From food to flowers, from trees to herbs, Judy Barrett has collected, grown, and enjoyed heirloom plants in every category, and she has stories and tips to share about them all. Author of the popular What Can I Do with My Herbs?, Barrett brings her signature conversational style to bear on an increasingly popular topic, providing practical help for anyone interested in growing, enjoying, propagating, or cooking with these hardy and time-tested plants.

Barrett opens with a discussion of the characteristics of heirloom plants and why their toughness, ease of propagation, and diversity make them ideal to grow in any garden. Acquainting readers with their histories, benefits, and occasional quirks, Barrett demonstrates that heirloom plants, with their personal and cultural connections, can become as valuable and treasured as a great-grandmother’s cut-glass bowl or a quilt that has been passed down for generations. What Makes Heirloom Plants So Great? provides helpful tips on thirty-seven plants or groups of plants, focusing especially on the hows and whys of saving, storing, and sharing all kinds of  living treasures.

Nutritional tips and proven recipes appear throughout this colorful and easy-to-read book, offering an enjoyable way for readers to learn about and begin growing these very special plants. For gardeners (both the indoor and outdoor varieties) and anyone else interested in raising and enjoying a broad range of interesting plants, What Makes Heirloom Plants So Great? is sure to provide a fun, easygoing source of inspiration and information.

What Readers Are Saying:
“Judy Barrett has gardening karma and charisma in spades. Not only does she tell in an engaging and clear style how to garden, she conveys, almost subliminally, what it is to be a gardener–a gardener informed by family, memory, and a community of gardeners. Her prose exudes confidence and fearlessness . . . it is relaxed, sensible, and winsome. Technical material is presented clearly, smoothly, and in a non-condescending style; the recipes are tempting and invitingly doable . . . contains abundant useful and entertaining information . . . The historical and other anecdotes are interesting, witty, and quite charming. She can tell a story on herself and show how gardeners, not just plants, can change and evolve. Smiles come often while reading this book. . . .”–Cheryle Hazeltine, author of Cheryl Hazeltine’s Central Texas Gardener

“ . . . a delight to read. Judy shares her experiences and seeds with the reader, as if you were paying a visit to her garden. She paints a delightful picture of vegetables and fruits she has grown and prepared . . . You get the feeling you are just following her along on a wonderful tour . . . Her book is a testimony to those wonderful ‘pass-along’ plants we have enjoyed and introduces us to many more possibilities.”—Barbara A. Storz, AgriLife Extension agent for horticulture in Hidalgo County, Texas

“Judy delivers an appetizing spread of culinary delicacies and plant lore that will have your mouth watering and thumbs turning green.” — G. Michael Shoup, President of Antique Rose Emporium Inc

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