Veggie Garden Remix Book Review and Giveaway

I can't think of a gardening book that has generated more interest and excitement this spring than Niki Jabbour's Veggie Garden Remix. 

This, her third book, has garnished terrific reviews in both the print and online press. Readers on Amazon have given it 5 stars, and on Goodreads, it has been given a 4.5 star rating.

The Year Round Vegetable Gardener, © 2011 Niki Jabbour. Published by Storey Publishing

Used with permission of the author.

The Year Round Vegetable Gardener, © 2011 Niki Jabbour. Published by Storey Publishing

Used with permission of the author.

All the positive buzz not surprising. 

Niki created a reputation for being an innovative gardener early in her career with the publication of The Year Round Vegetable Gardener.  A few years have passed since its publication, but I still remember being amazed the first time I saw pictures of Niki in foot-deep snow harvesting fresh vegetables from her cold frames. At the time, I don't think most gardeners had any idea that cold frames had the potential of extending the growing season that far into the depths of an icy Canadian winter.

Photo of Niki Jabbour by James Ingram of Jive Photograph. Image from Veggie Garden Remix © Storey Publishing 2018. Used with permission of the author.

Fast forward to 2018 and Niki is back with another book that again may have a big influence on the way we grow edibles. This time it is less about how you grow vegetables and more about what you grow in the first place.

As Niki tells the story, it all began with a five-foot snake gourd she had grown as a Halloween decoration. When her mother-in-law dropped by Niki's garden one day, she recognized the long, thin gourds as a summer squash she had enjoyed back in her Lebanese homeland. Niki was surprised to discover unusual gourds were edible and was thrilled to have the opportunity to share them with her mother-in-law who hadn't had the pleasure of eating them in decades.

Niki's garden in Nova Scotia. Photograph by Niki Jabbour

Up to that point, Niki had grown a traditional range of vegetables in her garden, but the snake gourd made her wonder if it were possible to branch out and grow other global edibles from places like India, Mexico, Thailand, Argentina, Italy, Japan and China. Very quickly she discovered that many unconventional edibles–pak choi, edamame, mibuna, bitter gourds, daikon radishes to name just a few– thrived in her Nova Scotian garden. 

Niki began to question the limitations of traditional vegetable crops. Why grow standard spinach when she could experiment with an array of greens like amaranth, orach, hablitzia and molokhia? They're far more heat tolerant than spinach and produce fresh greens all summer long.

Cucamelons. Photograph by Niki Jabbour

And why grow ordinary cucumbers when she could play with bit-sized cucamelons that had the familiar taste of cucumbers, but with an interesting a citrus tang. 

"Play" was the key to this new outlook. It's fun to be adventurous in the garden and try new things.

Another view of Niki's garden later in the season. Photography by Niki Jabbour

The challenge for Niki was to convince other gardeners not just to grow off-beat and sometimes odd-looking global edibles, but to want to eat them in the first place. We are creatures of habit. We want our food to be comforting and familiar. When faced with something new, we judge it with our eyes. 

I think Niki has handled the challenge well by dividing her book into segments that pair standards edibles with their global relatives. For instance, she suggests that if you like broccoli, you'll like Piracicaba, Spigariello Liscia and Romanesco. 

A rainbow of carrots. Photography by Niki Jabbour

Like standard orange carrots? Then give these more unusual and delicious alternatives a try.

Some of these global crops hail from warmer climates, so Niki has added in a handy count of the days until harvest. She also provides some background on each of the edibles and growing tips that take the mystery out of the unfamiliar. 

This is by far the most stylish of Niki's three books. The design is smart and cohesive. The photography is just beautiful.

As always, Niki's writing is light, informative and entertaining. You can easily dive in and out of the book as time permits, or you may find yourself hopelessly drawn-in and read the whole book cover to cover. 

Many thanks to Thomas Allen & Sons for providing a copy of Veggie Garden Remix for me to give away. Because this book will go to a winner through the mail, we will have to limit entry to readers in Canada and the USA. 

Please leave a comment below, if you would like to be included in the book draw. The contest will remain open a little over a week (until Sunday, June 9th). If you are not a blogger, you can enter by liking the Three Dogs in a Garden Facebook page (there is an additional link to the Facebook page at the bottom of the blog). You are also welcome to enter by sending me an email (jenc_art@hotmail.com).

About the Author:

Niki Jabbour is the award-winning author of Niki Jabbour’s Veggie Garden Remix, The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener, and Groundbreaking Food Gardens.

Her work is found in Fine Gardening, Garden Making, Birds & Blooms, Horticulture, and other publications, and she speaks widely on food gardening at events and shows across North America.

She is the host and creator of The Weekend Gardener radio show. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is online at SavvyGardening.com.

Looking back at 2019 and Garden Trends for 2020

Every year around this time I review the posts from the previous year to assist me in mapping out an editorial calendar going forward. It's an exercise that helps me to know what was of interest to readers and what fell flat.

For you, the reader, this is a chance to catch up on any popular posts you might have missed. So without further ado, your favourite garden in 2019 was (drumroll please)...

Cynthia McAlindon's Shade Garden in Oakville Ontario. It's a backyard garden with a quiet, yet pleasing palette that shows just what can be accomplished with a modest-sized backyard that has part-to-full shade conditions.

Coming in second was a formal garden that also had a soft, restrained use of color. Here the design of the garden offered readers pleasing vignettes and an abundance of ideas.

A Formal Edwardian Garden in Rosedale

There was a tie for third place. The small town garden filled with Hollyhocks very narrowly edged out a Small Courtyard Garden. Ironically one of the two third-place winners was a country garden and the other was a garden in Canada's largest city.

Hollyhocks were the star in the first of the two properties:

A Garden filled with Hollyhocks

A Courtyard perfect for Entertaining

The city garden was a space designed for relaxing and entertaining with the garden as a backdrop. The main features of this garden were a large flagstone patio with lots of seating and a small shed complete with a bar.

The low-maintenance plantings flanked either side of a charcoal-coloured fence. My favourite feature was the moss dog peeking into the small waterfall and pond.

In what I will refer to as the "how-to" category, the most popular post was My Weed Management Strategies.  Though my garden is by no means weed-free, over the years I have discovered ways to keep weeds down to a dull roar.

The other post with good readership was the first of a two-part series on moving and dividing perennials. I'm always worried when I decide to write about such dry topics, but readers don't seem to mind the useful information.

Moving and Dividing Perennials, Part 1 (tips on when and how to move/divide) 
and Part 2 (all the basics).

One of my regrets about last year's blog posts was the limited number of plant profiles I did. This post on Siberian Irises and flowers that provide Mid-Summer Color actually were well-received, so hopefully, I can make up for that oversight in 2020.

New Perennials for 2019

Finally, the subject of new introductions from Proven Winners has been a reader favourite for a couple of years. I can understand the appeal of these blog posts–new plants promise improved performance and features like larger flowers or smaller overall size.  It's a subject I'll repeat again in 2020, but I think I will try to balance what's "new" with information on plants that are tried and true. 

Now I'll move along to trends for the coming year and beyond. I'll touch briefly the background for each trend first and then tell you a bit more about the trend itself. In a couple of cases, my examples may introduce you to a few Instagram accounts or YouTube channels you might like to follow.

Private garden in Oakville Ontario.

 Trend # 1 Smaller Gardens

In Canada, Baby Boomers account for 27% of the population. Of that number, 16% are already over the age of 65. In ten years, that statistic will jump to 20% (no doubt, there are similar numbers available for the States). 

One might suspect that retiring Boomers would have more time to devote to pastimes like gardening. While that may be true, ageing gardeners seem to be all too aware that gardening is hard physical work. What I seem to be witnessing is increasing numbers of Baby Boomers trading in larger properties for smaller homes/gardens with less maintenance.

There is a second aspect to this trend. In Canada, statistics suggest that the median lot size for a new single-family detached home has dropped in size. This means homeowners are working with smaller yards/gardens.

Smaller Gardens Equal Smaller Plants

Modest yards mean that gardeners are looking for small-scale shrubs. Growers have responded with new dwarf versions of classic favourites. This trend to producing smaller plants is something that has been around for a few years now and will continue into the near future. We can also expect to see a preference for breeding plants that are less demanding and relatively low-maintenance.

'BoBo' is one of my favourite dwarf hydrangeas.

Among my favourite shrubs are a number of dwarf hydrangeas. Here 'Bobo' is illuminated by the sun and 'Little Lime' is the rose-colored hydrangea just behind it.

The flower-filled veggie garden.

Trend # 2 Moving away from Traditional Vegetable Gardens

While Baby Boomers have always grown a variety of flowers and vegetables, younger generations seem to be much more focused on growing edibles. Homegrown fruit and veggies have a practical appeal. You know how and where they were produced when you grow them yourself. Growing your own food also saves money. 

Here are two twists on the traditional veggie patch I've noted.

Unusual Edibles

Heirloom varieties of fruit and vegetables have been popular for a number of years, but adventuresome gardeners are now experimenting with growing global types of produce. Spearheading this movement is Canadian garden writer Niki Jabbour. Recently her book Veggie Garden Remix won a prestigious award from the American Horticultural Society.

The Vegetable Garden that looks like a Flower Garden

Companion planting is nothing new, but take a look at these two pictures of Niki Jabbour's vegetable garden in Nova Scotia (here and here). Is this a vegetable garden or a flower garden? There are sunflowers, nasturtiums, flowering borage, zinnias and the long trailing panicles of Love-Lies-Bleeding. The flowers are there to attract pollinators and deter pests, but they also transform something practical into something beautiful. 

Here's another example– this time in Maine. On Alison's Instagram account named Finch and Folly there is again a wild mix of flowers and edibles (here and here). Every winter she draws up the prettiest watercolor plans for her summer garden.

Behind this explosion of flowers in the traditional vegetable patch is a deep concern for the decline of pollinators. In particular, climate change, parasites, pathogens and pesticides used in agriculture have all had a detrimental impact on numbers of honeybees, bumblebees and wild bee species.  

Gardening immerses you in the natural world, so it's no surprise that gardeners care deeply about environmental issues like this. Creating flower-rich habitats, even in a vegetable garden, is a trend that is likely to continue. 

One of the many YouTubers who post regular videos on houseplants.

Trend# 3 The Growing Popularity of Houseplants

The high cost of real estate has kept Millennials indoors where they "garden" with houseplants. This generation loves to search the internet for rare and exotic specimens to add to collections. Botanical names aren't geeky. Instead, they add to a plant's prestige. 

Decorating with houseplants has become hugely fashionable in the last few years. What makes this trend new and fresh is the large scale and the number of houseplants. When you squeeze 500 plants into a small apartment as Nick Pileggi as done (see above), your indoor space intentionally becomes a jungle.   

Another YouTuber who has become very popular is Amanda of Planterina. Amanda's a bit wacky, but viewers like her all the more for it.

Using houseplants to create an outdoor jungle.

Taking Houseplants Outdoors 

Moving houseplants outdoors for a summer vacation is nothing new. What I think is trendy is the scale and number of the houseplants being moved outside. 

If you have a moment, watch the video tour of Amanda's summer porch. It's an original take on gardening outdoors using houseplants. Amanda literally brings a garden right up to her back door.

Trend #4 An increased interest in Native Plants

Pollinators have given gardeners a whole new reason to take an interest in native plants. To attract bees and butterflies common to your state or province you need to plant specific types of plants. 

Butterflies and bees prefer certain flowers as sources of nectar. Butterflies also lay eggs on specific "host" plants. Last summer I noticed more butterflies in my garden. What made the difference? I have incorporated more native plants.

Trend #5 The Garden as a Bird and Wildlife-friendly Space

As the CBC reports in this article, North America has lost 3 billion birds since 1970. That's a staggering number! 

These weren't rare or endangered species, but rather familiar backyard birds like sparrows, juncos, starlings and warblers. This loss has ripple effects in local ecosystems as well. Birds perform vital roles in managing pests, pollinating flowers and spreading seeds. 

The Beauty bush where two Catbirds made their nest last summer.

 Do you see the nest hidden in the branches?

 Some bright blue plastic adorns the otherwise neutral nest. There are three babies crowded into the nest (though only two are visible).

The shy, grey-colored Catbird loves to mimic the sounds made by other animals. The cry it typically makes sounds a little like that of a domestic cat–hence the name.

What has caused the decline? The answer is not simple. A number of issues such as loss of habitat, urban sprawl, the fragmentation of forests, pesticide use and even the carnage caused by domestic cats. 

Already there is an army of volunteers who participate in annual backyard bird counts, but is there any further role we gardeners might play? I think this decline in bird populations is something that is going to garnish more and more attention in the coming years.

A nest in a garden I visited in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

2020–the start of a brand new decade! Despite some problems, I have a good feeling about what the next ten years will bring our way.

A Wishlist of Garden Books + a Holiday Giveaway

Books get me through the winter, so there is always gardening books on my wishlist for the holidays. I would be thrilled to find any of the following under the tree this year:

Books with Great Visual Appeal

Highgrove: An English Country Garden by H.R.H Prince Charles and Bunny Guinness
Prince Charles is a pioneer in organic garden practices. With lovely photographs and watercolor illustrations by the Prince himself, this book is a gorgeous exploration of the gardens at Highgrove House.  (4.3/5 on Goodreads, 5 stars on Amazon)

Garden Design: A Book of Ideas by Heidi Howcroft and Marianne Majerus
My next suggestion offers a wealth of design ideas all brought home by stunning photographs. The authors lead you through the process of designing a garden in an eloquent and insightful way. (4.1/5 on Goodreads, 5 stars on Amazon)

Gardenlust by Christopher Woods
In Gardenlust, intrepid plant hunter Christopher Woods spotlights 50 modern gardens, both private and public, that he feels push boundaries and define natural beauty in significant ways. Armchair travel at its best! (4.1/5 on Goodreads, 4.5 stars on Amazon)

The Garden in Every Sense and Season by Tovah Martin 
This is a book on my own personal Christmas wishlist. Unlike the vast majority of garden books that focus on the how-to's of gardening (the weeding, planting, pruning, etc.), in this book Tovah Martin reflects on the delights of her own garden and encourages readers to become more attuned to their own gardens. I am a fan of the author's two previous books on houseplants, so I am really looking forward to curling up with this book in the cold days ahead. (4.2/5 on Goodreads, 4.5 stars on Amazon)

A Tapestry Garden by Marietta and Ernie O'Byrne
This is a memoir about creating a garden on one and a half acres in the Pacific Northwest. While the story is very enjoyable, it is the photographs that make this book sing. (4/5 on Goodreads, 4.5 stars on Amazon)

A spread from Garden Style by Selina Lake

Garden Style by Selina Lake

If you like the decorative side of gardening, this book is for you. With lots of terrific visual inspiration, the author shows you how to transform your garden into a stylish space for relaxing and entertaining. (3.56 on Goodreads, 4 stars on Amazon)

Project Books

Projects for Self-Sufficiency by Black and Decker 
My husband picked this one. Step-by-step instructions and photos lead you through 60 projects (Note: some carpentry skills required). Projects include raised planting beds, rain barrels, compost bins, a chicken coop, hoop houses and greenhouses. (4.6/5 on Goodreads, 4.5 stars on Amazon)

Wood Pallet Wonders by Samantha Hartman
Some wood pallet projects can be downright tacky in my humble opinion. This book offers 20 rustic, farmhouse-style projects (many with a possible garden use) that I thought were quite charming and possible to do with basic carpentry skills. (3.33/5 on Goodreads, 5 stars on Amazon)

Hypertufa Containers: Creating and Planting an Alpine Trough Garden by Lori Chips
I have wanted to make hypertufa projects for years, but have never gotten around to it. Recommended by the North American Rockgarden Society as "a complete guide to designing, making and planting hypertufa troughs", this book sounds like inspiration I need to finally get me started. (4.45 on Goodreads and Amazon)

An example of a hypertufa container (though not from the book).

For the Houseplant Lover

At Home with Plants by Ian Drummond &Kara O'Reilly
Houseplants are back in fashion big time! At Home with Plants shows the novice indoor gardener how to transform their home with plants, offering up more than 250 inspirational pictures and ideas for each room in the house. (3.6 on Goodreads and 4 stars on Amazon)

A spread from the Practical Houseplant Book by Fran Bailey & Zia Allaway

Practical Houseplant Book by Fran Bailey & Zia Allaway
This guide offers 175 plant profiles and 12 step-by-step projects to display indoor plants creatively. (4.43 on Goodreads and 5 stars on Amazon)

For the Nature Lover

Shinrin-Yoku: The Japanese Art of Forest Bathing by Yoshifumi Miyazaki 
Shinrin-Yoku: The Japanese Art and Science of Forest Bathing by Qing Li
Have you ever heard of forest bathing? I hadn't until recently and would love to learn more. Forest bathing is connecting with nature to reduce stress and improve your health and happiness. There are a number of books on the subject, but I will suggest two. Shinrin-Yoku: The Japanese Art of Forest Bathing is a bestseller for Timber Press. Shinrin-Yoku: The Japanese Art and Science of Forest Bathing has the best rating of on Goodreads.

Our Native Bees: North America's Endangered Pollinators and the Fight to Save Them by Paige Embry

A lot of what you read these days focuses on honey bees. North American native bees are just as deserving of our attention. Endangered native species of bees are essential to our ecosystems and food supplies. (4.3 on Goodreads and 4.5 stars on Amazon)

For the Vegetable Gardener

No Dig Organic Home & Garden: Grow, Cook, Use & Store Your Harvest by Charles Dowding & Stephanie Hafferty 
Well-known author Charles Dowling has been gardening intensively for over thirty-five years. Co-author Stephanie Hafferty is a kitchen gardener who has created no-dig gardens for restaurants and private estates. Together they explain the benefits of the no dig approach to vegetable gardening with tips on composting, living sustainably, harvesting and preparing food year round.  Also included are recipes for making natural cosmetics, cleaning products and garden preparations. (4.2 on Goodreads and 4.5 stars on Amazon)

The Food Lover's Garden: Growing, Cooking and Eating Well by Jenni Blackmore

This book was recommended to me by Signe Langford who often writes for this blog. This book reads like a casual conversation over the back fence and is a great beginner's guide to growing, cooking and preserving easy-to-grow vegetables. (too early for ratings on Goodreads and Amazon)

A view of Niki's garden in the late summer. Photography by Niki Jabbour

Veggie Garden Remix by Niki Jabbour

In her latest book, best-selling author Niki Jabbour encourages her readers to expand the repertoire of vegetables they grow with over two hundred vegetable alternatives from around the world. To boost your confidence, Niki provides growing information for each plant, along with fun facts and a plant history. As always, Niki's writing is light, informative and entertaining. (4.3 on Goodreads and 5 stars on Amazon)

So that's my list. There are lots of great choices. The hard part is deciding which one! 

It wouldn't be one of my book reviews without a giveaway. Timber Press has very nicely provided me with a copy of Gardenlust: A Botanical Tour of the World's Best New Gardens to give away to one lucky reader. Because this book will go to a winner through the mail, we will have to limit entry to readers in Canada and the USA. 

Please leave a comment below, if you would like to be included in the book draw. The draw will remain open until Thursday, January 3rd. If you are not a blogger, you can enter by leaving a comment on the Three Dogs in a Garden Facebook page (there is an additional link to the Facebook page at the bottom of the blog). You are also welcome to enter by sending me an email (jenc_art@hotmail.com).

Good luck everyone!