The Healing Garden by Juliet Blankespoor
As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast:
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:
The Healing Garden by Juliet Blankespoor
This book came out in 2022, and the subtitle is: Cultivating & Handcrafting Herbal Remedies.
Oh, my dear garden friends, this is one of those books that makes you want to immediately clear a new bed in your garden! Juliet Blankespoor brings us into her world of herbal medicine with such charm and authenticity that you can almost smell the herbs as you turn the pages.
Let me share this delightful excerpt where Juliet describes her journey:
My infatuation with herbal medicine started with college botany classes.
Stamens, stigmas, and anthers were my first dates what would become a lifelong love affair with plants.
Today, I plan my vacations around botanical gardens, and I keep random pieces of colorful bark in my pocket in case I need an icebreaker in an awkward social situation.
Three decades into this journey as a plant-human matchmaker, I've owned just about every type of herbal business you can imagine: an herbal nursery, a medicinal products business, a clinical practice, and now an online herbal school specializing in bioregional, hands-on herbalism.
And for those just starting their herbal journey, Blankespoor thoughtfully provides a "Top 20 Garden Herbs" list, focusing on plants that are both easy to grow and medicinally versatile - from the cheerful calendula to the powerful echinacea.
But I must say it's Juliet's curiosity and hands-on approach that really draws us in.
Listen to this moment of discovery:
One day, in native plant identification class, my professor introduced me to the herb bayberry.
In my after-school research, I learned the root bark was the medicinal part of the plant.
Root bark?
I had no idea roots even had bark!
So, I pulled out a shovel and dug up the plant's roots to see for myself.
I experimented with decoctions of the bark whenever friends got the sniffles or had a sore throat. In this fashion, I was able to learn how to make medicine and harvest plants (I had proper identification on my side from my university botany studies - safety first, friends, always!).
What you'll love about this book is how it seamlessly combines growing advice with medicine-making wisdom. With 75 pages dedicated to medicine making and 82 herbal recipes, it's a treasure trove for anyone interested in creating their own herbal remedies. The book guides you through everything from growing herbs from seeds to crafting tinctures, syrups, and poultices.
This book is 440 pages of practical herbal wisdom, growing guides, and proven healing recipes.
SI HORTUM IN HORTORIA PODCASTA IN BIBLIOTEHCA HABES, NIHIL DEERIT.
