Poetic Prose for Herbal Souls on a Wintery Day 

By Debra Knapke

Here’s my first Book Note for 2013: Herbs and the Earth by Henry Beston, originally published in 1935.

A dear friend gave me the hardback Goodine Publisher edition (1990) in 1991.  This is a book for a snowy day, a roaring fire and your favorite cup of tea.   Henry Beston’s poetic prose draws you into the beauty of herbs and the mystery of life.  When I read it the first time, I felt that I finally understood herbs and by association, the people who grow and love them.  The second time, his words settled gently on my “herbal” soul.  Periodically I pick it up and savor my favorite parts.

For the New Year, I would also like to share with you one of my favorite quotes:

“A garden is the mirror of a mind.  It is a place of life, a mystery of green moving to the pulse of the year, and pressing on and pausing the while to its own inherent rhythms.  In making a garden, there is something to be sought, and something to be found.”