Great book on how to grow your own backyard medicine cabinet, which is something every gardener wants - a useful garden.

I love a super informative yet easy to digest book about plants. This book was awesome! I am constantly trying to grow body helping plants in my garden each spring. Its a truly great reference to have.

Not only was it great at giving lots of tips and tricks for growing herbs but how they work in medicinal ways safely. Don't get me wrong, I am a big believer in modern medicine but I also think that if there is an easy natural way to go that we should try to take it.

This book is SO informative, interesting, and educational! This will get the beginner going and thriving in no time. Step-by-step instructions, ideas, and advice it's a must-have! I loved the book!

Very informative book. Full of a lot of useful information. This book will also be very useful for future reference

Really enjoyed this book. Some great tips and suggestions for growing your own herbs. Full of great advice and very knowledgeable

Very easy read with a lot of information. I was very impressed with the content. If you are looking for a place to launch yourself in growing your own medicine, this is a great title to have on your shelf.

A great book to learn how to grow to help yourself.
I dipped in and out of this and haven't actually finished it properly but it is one of those books you will always want to have around. May have to buy a hard copy. Definitely recommend if you are interested in this subject

I learnt a lot from this, kept dipping in and out of it, hence the late review. It’s beautifully presented. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone curious about their health and what they can do for themselves.

I forgot I had gotten this book on netgalley which is the reason for the delayed review. I originally asked for it because it seemed like it could be a great resource book to have for someone wanting to learn more about gardening herbs and the different uses for them - and I was exactly right! There is a breakdown of location, soil, and preparing for a garden along with what herbs would be right for what kind of area - and then specifics about a number of herbs, how to grow them, and how to use them. Definitely glad I asked for this because I'll keep it on hand as a resource guide come spring/summer!

Grow your Own Medicine is a great place to start learning about creating herbal remedies. It is a good resource on common garden herbs and how to grow them. I would call this a beginner’s book because it only covers the most common and easiest to grow herbs with some good tips on how to deal with problems that might arise growing them but I did find it helpful if you haven’t grown herbs before and since it can be complicated it’s a good basic starting place for those new to the hobby. If you’re a serious or experienced herbalist this book is probably too basic for you. It would be a good gift for a beginner.

This was a good resource on common garden variety herbs. I learned some good tips on how to deal with problems growing herbs such as parsley, sage and basil, I tried growing these and after few good weeks plants weltered and died. I will use the information in this book to try next year and hope to be more successful. I was a bit disappointed on how limited is the list of herbs mentioned in this book. I was hoping to learn about medicinal plants used to treat health problems, but this book offered very few truly medicinal herbs.

This is a greater starter book for anyone healthy looking in to how to feel a little better with the help of natural products but I am hesitant to recommend it as I feel the author is a little naive and dismissive to actual medical health issues and the way these are addressed read as tone deaf because of this. At one point the book says “I have seen this first hand from a medication my friend was taking” and I do feel like this book is written by someone who has never experienced severe medical issues, for people who have also never experienced them, which is totally valid but I feel there is a moral and ethical obligation to not give health advise you are unqualified to give and this book toed that line in my opinion. A lot of herbs interfere with medications that keep people alive but there’s no real mention of that, just blanket statement dismissals of scientific practices. There is room for both science and nature in healthy lifestyles. Another quote is “Not a day goes by when there’s not some story circulating in the media about recalls on food items, GMOs, or lawsuits due to chemicals” but everything is a chemical, so what exactly is being addressed here and how are we helping people live better with that type of misinformed sweeping statements?

I do think the actual plant profiles are good, but reader discretion is required in regard to medical needs and the science. For reference I have multiple qualifications in nutrition, and have used both scientific and traditional folkloric approaches to wellness as well as illness recovery and prevention.

Ava Green has created such a helpful book for the new gardener who loves natural health and herbs. The book is colorful, and highlights many common and some not so common herbs. She even breaks them down on which are culinary and those that medinical. A great book for anyone who wants to start adding medicine in their garden.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Cover is so pretty. I highly recommend. I will be going back to read this book over and over.

Grow Your Own Medicine is a wonderful guide for anyone who is wanting to start being more self-sufficient. The book starts off answering some questions, helping the reader brainstorm as to what the purpose would be for them, what they would use herbs for, etc. It gives a brief history on what herbs have been used for in the past and why they are important still today. Then it moves to an in depth look at the foundation of your garden, this section can be useful for anyone wanting to plant a garden, not just an herb garden. Also included in this section is watering, fertilizing, compost, etc. and the names of the “types” of plants, which was really helpful! There is more information toward the end of the book about these processes as well. It then moves to teaching the reader about hardiness zones, an important and often skipped over topic that will make or break your garden. The next section is about the different types of gardens to choose from and what the benefits are to those specific types, as well as tools that you will need to get started.

The author then gives an in depth look at different herbs, a picture of what it looks like, how to propagate, common problems, medicinal use, culinary use, when to harvest, and other uses. I found this an incomparable resource, to know you can look up an herb in this easy to navigate book and immediately learn whatever you need to about it. As someone who is new into growing and using herbs, I really appreciate the author taking the time to list such important notes for each of these herbs. We then move on to how to grow herbs from cuttings, from seeds, light requirements, and a more detailed section on watering, fertilizing, composting, weeding, etc. We then get to a section on disease, where the author shows common examples of diseased plants, and what to do for each one. We end the book with an awesome index that allows you to find page numbers based on herbs, techniques, and also by ailments, which I thought was helpful and will definitely come in handy in the future.

Overall, this book was fun to read, I learned so much that I didn’t know and want to put into practice in my own herb garden. I appreciate the author taking the time to create such a beautiful guide to help the novice herb grower turn into a true apothecary.

This is a good beginner's book with a heavy focus on gardening in general. It covers a good set of medicinal plants to start growing. Unfortunately experienced gardeners might find it a bit too simplistic. It is a great resource for those just starting out.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

I enjoyed this read. Covered a lot of bases for what to grow and why you should as well as general helpful gardening tips.

Gives tips on working with the land you have or could bring in, and it's nice to see a book that has hardiness zones that are not just the USA - get the rest of the world. Get some information on the plants given. from seed to storage and drying.

Grow Your Own Medicine is a great book about gardening. With the way things are going in the world today that is something I am getting more and more interested in. Thanks for sharing this book. This would make a great gift book.

This book was quite informative on how to grow your own medicine -- and all the benefits you can get from herbal medicine. It is more for beginners, with lots of information that can be referenced to quickly when needed later.