Nature's Garden

I bought and read this book last year when it was first published. I recall being possibly even more impressed with it than with The Forager's Harvest (Thayer's first book) which I'd enjoyed immensely. It is clear that Samuel Thayer writes with passion and a lifetime's experience.Yes he is based in North America and thus writes about his native plants. However, don't be put off by that. Many of the plants do indeed grow here in the UK/Europe e.g. sow thistle, hazlenut or elderberry to name but three. Admittedly some are cultivated plants here (e.g. jerusalem artichoke) however, if you use the scientific names to cross reference many of these plants, you can find where they are likely to grow right here in Britain.If you want a pair of books on wild food where the author's knowledge and enthusiasm shine through then get Nature's Garden and The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants whether you live in the UK, or North America.You might also try the excellently illustrated Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods from Dirt to Plate (Wild Food Adventure Series, Volume 1) by John Kallas, the first in a planned series, covering common greens (yes, another North American book but almost every plant grows in the UK).

Brilliant book! Loved the whole thing, I had checked it out by leafing through on Amazon but was pleasantly surprised, the service was perfect too. All in all it surpassed my expectations, thanks!

Excellent

I eagerly anticipated this book (which arrived in a timely manner and new condition as promised) full of expectation hoping to be able to safely identify and subsequently sample Nature's Garden and no doubt I would have had I been an inhabitant of North America. Unfortunately for the European market the book is a waste of money no matter how much the text is informative and authoratative and supported by excellent colour photographs, I did not recognise a single plant from the extensive list with the exception of the dandelion and the oak/acorn. To cut a long story short the book should be labelled clearly that it is not suitable for use in Europe.