“The thirty ‘Magic Square’ garden plots offer plenty of ideas, from a simple salad garden with a variety of lettuces, to gardens for soup, stir fry, root crops and more.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“So many gardening books feature plants’ mile-long Latin names and confusing charts. Not this one. Its easy-to-follow instructions, diagrams, and photos inspire desire to grow good-for-the-body fresh produce from little yard space. A bonus: some delicious serving suggestions. One Magic Square tells you everything you need to get started and profiles each plant.”
—The Virginian-Pilot
“Australian gardener Houbein has a personal and intimate understanding of food security, having survived famine during the Nazi occupation in Holland. She warns of the dangers of globalized, corporate agribusiness and ‘aims to put you in control of the production of at least part of the food you need’ . . . The book provides basic gardening information and a wide variety of square-yard vegetable garden plans . . . [and is] as much a compilation of Houbein’s gardening life as a straightforward step-by-step how-to manual. Like an eccentric but wise great aunt, at turns whimsically practical . . . Houbein offers much valuable advice.”
—Publishers Weekly
“One Magic Square . . . enchants on many levels. Veggie gardeners (especially rookies) will benefit from Houbein’s knowledge, which is informed by science and folk wisdom, as well as the breadth of its content (growing information, 30 design plots, many recipes). This single line could sustain us for life: ‘Never garden in a mood of wanting to control everything.’”
—Chicago Tribune
“From plot designs to starting seeds to composting, [One Magic Square] offers beginners a manageable way to get started with organic gardening. It also gives great advice on natural ways of keeping pests away, as well as useful vegetable groupings, [and] even recipes.”
—The Post-Star