James Wong's Homegrown Revolution

Description

James's idea is simple and revolutionary. For 100 years, gardening books have said the same old thing about growing the same old fruit and vegetables. But in the wider world, as well as closer to home, there is a huge variety of delicious and often simple-to-grow incredible edibles suitable for temperate climates. Often common plants grown for flowers, like fuchsia, have delicious fruits or hips but we have long forgotten their use as edible plants. As the demand for 'home-grown' produce increases, this is the perfect time to introduce a whole new range of tasty, healthy and productive alternatives to the humble spud or lettuce. And who better to blaze the trail than the vastly knowledgeable and enthusiastic James Wong who tells us what to grow, how to grow it, and how to cook and eat it as well as the special properties of 100 new plants.

James Wong won a scholarship to the University of Bath and went on to train at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and the University of Kent, where he graduated with a distinction in Ethnobotany. At the age of 27, Wong became the presenter of his own award-winning BBC Two television series Grow Your Own Drugs. The series demonstrated a number of natural remedies sourced from plants and became the highest-rated gardening series on UK television. A regular face on gardening TV programmes and a four-time RHS medal winner for gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show and Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, James is the people's expert on all things horticultural. He is also a guest lecturer at the University of Kent where he designed a ground-breaking Ethnobotanical Garden.

a kitchen garden packed full of James Wong's recommendations would make a refreshing change.. packed full of encouragement to take a new look at not just the contents of our vegetable plot but at our gardens as a whole. -- Francine Raymond * GARDENS ILLUSTRATED * James Wong shows how simple it is to grow unusual greens, veg and herbs at home.. And, most importantly, a great set of recipes is included too. * SIMPLE THINGS * I will certainly be trying a few new ideas next year.. The individual crop entries in the book are full of useful advice on growing the many and varied edible plants. * THE ORGANIC WAY * crops.. such as Vietnamese fish mint and the New Zealand yam are still hardly household names. Thanks to Wong, and his mission to widen our repertoire, this may all soon change. -- CAROLINE DONALD * SUNDAY TIMES * you'll be inspired by his alternatives to broccoli and kale -- Jane Shilling * DAILY MAIL * James Wong includes recipes as well as advice on how to grow these plants, making Homegrown Revolution a must for anyone who is tired of wartime rations and wants to try a 21st century garden. * EDEN MAGAZINE (EDEN PROJECT) * This year's most original gardening book is James Wong's Homegrown Revolution in which he urges us to try growing unusual vegetables such as asparagus peas and dahlia yams. -- Constance Craig Smith * DAILY MAIL (WEEKEND) *