[Sca-cooks] MY new herb garden...

[jenne at fiedlerfamily.net]

> Seton1355 at aol.com writes:
> > It all reminds me of _Brother Cadfael's Herbal Book_. At least I
> think that > is the title.  Does anyone have this book or an opinion
> of this book? Is it > a > *must have* or is it just hype? > >
>
> I have it; it is a beautifully done coffee-table book, but I do not have
> enough knowledge of herbs to be able to say how good the information is.  To
> me, it seems pretty much based on explaining to the general public what the
> herbs are that are mentioned in the show, and what else might have been in a
> monastic garden.  If you already have some basic knowledge in this area, it
> is probably too general for what you need.

I do NOT have it, though occassionally I have been known to borrow it to
explain why I don't particularlly like it. It does have good pictures, and
it does cover herbs that were known in period (though some are a bit
iffy).

But it's primarily a book for Brother Cadfael fans, and if you aren't
sharp (or well-versed in Cadfael), you can get very confused between what
is a documented period use and what is a use that occured in the Cadfael
plots, because the authors don't descriminate carefully between them.

It's a pretty book, but if you've got $30 to spend, go on abebooks.com and
find a copy of Thomas Hill's Gardener's Labyrinth, which is a period text
reprinted with 16th and 17th century paintings and engravings as
illustrations.

-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa
jenne at fiedlerfamily.net OR jenne at tulgey.browser.net OR jahb at lehigh.edu
	"Index your brain."