Trees for Gardens, Orchards & Permaculture by Martin Crawford

I give this book 9 out of 10 acorns

In this book Martin Crawford takes sharing his knowledge on trees to a higher level.
He has already shared great works, beautifully edited, with nice photos, but this last work is really outstanding. I loved it.

The author takes us along a path where we meet over a hundred different fruit, nut, edible, and functional trees. They can fit in a garden, in an orchard or in a more complex design of a forest garden.

What we read through is a book that has a lot of different specific information on the single tree species recalled in its pages. One can skip through the index to find the specific tree hes curious about or read through every entry learning tons of information all collected in more than twentyfive years of experience in the field.
Every entry is accompanied by color photographs, there are more than 180 in the book, and the trees, or group of trees are recalled following their origin and history, description and uses, varieties/cultivars, cultivation, pests and diseases, related species, European and North American suppliers.

This book is useful for the consultant that has to give a client suggestions or even the family that wants to undertake a journey of abundance starting with the right knowledge. Martin Carwford never makes the reader feel noncapable of reading through the tecnical data he shares. The very nice and simple way of writing about the trees he has selected in this book makes you feel at ease with the subject, and in the end you really have a lot to meditate on. The information is so well shared that you could risk to want all of the trees you've read about. Thats up to the reader to understand where the boundary stands. Take a deep breath and really think of what you want in your garden, what fruit do you like, do you eat nuts, etc. In this book you'll find answers, inspiration and new possibilities that you had never thought about.

Martin has done an enormous work putting it all together. In this book we don't find information on forest gardening as a design system, the author doesn't discuss many issues concerning forest gardening because this a book that is thought of as a reference book. Studying forest gardening will have to be done on other books, even Martin Crawfords, here on permies.com you cans earch the books forum to learn more, but it's another part of the journey.
Martin Crawford has worked for the past 25 years at the agroforestry research trust, where there is a forest garden project, some trial grounds and a nursery site. Martin Crawford has published other books that can be found reviewed even here at permies.com: Food from your forest garden How to grow perennial vegetables Creating a forest garden