From a rare and vast storehouse of botanical information -- beautiful, royalty-free illustrations of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and garden flowers. Ideal for craftwork, these handsome illustrations will also delight herbal enthusiasts. 214 black-and-white illustrations.

Step into a world of spiritual rejuvenation and radiant health with the restorative power of herbs. Brimming with herbal folklore, tips for growing and harvesting your own herbs, and over two hundred medicinal and culinary recipes from diverse cultures, Mother Nature's Herbal will become your trusted companion on the path to natural living. Take a tour of the time-honored traditions and healing practices of cultures past and present, including Native and South American, Mediterranean, East Asian, and others. Create delicious and exotic entrees, brew soothing herbal teas, mix perfumes and salves using flower essences from your backyard garden, prepare elixirs and medicines to treat every ailment—and so much more. With this wise book on your kitchen shelf, a rich heritage of herb craft and herbal tradition is at your fingertips.

Remarkably broad in its applications, this helpful reference covers a wide variety of plants. More than 100 precise drawings of flowers, leaves, buds, and growth patterns are provided for such plants as the anemone, arbutus, broad bean, bell-flower, briar rose, campanula, canterbury bell, dahlia, and lily; a detailed narrative provides descriptions of physical features and general botanical information for each plant. Invaluable for making stencils, needlework canvases, and other floral design projects, this thoroughly illustrated, comprehensive guide will be a boon to amateur and professional artists, art students, and crafters.

In the seventeenth century, even the most elaborate and fashionable gardens had areas set aside for growing herbs, fruit, vegetables and flowers for domestic use, while those of more modest establishments were vital to the survival of the household. This was also a period of exciting introductions of plants from overseas.Using manuscript household manuals, recipe books and printed herbals, this book takes the reader on a tour of the productive garden and of the various parts of the house - kitchens and service rooms, living rooms and bedrooms - to show how these plants were used for cooking and brewing, medicines and cosmetics, in the making and care of clothes, and finally to keep rooms fresh, fragrant and decorated. Recipes used by seventeenth-century households for preparations such as flower syrups, snail water and wormwood ale are also included.A brief herbal gives descriptions of plants that are familiar today, others not so well known, such as the herbs used for dyeing and brewing, and those that held a particular cultural importance in the seventeenth century. Featuring exquisite coloured illustrations from John Gerard's herbal of 1597 as well as prints, archival material and manuscripts, this book provides an intriguing and original focus on the domestic history of Stuart England.

Over 340 handsome and botanically accurate wood engravings selected from two classic Victorian publications: Paxton's Flower Garden and The Natural History of Plants. Includes exquisite renderings of a broad spectrum of plant forms: baobab tree, quaking grass, winged pea, and many other unusual plants. Each illustration includes the scientific name and brief description.