The Hedgerow Apothecary: Recipes, Remedies and Rituals

by Christine Iverson

Learn to forage in the hedgerows like the herbalists of the past. Discover how to make delicious preserves, healing balms, soothing toddies and cures for colds with nature’s jewels such as rose hips, elderberries and mugwort. This sustainable and ethical art is also laced with fascinating folklore and steeped in history. With photographs to help you safely identify edible plants, advice on what is available each season and how best to prepare and preserve your finds, this is the essential guide to enjoying the bountiful delights of the hedgerows.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Witchcraft, History

208 pages, Hardcover

Published October 10, 2019

About the author

When I’m not writing… You can find me exploring new places and discovering their stories, hiking with my family, or reading through the latest library haul with my kids.

Background
Member of SCBWI since 2017
Member of 12 x 12 since January of 2020
Homeschooling mom to three

M.Ed. from Penn State University with a focus in children's literature

Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Baylor University

B.S. in European History from the United States Military Academy

US Army Veteran

Reviews

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully structured, illustrated and detailed book about foraging and how to use plants which grow wildly around you.
Personally I would mainly recomend the book to anyone new to foraging, but I would also recomend it to a seasoned forager too.
It's a light and easy read, perfect to pick up for a short while.
I would also recomend reading through the book chronologically bookmarking things you will possiblly want to come back to, then you can flip through the book, as if it were a book which you can dib and dab out of.
100% Great read.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful book - wonderful to flick through, and if you're looking for something in particular. I wished that we could search by month/season, and not just by plant.

[Sarah Rushbrooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great beginner's guide to foraging. I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about plant lore and foraging. The recipes are all fairly simple and easy to do at home.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really enjoyable, attractive, simple yet interesting book. Its perfect for beginners as it covers many well known plants that everyone can identify such as oak, snowdrops, nettles, bluebells, poppies and dandelions, as well as introducing the reader to less popularly known common plants such as betony, plantain and mullein.

The book starts with a quick introduction on what you need in a foraging toolkit, the rules of foraging, and a foraging calender as well as teaching the reader a little about the foragers of the past. Each plant covered consists of details on identification, its history, uses in folklore and folk medicine as well as other, more modern day uses, before being followed up by a simple recipe using the plant as an ingredient in things such as tinctures, balms and teas. The book then ends with a few pages about the various celtic festivals.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in taking up foraging or who wants to know more about plant lore.

[G. Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous read. Can't praise it more. Great layout, pictures, info and recipes. Highly useful and easy to use.

[JW · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved this! Easy to read, well researched and interesting and I liked how it was organized!

[Fawna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly adored this book. It's cute, informative and small enough to take with you if you decide to go out foraging.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book with lots of familiar recipes and ideas. It's a pretty, full colour publication that would make a nice gift for a beginner but I think you can find a lot of the information elsewhere with more science and extensive folklore resources.