Gardening with Grains

"Brie Arthur is the one person this world needs now more than ever when it comes to gardening and growing! Her fearless, can-do, pioneering spirit, combined with her infectious enthusiasm and professional horticulture background makes her my go-to source for gardening wisdom. Whenever Brie crosses your path, you just can’t help being inspired to start a garden, grow food, or try something new in your garden." * Joe Lamp'l, Creator & Executive producer: “Growing a Greener World”®; Founder: joegardener.com *
"Brie Arthur’s new book, Gardening With Grains is filled with fascinating observations on the beauty, culture and use of a wide variety of grains, coupled with brilliant recommendations for their creative integration into the residential landscape. Her passion for the topic is infectious and will inspire many to make space in their gardens for these important, beguiling plants." * Patrick Cullina, Principle, PATRICK CULLINA HORTICULTURAL DESIGN + CONSULTING, New York, NY *
"Brie Arthur has the vision that the landscape can be functional and food producing, as well as decorative. This idea of increased functionality alters the model that home owners and land managers have of the typical landscape. Brie is enthusiastic in promoting the idea that the inclusion of non-traditional landscape plants, for instance grain species, can enhance the target landscape, which becomes more fully utilized for the benefit of home-grown food production and the local environment." * Dr. Gary Bachman, Mississippi State University, Extension/Research Professor of Horticulture *
"Brie has a contagious passion for pushing the limits of the role of edible plants in the landscape. Her creativity, optimism, and knowledge have been at the cornerstone of the Foodscape Revolution. Her latest endeavor on grains is not only timely but an interesting way of looking at using some of the world’s most abundant crops as ornamental plants worthy of a place in the residential garden."
* Matthew Ross, director, Continuing Education, Longwood Gardens *
"In this era of rampant urbanization, Brie Arthur has reignited the cultural conversation around home landscapes and food. Her work calls out the foundation planting or side yard, the often unruly leftovers from construction, as a glaringly missed opportunity to cultivate sustenance and connections." * Kelly D. Norris Director of Horticulture and Education, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden *
"Brie Arthur is the real deal. She is extremely knowledgeable. She has worked in all aspects of horticulture under the guidance of some of the gardening greats of our time. Brie is the cheerleader we need to inspire us to action. And, most importantly, she practices what she preaches." * Pam Beck, author of Best Garden Plants for North Carolina *
Gardening with Grains is a pioneering book. …Brie Arthur is a leading voice in edible landscaping. You can follow her inspiring, upbeat adventure with growing six key grains in her home garden. From design to planting to harvest, you’ll learn along with Brie how rewarding it can be to add grains as ornamentals or edibles to your own farm-to-table garden. Part One highlights the author’s journey in growing grains and provides an overview on the history of grains in human consumption. Parts Two and Three give detailed directions on how to grow these six grains and suggestions for companion plants. The final Part Four details how to decorate your home with grains, and how to cook with grains using provided recipes. * Christine Thomson *

Brie Arthur, author of The Foodscape Revolution, is one of the foremost recent promoters of edible landscaping, or adding beautiful plants you can eat to a garden of ornamentals.

… Most of us don’t think about using grains like barley or sorghum as part of our landscapes. This book demonstrates how lovely and also how useful these plants can be. …

-- Erica H. Smith

If you are familiar with the name Brie Arthur, then you probably know that she is the author of “The Foodscape Revolution,” [which] explains how and why vegetables should be incorporated into your flower and shrub gardens. Brie is back with a new book: “Gardening with Grains: Bring the versatile beauty of grains into your landscape” (St. Lynn’s Press, 2019). Pause for a moment when you realize how amazing it is that landscape designers have completely missed the point of incorporating grains into the landscape. Is it time? …

Growing grains in your landscape is another game changer, in the same manner as using vegetables outside of the typical rows and raised beds that are usually isolated from a “pretty” landscape. …[S]o too can gardening with grains be both decorative and edible. …

If you are in a hurry to learn how to garden with grains, then perhaps you should start your search halfway through the book with chapter 7, “Designing with Grains.” But to really get a feel for what grains are all about, then read chapters 5 and 6. [They] provide ample reason for the understanding of grains. Here you will find just six (out of hundreds) different types of cool season grains, including barley, oats and wheat. Then you will read about three warm season grains that have a lot of visual appeal and may even surprise you. These are corn, rice and sorghum. …

All of the plants noted above are garden-worthy in many respects. Grains are considered to be the easiest and lowest maintenance edible product to grow and they are attractive-looking plants. …They show off their colors, texture and structure. Grains will also supply food for humans, domesticated animals and wildlife. This is like a horticultural win-win. …

Not to be overlooked is a chapter on companion plants such as annuals, perennials and shrubs that work well with grains. Having this type of balance in your garden will provide biological diversity that is the mainstay for having a living ecosystem. And for the piece de resistance for those who like to cook, Brie included a mini cookbook filled with 25 mouth-watering recipes that use the grasses included in her book. You can dine on breakfast, lunch and supper delights.

-- George Graine (Graine On Grains)
Brie Arthur’s Gardening with Grains
Good news! We have an excellent, new resource to glean for tending and keeping ancient grains. Horticulturist Brie Arthur has gone before us, with practiced methods in how to grow agricultural crops at home, in more intimate garden spaces. Gardening with Grains is a thorough, lively reading adventure, a how-to for incorporating pockets of standing grain in our everyday landscapes. Arthur brings us to her home and heart, sharing information, successful gardening advice, best-adapted varieties along with much needed coaching on processing methods. She ends the book with garden-to-table recipes and ways to bring the harvest into home decorating and family diets.
Through her eyes, we see that gardening with grains is truly a “pleasing to the eye and good for food” endeavor. Arthur imparts delightful urgency, eerily relevant in today’s economic upheaval. -- Shelley Cramm