Herbs

I found this book at a thrift store and I can't put it down! Being slightly too lazy to scan my copy, I tried to find an image to show you what I'm talking about, but all I could find was this copyrighted image from amazon. The book is really old and not much in fashion at the moment.

It is fascinating to me! Back in college, I took a botany class and still feel pretty comfortable with the terms and parts. Having family members with a somewhat specialized knowledge of wildflowers and the like has given me a natural tendency to be interested in the area. And it is so practical. 

The Herbalist has a lot to offer for such a small book. There is an illustrated, encyclopedic section telling the various names, descriptions and uses of the herbs. Then a lot of recipes and directions for making teas, spices, wines, cordials, bitters, potpourri, sachets, dentifrices, gargles, cosmetics, dyes, smoke mixtures and curios. 

(Now I'll be able to get some use out of my Rosemary's Baby necklace...)

I think the next thing to do is start collecting examples of these plants, pressed for reference. And eventually do some further reading. Here are some other books on the subject. 1 // 2 // 3 // 4

Delving into an area of special study for the purpose of independent enrichment is so good for the brain. Do you have an area of interest like this? For one of my brothers, it seems to be early roman emperors and for James it is American folk songs right now...