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Man has long used medicinal plants for healing. Even the process of tending a garden is therapeutic. Here is a selection of books on the subject.
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This is a photographic guide to the most commonly used and best known medicinal plants of the world, taking medicinal in its widest sense. Pumpkins, crocuses, corn are covered, along with the more obvious digitalis, lavender, aloes, etc.
Van Wyk (Professor of Botany, Rand Afrikaans University., Johannesburg, South Africa) and Wink (Professor of Pharmaceutical Biology, University. of Heidelberg, Germany) are certainly well-qualified, and after summarising the mechanisms of action of active compounds in medicinal plants and covering quality, safety, and efficacy issues, this book provides an accessible and very well-illustrated A-Z.
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This book is beautifully written and produced. 150 of the most important
herbs are presented in full, with history, recipes, growing tips, botanical
plates and photos.
Deni Bown is a herbologist and photographer and author of the Encylopaedia
of Herbs and their Uses. This book is published in conjunction with the
Chelsea Physic Garden and is a handsome and useful addition to any garden
library.
Strongly recommended.
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Geraldene Holt is a successful food writer with a speciality in the foods of France. So of course she has a house in a picturesque part of France, the medieval village of Saint Montan, deep in the Ardeche region of southern France. The curate's ancient, walled garden is overgrown and neglected, and Geraldene approaches her local council with a proposal to restore the garden.
The council is delighted at the prospect of free labour and an authentic restoration, and the author sets to work with a will. Local inhabitants bring cuttings of herbs and plants which have outgrown their gardens, and gradually the project takes shape. This is a gentle, encouraging read, and the evolution of the garden through such natural methods - with a bare mention of a visit to a large nursery - is the direct antithesis of a garden makeover.
It would have been helpful to have had more illustrations, although there is a very tasteful plan at the back. But if a picture is worth a thousand words, the book would have been much shorter. For instance, it was annoying to read about cicadas, and be told that the image is widely used as decoration in the area, and be informed that few people have seen one, and at the same time be presented with a couple of lilac sketches of unidentified plants. And it would have been nice to have had images of the before and after gardens, although maybe that would have spoilt the gentle atmosphere.
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'The aromatherapy garden: growing and using scented plants' is written by Julia Lawless, who is 'raised within the tradition of herbal and folk remedies', with additional studies in Western and Tibetan herbal medicine.
The book starts with a detailed description of her own garden and the planting thereof, which was pleasant enough, but felt like a slight detour. There follows a potted history of scented gardening, through the usual suspects - the Alhambra, Babylon, the medieval flowery meads and so forth. On to aromatic herbs for health and cooking; perfumery and aromatherapy border; fragrant exotica and container plants; secrets from the still room ('a still room serves to preserve the scents of summer'; planning an aromatherapy garden; and finally, aromatherapy plant portraits.
The book is prettily illustrated, and there are some fun recipes for making soap and oils, but it seems a little unstructured. Every now and then it is a little hard to follow. For instance: 'Melissa is the main ingredient of the traditional eau-de-cologne, Carmelite water and a toilet water can be made from the fresh leaves - see page 72', but when you turn to page 72 there is no explanation of what Carmelite water is.
But these are small criticisms and the book is attractive and would make a nice gift for someone who is becoming interested in aromatherapy.
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This volume describes the pioneering horticultural therapy work of the Natural Growth Project at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, where psychotherapy takes place in a natural setting on allotments and in a Remembrance Garden. Using nature both as a medium of communication and as a source of healing, transpersonal psychotherapist Jenny Grut and her team work with individuals and families whose lives have been shattered by torture and organized violence. The book draws on ten years of experience and outlines a working practice.
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That's it for this category. Click here to suggest a title and we'll do our best to review it. Or send us your own review.
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