A musical celebration of the garden, from chaff to grass, and all of its lowly weeds, herbs, and creatures Sylvia Legris’s Garden Physic is a paean to the pleasures and delights of one of the world’s most cherished pastimes: Gardening! “At the center of the garden the heart,” she writes, “Red as any rose. Pulsing / balloon vine. Love in a puff.” As if composed out of a botanical glossolalia of her own invention, Legris’s poems map the garden as body and the body as garden—her words at home in the phytological and anatomical—like birds in a nest. From an imagined love-letter exchange on plants between garden designer Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson to a painting by Agnes Martin to the medicinal discourse of the first-century Greek pharmacologist Pedanius Dioscorides, Garden Physic engages with the anaphrodisiacs of language with a compressed vitality reminiscent of Louis Zukofsky’s “80 Flowers.” In muskeg and yard, her study of nature bursts forth with rainworm, whorl of horsetail, and fern radiation—spring beauty in the lines, a healing potion in verse.

In the heart of London, beside the Thames not far from the site of the world famous flower show, there is another magical garden. It has been there for over three hundred years and is now the calmest corner, and the most valuable four acres of freehold, in fashionable SW3. It has been the scene of some of the most important developments in the history of horticulture, medicine and twentieth-century agriculture. This book tells its fascinating story.

A celebration of the outstanding work produced by the artists of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society. Chelsea Physic Garden was founded by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries in 1673 as a resource providing plant material for the training of apothecaries. For most of its existence, the Garden has been a focus for botanists, taxonomists, students and horticulturists both for employing their skills and in training the next generation. These activities have been supported by the work of plant illustrators. It is the purpose of this book to display the work of talented late twentieth- and early twenty-first century botanical artists, members of Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society, whose explicit aim is to illustrate plants in cultivation in the Garden. In 1995 the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society was co-founded by Margaret King and Wendy Page. It is a group of artists, the first cohort of which had been studying for a Diploma in botanical illustration at the English Gardening School at Chelsea Physic Garden. 'Botanical Illustration from Chelsea Physic Garden' includes selected works from the garden's archive, which now totals about 500 works. The seventy-eight illustrations reproduced include one in pen-and-ink and three in graphite (lead pencil), all examples of work by masters of their technique. Also included is one work in coloured pencil which is, even on close inspection, indistinguishable from the best water-colour painting. The plates are accompanied by notes about the uses of the plants, as well as the botanical name of the plant and its family. 78 colour

A beautiful and accessible seasonal guide to herbalism from the historic botanic garden. Discover the best times of the year for growing specific healing herbs and also when and how to forage for wild medicine, such as water mint, St John's Wort, hawthorn berries and rosehips. Recipes are included for how to use these herbs, along with folklore stories from herb wives and hedge witches, the meanings behind their names and the history of how these natural medicines were discovered. There are plenty of tips for how to create your own medicinal herb garden, even with just a few pots, along with a biodynamic guide for sowing, planting and harvesting. Including detailed hand-drawn line illustrations to help deepen your understanding, The Herb Almanac is the perfect gift for any nature lover. CONTENTS INCLUDES: Introduction Including using herbs as seasonally appropriate remedies and tonics, an overview of herbs in folklore, wild medicine, magic, superstition, ritual, tradition and literature and herbs in religion and floriography (the language of flowers) Gathering and Using Herbs Including safe, legal and successful foraging, a brief introduction to growing your own herbs and preparing, drying and preserving herbs Witches' Brews: Poisonous Plants Including an overview of herbs with interesting stories that cannot be easily used, e.g. wormwood, hemlock and mandrake Herb Encyclopedia Including detailed information on over 50 different herbs

From the common stinging nettle to exotic adaptogens, the plant world is the most incredible medicine cabinet. With detailed profiles of more than 140 herbs, be inspired by this beautiful book to bring more plants into your life for health and happiness. A 'herbal' is essentially a book that contains a list of plants with notes on each plant's identification and uses. They were also often a family reference passed down through the generations like a recipe book, with remedies passed from mothers to daughters. Herbals would be used as reminders of when and how to harvest and prepare herbs, empowering families to look after their health. In Healing with Plants: The Chelsea Physic Garden Herbal, discover how to make your own simple herbal remedies, ideas for how to create a healing herb garden and how to forage for herbs in the wild. A history of healing and fascinating stories are told, including a guide to which ailments each herb can treat and how to use them, from healing trauma with St John's Wort to soothing a sore throat with an infusion of thyme and honey. The herbs included are those most well known for having some therapeutic benefit or that have made significant contributions to the history of medicine. Most are also easily accessible for preparing simple healing home remedies, mainly because they are common garden or hedgerow plants.

From the winner of the Griffin Prize, a richly lyrical collection of poems exploring the body's minutiae

Moving, poetic and quietly provocative' – The Independent. City life in the early nineteenth century was never short of drama: poverty and pollution preyed on all but the lucky few, and ‘resurrection men’ prowled the streets to procure corpses for anatomists to experiment on. Life is improving, however, for young William Lang, who begins courting Jenny, a fine needlewoman, and forms an unlikely friendship with botanist Dr Thomas Brown while working in the physic garden for a leading professor of surgery.At first, William relishes the opportunity to extend his knowledge of plants and their healing properties while foraging in the countryside in the service of his new friend. The young couple’s relationship blossoms, until seeds of trouble threaten to grow out of control.