Book Review: "The Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm" by Peggy Schafer

Review by Michael Laughrin, Michael@jyotish.ws

See, this was the quandary. My wife loved gardening and I loved herbs--for their medicinal and tonic uses, but not growing them. It seemed that we were worlds apart in our interests.

But, along came this new book--around the end of 2011--that tied together gardening (or farming) and Chinese medicinal herbs! I bought a few copies, one for us and one as a present, and, lo and behold! My wife and I were more or less on the same page concerning growing things for the first time in years.

This book is wonderful for several reasons:

The herbs are listed by their Latin names, their English names (if they have one), and several varieties of their Chinese names.
Ms. Schafer lists the common medicinal uses of each herb.
She gives the climate they like and which other plants they like to be near.
Clear color photos of each herb accompany the write up of each herb.
Sources of herbs, books, and affiliated organizations can be found in the back of the book.
Last but not least, Ms. Schafer is available for phone consultations at a reasonable price.

I consider this book a breakthrough for gardeners and farmers in North America and also an important reference guide for all who love herbs, especially Asian herbs.

From the June/July 2012 issue of Michael Laughrin's North American Jyotish Newsletter. Click to subscribe to this free Jyotish newsletter.