If the cover of C.L. Fornari’s newest book doesn’t convince you to get out in the garden this evening, nothing will. The gorgeous garden that graces the front of The Cocktail Hour Garden is so inviting I want to jump through the picture, pull up a chair at the table and take a sip of whatever she’s serving.

The Cocktail Hour Garden (St.Lynn’s Press, 2016) is a lovely addition to any gardener’s library. This book isn’t just how to plant a beautiful garden, but how to enjoy it as well. Too often gardeners get caught up with working in the garden, they forget how to take advantage of its relaxing properties.

C.L. Fornari offers ideas for the types of flowers and foliage to plant, but also how to mix up some simple herbal beverages to savor while sitting in the garden. If you grow basil, sage, mint, cucumbers, blueberries, nasturtiums or lavender, you have the freshest of ingredients right at hand. The Green Lantern Cocktail takes ordinary parsley leaves and blends them into something special. 

What I especially appreciate about this book is there’s something for every gardener, no matter the size of the garden. Even a few containers of herbs can yield plenty of simple joys if there’s seating positioned nearby. 

“Creating a garden is like any other journey: you start where you are,” she writes. “Find those areas in your yard that are already appealing or conducive for sitting in the evenings. A deck, patio or porch is an obvious place to begin a cocktail hour garden, but other spaces on your property might call to you as well.”

In addition to culinary herbs in The Cocktail Hour Garden, C.L. includes fragrant flowering shrubs, perennial and annual flowers, ornamental grasses, plants with silvery foliage, and plants meant to attract all kinds of winged visitors.

The vegetable garden gets special attention in Chapter Eight called “The Green Hour Vegetable Garden: Cocktail Hour Grazing.” The photos offer ideas for how to plant a beautiful, productive garden, as well as ideas for preparing snacks like peapods and dip, radish roses, and nasturtium wraps.

Because many fruits and vegetables lend themselves to the cocktail hour, C.L. gives creative guidelines for how to blend them, add pepper heat to them and then garnish them. 

Here’s to you and spending more relaxing time in your summer garden! 

(St. Lynn’s Press provided a complimentary copy of The Cocktail Hour Garden for this review.)

Fine Gardening Recommended Products

Gardener's Log Book from NYBG

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

This weatherproof five-year log book includes the following features: · Sturdy waterproof cover to protect pages from rain and muddy soil · Lined pages and gridded paper for plotting beds · Five years of 12-month bloom and harvest grids for recording what you planted and when · Authoritative appendices on composting, pruning, pest and disease control, and container gardening · Useful reminders by season on fertilizing, mulching, and transplanting · Space for listing your favorite sources and suppliers.

Buy at Amazon

A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

MULTITASKING DUAL EDGES: a deep serrated edge and a tapered slicing edge ideal for tough or delicate cuts. DURABLE 6-inch stainless steel blade withstands 300 lbs of pressure. TWINE CUTTING NOTCH, DEPTH GAUGE MARKINGS & spear point - no need to switch tools when using this garden knife. LEATHER SHEATH: heavy duty, protective, clip on sheath to keep your knife convenient and secure. LIFETIME WARRANTY.

Buy at Amazon

Berry & Bird Rabbiting Spade, Trenching Shovel

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

Ideal Tool for All Gardeners Use: Our heavy duty trenching shovel is designed by a professional gardening tool designer. Lifetime Durability: This heavy duty drain spade is made of high-quality stainless steel, it is very strong and durable, even if it is used for high-strength work, it will not bend. Ergonomic Wood Handle: The handle of this planting spade is made of ash hardwood harvested from FSC-certified forests and has an ergonomically streamlined design, making it very suitable for everyone's hands. Multi-Use: This digging shovel is generally used for digging trenches, digging holes, transplanting, edging, moving compost, cutting thick turf and furrowing. The sharp blade allows you to cut, scoop, dig, lift and dice in hard soil.

Buy at Amazon