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BOOK REVIEWS--NONFICTION
Plants For A Future: Edible & Useful Plants For A Healthier World
by Ken Fern
©2000 Permanenet Pubns
I have never been as excited about a gardening book as I am about "Plants
For A Future: Edible & Useful Plants For A Healthier World" by Ken Fern.
The scope of this book is massive, with lofty environmental and practical
goals, which are surprisingly made entirely achievable by the simple
gardening methods presented in the introduction. Fern details dozens of rare
and strange food crops (Five-foot long cold-hardy yams! Perennial onions!)
and suggests using them for all landscaping needs, from ponds to lawns.
Somehow, no compromises are required: these plants are hardy, perennial,
beautiful, tasty and nourishing, and suppliers are listed in an appendix.
The book quickly demonstrates why it has inspired talk of "horticultural
revolution" and earned the status of a classic. It is very nearly a complete
guide to home permaculture for temperate zones, providing guidelines for
maximizing harvests, minimizing work, and minimizing environmental impact
all at the same time.
"Plants For A Future" begins by introducing the ecologically sustainable
horticulture methods practiced by the British society of the same name. The
methods described are not simply organic; they are as sustainable as
possible, both environmentally and practically. The strategy is to grow
stable, permanent ecosystems of food crops that will require little
maintenance and provide habitat for beneficial animals, insects and birds,
as well as a productive harvest. The techniques are also consciously vegan,
which I have not found in any other English book in print. The reasoning
behind this particular synthesis of methods is described in the
introduction, which is also available online.
While the goal of gardening to heal the world ties the book together, the
majority of the information included is practical and specific. Separate
chapters deal with most types of temperate gardens including PFAF's
signature woodland gardens with trees, shrubs and undergrowth, as well as
more traditional garden forms like flowerbeds and vegetable patches.
Attention is also paid to landscaping features that are not often used (yet)
for farming such as lawns, ponds, bogs, hedges, walls, and wilderness
conservation gardens. Overall strategies are given for each type of garden,
as well as a hefty selection of suitable plants and ways to best combine
them.
It is worth noting that unlike many books about edible landscaping, the
suggestions given in "Plants for a Future" do not require changing existing
space usage. Rather than recommending, for example, to replace the croquet
lawn with a patch of strawberries, the book lists numerous crops that can be
walked on and mowed and actually kept as an edible lawn. The suggested hedge
crops still make attractive hedges. The sensation is one of upgrade
possibilities. Plain lawn, or lawn with bonus staple crops and a salad?
The descriptions of the plants themselves kept me engrossed for several
guilt-free hours, daydreaming about strawberry trees and fruiting fuchsias.
Fern includes detailed guidelines for cultivation, use in the garden, and
general instructions for turning the harvest into fresh food, preserves, egg
replacer, hair gel, paint or what have you. He even includes his findings on
flavour and cooking methods.
My only complaint about this well-written, well-researched book is that
everything is in paragraph form, making it hard to scan for important
points. Thin spots seem to be due to limited space. I wish there was a
chapter specifically on container gardening, for instance, and more plants
that could survive Canadian winters. Thankfully, the "Plants for a Future"
website seems to contain all the
information that wouldn't fit in the book, including a free online database
of over 7000 edible and useful plants, and articles on urban gardening and "the potted garden".
Between the substantial book and the enormous website, "Plants for a Future"
provides all the resources a gardener needs to start a horticultural
revolution at home, or to just impress the neighbours with five foot yams.
-SM
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