The rise of the slow food movement and the return to home gardens mean cooks are donning gardening gloves as often as oven mitts. Modern cooking is heading back to its roots, with home cooks embracing local ingredients and down-to-earth recipes. With more and more of us discovering the delight of preparing and eating freshly harvested food, Vegetables for the Gourmet Gardener is the indispensable guide to what to grow, cook, and eat.

A feast for the eyes and the table, this user-friendly resource traverses the realms of both the garden and the kitchen, addressing the cultivation, storage, and preparation of nearly seventy useful vegetables. Practical growing tips, fascinating histories, nutritional information, and classic recipes appear alongside botanical illustrations drawn from the Royal Horticultural Society’s cherished collection. With both familiar varieties and novel options, Vegetables for the Gourmet Gardener will inspire you to create a world of new shapes, colors, and tastes.

Simon Akeroyd is a writer for Grow Your Own Magazine and author of the books Shrubs and Small Trees, Lawns and Ground Cover, the Allotment Handbook, and coauthor of Grow Your Own Fruit. He lives in Surrey.

— Boston Globe