Gardening with Emma

Grow and Have Fun: A Kid-to-kid Guide

Emma Biggs, Steven Biggs Storey Publishing (FEBRUARY) Softcover $18.95 (144pp), 978-1-61212-925-9

Emma Biggs’s Gardening with Emma is a delightful book about learning and loving to garden.

The book covers all aspects of gardening, from the tools and space needed for various types of gardens to choosing what and how to grow different plants to taking cuttings and dividing plants. It discusses topics such as soil types, water levels, and sun exposure. There are interesting sections on edible and giant plants, and even instructions for making pots to grow plants in.

Biggs’s child-friendly approach to creating a fun garden involves blending colors and exploring new plants, not worrying about aesthetics like straight rows and level soil. There are suggestions for building play areas like bean teepees and sunflower houses. Other children’s gardens, including a young boy’s purple garden and that of sisters who grow flowers to sell, are featured, too, along with creative gardening ideas like a garden full of plants that are good for tickling and a garden with the herbs needed to “grow a pizza.” The creativity is endless.

Biggs herself narrates and includes considerable information about her own preferences, such as her love of tomatoes. Her enthusiasm is effusive, whether she’s presenting information about pests and beneficial bugs or discussing edible flowers and unusual vegetables. Her pleasure and joy is contagious.

Color photographs cover every page of this beautifully illustrated book. Each page offers something new to look at and enjoy. Photos of abundant vegetables, vibrant florals, and happy, playful children are coupled with informal, whimsical drawings, making the prospect of gardening appealing to everyone.

Gardening with Emma is a friendly gardening book with unique appeal.