Book Review: Bud, Blossom, and Leaf
Bud, Blossom, and Leaf: The Magical Herb Gardener's Handbook
Author: Dorothy Morrison
Trade Paperback, 192 pages
Publisher: Llewellyn
Publication date: January 2001
ISBN: 156718443X
More Information:
http://www.ecauldron.com/cncbook.php?asin=156718443X
Dorothy Morrison is one of Llewellyn's best authors. Bud,
Blossom, & Leaf is another well-written Morrison book. In spite
of the magickal trappings, this book is basically a book on herb
gardening and herbal recipes.
The first part of this book is on growing herbs. This takes you
from planning your garden through planting it, helping it grow,
and finally harvesting your herbs. Morrison realizes that not
all of her readers have a yard to plant a garden in so she
covers both yard gardens and pot gardens. There's even a short
section on hydroponic herb gardens. While I'm not a master
gardener, the information doesn't seem at odds with what I know
from my own attempts at gardens over the years. Most gardening
activities in this section are enhanced with short rituals and
spells you can perform as you do the tasks. As might be expected
from the author of Everyday Magic, these spells and rituals are
well-designed and well-written.
The second half of this book provides herb recipes for pest
control, cleaning, bath and beauty products, first aid, and even
food. A few samples: flea and mosquito repellent, wood cleaning
polish, garden shampoo, herbal moisturizer, upset stomach tea,
and herbal shortbread cookies. The final chapter of this section
covers magical uses of herbs. This chapter features projects
such as herb beads and papers, incense cones, and herb lamps.
While not a "must buy" book by any stretch of the imagination,
Bud, Blossom, & Leaf is a useful introduction to gardening. It
would be particularly useful for anyone wanting to incorporate
magick into their gardening methods, but who can't quite figure
out how.
This review is one of hundreds of reviews of Pagan, Wiccan,
occult, and metaphysical books in The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum's
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