Eek, a new book! I'm loving the new interest in herbalism I'm seeing, thanks to a renewed interest in independent, sustainable, and resilient life style choices that many have made since COVID. There's a lot of online buzz about growing and nourishing with herbs, more so than I've seen in years, which can only be a good thing, right? There's been quite a few books released in the last couple of years that are fresh, user friendly and gorgeously presented. This book is a kind of follow up to 'Plants for the People', a book I reviewed previously on HIVE - this is a fabulous start for anyone new to herbalism and if you're an intermediate like me, knows a bit and is not afraid to dabble, there's a few great recipes and inspiring ideas too. But this book goes a step further - I bought it after a brief flick through at the Wholefoods cafe in town today and I'm already glad I did - I'm totally inspired!

First of all, it's beautifully presented - a gorgeous hardback that sits proudly amongst my other most treasured plant medicine books. There's lovely coloured photographs and the book has a nice feel to it. But it's the richness of the content that makes me glad I bought it. Even the hubs got involved with my enthusiasm, and he was also impressed - and he's perused his fair share of alternative medicine books in his time!

The book is organised by both recipes and 'daily protocols', which are kinda roadmaps for certain issues - say, menopause, gut health, pregnancy or depression. Each protocol gives page numbers for recipes that might support that problem. Drink this tea, try this infusion, sprinkle your salad with this vinegar, and so on.

There's also some inspiring ways to prepare herbs, such as using powders. At the beginning of the book, there's detailed recipes for preparing tinctures, syrups, vitamins and so on - so the recipes tend to cross reference to the basic recipes and to the daily protocol as well. I'm quite interested in making herbal powders, because they store well and you can put them in soups, smoothies and mylk drinks - winner. Can't wait for next year when I've finished work and can play, play, play with herbs!

Honestly, this is one of the best herbal reference books I've ever bought, and I have quite a few, dating back to the '70's! It's really, really user friendly and detailed. If you're into herbalism, or just beginning your journey, I'd recommend it highly.