are sold out. And one of the times I was on they were not even taking orders that day so they could catch up with their orders. This never happens. So today I thought I would share two resources for gardening. One is about herb gardens (more for adults) and the other is about gardening with kids and how to help them connect with the natural world. 

Our first book is The Kitchen Herb Garden by Rosalind Creasy. This book has it all--information about cooking herbs, how to grow them, how to plan an herb garden and recipes. It also is full of beautiful photographs. I really want to walk through Rosalind Creasy's yard so I can see these gardens in real life. They are gorgeous!

Now I would love to have the space to have such a huge herb garden but I know my family members would not want me to take over the yard in that way. However she shares how to plan your space as well as growing herbs in containers. Then the thing I love the most is the encyclopedia of kitchen herbs. She shares thirty cooking herbs in this section including a bit about the herb and where it comes from, how to grow it and how to prepare it (harvest and use). Plus there are photos of each one. 

Finally she shares recipes from herbal mixes to recipes like herbal oils, pestos and even main dishes! Although I have not tried any yet (it isn't herb growing season here yet), I can't wait to try them. 

I love how Rosalind shares her excitement and love for herbs with each reader. The photos and the words just are full of it. It honestly makes me want to start growing more herbs and cooking with them. This book is perfect for the person looking to spice up the family cooking as well as the yard. 

Our next book is The Little Gardner by Julie A. Cerny and illustrated by Ysemay Dercon. This book is written to get parents, teachers, grandparents to share gardening and connecting with the Earth with kids. I remember as a child growing our own vegetables and how special it was to be able to pick something to make for dinner for the family that my own labor helped grow. This is a feeling every child deserves to have and that is why Julie wrote this book. It is meant to be read by the adult and shared with the child. It is divided into four sections--Dreaming Your Garden, Crafting Your Garden, Growing Your Garden and Teaching & Learning in Your Garden. 

Each chapter is full of activities and ends with journal prompts, a chapter review and a preview of the next chapter. She shares her own experiences planning an educational garden to help explain and inspire yours. There is so much information about plants and growing them in this book as well. Talk about teaching some science at home.

There are little sections "Just for Little Gardener" that include lessons, ideas and more. There are also book suggestions for the little gardener throughout the book. I love the details that are in this book from soil, watering, sun, and types of plants.

I love how much interaction this book gives for the adult and the child(ren). Everything from journal prompts to the activities and lessons. This book lends itself to teaching at home and is perfect in this year when schools are closed and remote learning is happening. Our state announced yesterday that school buildings will remain closed for this school year. Remote learning often means the kids need more hands-on experiences with their families and this book offers just that and the little gardener can be anyone and does not have to be a young child. I plan to use this book with Hazel this year.

The illustrations are beautiful and helpful. This book is a fun and resourceful book. It is full of so much information as well as great activities. Now I just need my seeds and plants to arrive so we can get started. 

I hope you will check out these two books that will help you grow your own food and get you cooking with the freshest options! Happy Earth Day! Be sure to check out our kid's books for Earth Day,  our past Earth Day posts as well as our gardening posts.