Herbs and the Earth: An Evocative Excursion Into the Lore & Legend of Our Common Herbs

By Henry Beston

Book Overview

"Charming, delightful, and a great companion for gardeners and naturalists alike."--Booklist

Lavender, basil, hyssop, balm, sage, rue -- the thinking gardener's guide to herbs.

Writer/naturalist Henry Beston, a founding father of the environmental movement, believed that a strong connection to nature is essential. "It is only when we are aware of the earth and of the earth as poetry that we truly live," Beston says in his now-classic Herbs and the Earth. In this book, Beston shares one of those connections as seen through the oldest group of plants known to gardeners.

"A garden of herbs," he writes, "is a garden of things loved for themselves in their wholeness and integrity. It is not a garden of flowers, but a garden of plants which are sometimes very lovely flowers and are always more than flowers." Whether you are already a committed herbalist or just dreaming of planting your first small garden, this book is a powerfully rich source of inspiration and information. As Roger B. Swain observes in his moving introduction, Herbs and the Earth has an intensity that evokes the herbs themselves, as if, pressed between the pages, their aroma has seeped into the pages.

This Nonpareil edition includes both an introduction by Roger B. Swain and an afterword by Bill McKibben.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1567927734
• ISBN13: 9781567927733
• Release Date: April 2024
• Publisher: Nonpareil Books
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

An Herbalist's Bible

Until you have read Herbs and the Earth by Henry Beston, you know half of what the Earth knows of magic, fine gardening and great literature. I have read most of the writers from Findhorn and Perelandra, as well as Emerson, Thoreau, Steiner and the rest; I find here a more authentic connection with the earth from one of the most eloquent translators of her many voices. You will find much love and lore in this book. Beston's depth and devotion will amaze and delight you. I consider this the herbalist's bible, if only they knew it!