A Curious Garden of Herbs seems the perfect title for a book that is, itself, rather curious. Moss and Simmons have compiled a well-researched and beautifully presented catalog of plants commonly used in the eighteenth century. Rather than following the model of period herbals, this book provides the reader with the context in which the plants were used. Understanding who used what plants and why is just as important to gaining a more accurate understanding of the period as how they were used. Plants featured in this book are those that would have been found in the kitchen gardens and orchards of the “middling sort” throughout the southern colonies and into the Mid-Atlantic. Moss and Simmons present a range of primary sources and interpret the context in an informal yet informative way, making the book particularly approachable for historians new to the culinary history area of study.The strength of A Curious Garden of Herbs is in the extensive endnotes, bibliography of primary and secondary sources, glossary, and index of scientific names. The reader is given the tools necessary to explore further a range of topics, from gardening techniques to culinary and medicinal use of the plants listed as well as domestic history and material culture. Primary sources referenced cover three hundred years of history, from the 1500s to the early 1800s, and are wide ranging: herbals, gardening guides, medical guides, household advice and cookery books, and personal journals and manuscripts. Of note are the extensive Moravian records cited throughout the book. Secondary sources will be familiar to culinary historians, particularly Wesley Greene's Vegetable Gardening the Colonial Williamsburg Way, which remains a staple for historic sites that interpret colonial gardening. It is important to note the three-hundred-year time span. Readers and gardeners should take caution and not assume that all sources are relevant to all locales and time periods. Moss and Simmons include early sources to provide the reader with a contextual understanding of the changing botanical world. For example, Nicholas Culpeper's well-known herbal published in 1653 presents plants in relation to the humors of the body, or Galenic theory, a concept that fell out of fashion in the eighteenth century. For example, Culpeper describes fennel as such: “One good old Fashion is not yet left off, to boil Fennel with fish; for it consumes that phlegmatick Humour. Which fish most plentifully afford and annoy the Body . . . though few that use it know why or wherefore they do it.” Culpeper makes an interesting point that science has begun to demystify: certain plants contain certain traits that help us to feel better. Whether it is ginger for an upset stomach or the anxiety-reducing effects of lemon balm, we now know that these plants bear medicinal qualities that work. Conversely, Moss and Simmons make a point to caution readers regarding ill effects of some plants. Rue can irritate the skin. Pennyroyal and tansy contain toxins. A Curious Garden of Herbs is not intended to be a “how-to” book. “Medical notions from centuries past must likewise be interpreted as history rather than advice” (10).In determining which plants to include, Moss and Simmons assessed usage in terms of location as well as social class. Kitchen gardens were planted based on the needs of the people planting them. A farmer's wife on the southern frontier would plant culinary and medicinal herbs and a range of vegetables including cabbage, parsnips, carrots, turnips, onions, potatoes, corn. What we call edible flowers today were also common in kitchen gardens. Violets, nasturtiums, pinks, marigolds, and roses had a variety of uses, from medicinal syrups to salad garnish. Families with a bit more social standing and closer to town may have planted asparagus and artichokes. In addition to culinary and medicinal plants, those with other properties, dyeing, for example, would be included by spinners and weavers. Equally important as the garden itself, orchards were common throughout the colonies. Native plants such as the persimmon, often used in puddings and for brewing beer, and apples, brought over with European immigrants and used from everything from pie to cider, as well as peach, cherry, pear, and nut trees, were common. Fruit was harvested and either consumed fresh or preserved in syrup, dried, cooked into jams, jellies, and conserves, or turned into alcohol. Peaches were also often fed to pigs to enhance the flavor of their meat. Nuts were used in baking. Walnut husks were used for dyeing yarn and cloth.The highlight of A Curious Garden of Herbs is the selection of sixty illustrations that are scattered throughout the book. Of particular interest are illustrations by Elizabeth Blackwell, “the first important female botanical artist” (9). Her herbal was published in two volumes in 1737 and 1739. Botany, an area of science that grew in popularity in the eighteenth century, was also considered to be appropriate subject matter for women. The botanical illustrations selected by the authors are diverse in style and skill level of the artist, providing interesting insight into how gardeners learned to identify plants in the period. John Gerard's simple sketch from 1633 of Garden Burnet is incredibly accurate, as is John James Audubon's colorful and lively Sassafras with Small Green-Crested Flycatcher.Following the main text of the book, “The Herbal,” are “A Salmagundi of Methods” and “Miscellaneous Gardening Theories and Practices.” Here the reader is able to read period receipts (recipes) for foodstuffs that are still popular today: salad dressing, candied flowers, and the famous four thieves vinegar are all recognizable to modern readers. Information regarding fences, plant labeling, and walls is also included.A Curious Garden of Herbs is a delightful read for anyone interested in colonial-era kitchen gardens, for historians of the culinary arts who are experienced and those who are new to the field, and for any historian looking to provide domestic context to the worlds in which they study. The inclusion of a significant amount of nineteenth-century sources is disappointing considering the title very specifically says “Eighteenth-Century Southern Frontier.” This opens the door to anachronisms and can be a slippery slope. The square shape of the book is somewhat awkward, although it makes sense for the layout of the text and images. Keeping that in mind, Moss and Simmons have created a wonderful addition to the historiography of the culinary arts. Try the receipt for “To Ragoo Cucumbers” on page 36. You won't be disappointed.