Herbalism Reading List Summer 2021
I am really a nerd at heart. I love love love reading. Even though my official studies for my Master of Herbalism program is over I have a large stack of books waiting for me. For me that stack of books is literally knowledge just waiting to be had. Many of the books I picked up over my Summer Field Study program and they can be purchased at Forager’s Harvest in Bruce, Wisconsin.
So without further ado here is my list of fun summer reading.
Plants Have so Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do is Ask
I have just finished reading this fun book of Anishinaabe plant lore. I love history and folk lore. The plants featured in this book are also common in my region and some of them are very easy to find. So this book connects me both with the plants and history of my home area. Highly recommended. Here is an awesome quote from the book–
In the story of ‘The Year the Roses Died,’ we are told that for all creation to continue as Creator wanted it to in the beginning when Creator created all that is, we must all do our part to keep the whole in harmony and in balance. We forget that to our peril! The sight and smell of a rose are here to remind us the harmony inherent in our world. The thorns are there to keep us mindful of greed that endangers the balance and thereby endangers the whole of creation.
The Boreal Herbal
This beautiful, full color book is fun just to flip through. It includes tips on plant identification and harvesting as well as recipes and preservation techniques. My home is in the border Boreal areas so many of the plants are available very close to home. I love being able to connect with a harvest my own plants so this is another hit. And it is just so beautiful. If I am not in the mood for reading I can still look at and enjoy this book through the pictures. Picture books are not just for kids!
Incredible Wild Edibles
Written by local foraging legend Sam Thayer. Thayer also owns a store front, Forager’s Harvest, with his wife Melissa Price. I met Melissa at a trail walk where she pointed out local edible plants and their uses. If you are in the area Forager’s Harvest is a very fun place to stop, especially if you love books.
Thus Spoke the Plant
I bought this in Alma, Wisconsin at the Botanica Boutique. It is a small, fun book that combines a scientific perspective with folklore and history to create a unique love song to the plants. Shared from 3 different perspectives–“a scientist, traditional plant practitioners and the plants themselves” it is bound to be fascinating and is next on my list.
Forgotten Fires
Melissa Price of Forager’s Harvest recommended this book saying it described “ecoculture.” Ecoculture is similar to agriculture but works with nature’s plants versus altering the landscape. It records a forgotten history of how Native Americans managed the land to produce food crops that looked vastly different then European agriculture. It is published by the University of Oklahoma Press.
