Eat Your Garden - by Harry Holding (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The first book to focus on a style of edible gardening that is lower in effort, higher in style and less demanding of space than the traditional kitchen garden or vegetable plot.

Eat Your Garden is a grow-your-own book with a difference: its focus is on edimentals, plants that are both edible and ornamental. They offer a sustainable and beautiful way to grow food in your garden, whether it's large, urban or a balcony, or in containers. Much like a potager garden, this is a naturalistic, stylish and low-maintenance method of integrating edible plants, largely perennials, within your existing garden, whatever its style and without the need to create a dedicated space. Harry will introduce you to the huge range of plants available, from the familiar to the surprising and lesser known, so you can grow a diverse range of plants that are good to eat, good for biodiversity and good for your health. He'll guide you on how to plan and design your planting schemes, considering form, layers, color and texture, as well as describing the pollinating effects they can have and the opportunities they create for you to forage in your own garden. There are also illuminating case studies on how edimentals are used in larger spaces and public gardens in the  US, UK and internationally, such as edible meadows, food forests, market gardens and permaculture systems as well as Harry's own award-winning RHS Chelsea show gardens, so that you can choose elements to suit your own space, conditions and climate. 

Harry's designs are plant driven and ecologically minded, focusing on creating resilient, immersive and enchanting spaces. Eat Your Garden is the first book to focus on a style of edible gardening that is lower in effort, higher in style and less demanding of space than the traditional kitchen garden or vegetable plot.

About the Author

Harry Holding is a pioneer of edimental gardening and has created an award-winning garden for RHS Chelsea 2023, where over 80 per cent of the plants were edible. He is also the founder of a design studio that is focused on resilient and ecological designs. Harry is passionate about sustainable food production and regenerative landscapes. 

Harry has been called a 'rising star' by House & Garden, receiving awards from the Society of Garden Designers and other industry bodies. His 'School Food Matters Garden' at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023 explored sustainable, edible planting and won the People's Choice Award (Sanctuary Garden/All About Plants) and a Silver-Gilt medal and he was asked to design the RHS Feature Garden in 2024. These garden designs received broad media coverage and acclaim in both 2023 and 2024, including from BBC One, BBC Gardeners' World, The Times, Telegraph, Financial Times, Evening Standard and Channel 4's Grand Designs. He was named House & Garden's Rising Star of 2023.