general

So what do you expect from an Herbal Almanac? Well, you want a 'Moon Quarters' table to let you know when to plant herbs, when you should expect good growth and when to harvest your herbs. You want this charted daily for every month of the year, and if there are daily notes indicating best planting and harvesting times, then this would be a good chart. A 'Moon in Signs' list would be good as well, and if it was incorporated in this chart on a daily basis, along with elemental correspondences for each day, this would be a good Almanac for use with herbal growing.

But this would take all of 15 pages. So what else would you want in an Herbal Almanac? How about... information on herbs?

This book has the Moon chart and so much more. Eighteen authors contribute material to fill out what is an interesting and useful book on herbs and their growth, harvest, preservation and use.

The format of the Almanac is to present articles on "Growing and Gathering Herbs', 'Culinary Herbs', Herbs for Health', 'Herbs for Beauty', 'Herb Crafts' and "Herb History, Myth, and Magic'. The book is accompanied by the usual disclaimer: 'Note: The old-fashioned remedies in this book are historical references used for teaching purposes only.' A good notation and a good thing to remember as you leaf through the Health and Beauty parts of the book.

The articles are well worth the reading and cover a variety of topics and are varied in their approach to herbs and herb gardening. The article on 'Starting an Herbal Garden' by Pearlmoon is a very basic overview and allows for your own ideas and development, while 'Herbs for Shade Gardens' by James Kambos goes into details and addresses specifics that you may have regarding the area you have for your herb garden.

The culinary section is chock full of delicious ideas for using the herbs you grow. There are lots of yummy recipes. Herbs for Health discusses uses for herbs with possible reactions or side effects as well as their effectiveness. There is a good article on 'Herbs for Menopause' by Leeda Alleyn Pacotti, a practicing naturopathic physician and nutritional counselor and master herbalist. Herbs for Beauty articles discuss the ways in which herbs can be used in the daily care of our bodies. Herb Crafts give us other uses for our herbs, such as incense, bouquets or as decoration for our hair.

And finally, Herb history, Myth and Magic introduces us to the backgrounds and uses of some herbs in myth as well as magic. There is a interesting article on 'The Lore and Magic of Honeysuckle' by Tammy Sullivan is very detailed with some 'gee, I didn't know that' information.

This is a well written and put together book that anyone interested in herbs would find a good addition to their library, from beginners to the most experienced. boudica