Published in 2023
4 hours and 30 minutes
Sandra Lawrence is a journalist and author. She writes for the Evening Standard, Guardian, Financial Times, The Times, Londonist.com and the English Garden. She is the London columnist for British Heritage magazine and is on the Q&A panel of experts for History Revealed magazine.
What is this book about?
The Witch’s Garden describes over fifty of the world’s most powerful, harmful, legendary, and storied plants—from the screaming mandrake to calming St John’s Wort, to predicting the weather with seaweed, the creation of salves for broken hearts, sore heads, protection from evil spirits, and to even induce immortality.
Wise women, apothecaries, witches, herbalists: whatever you like to call them, those who cultivate plants for their apparent mystical properties have existed for thousands of years. The Witch’s Garden tells the story of our folkloric fascination with these magical specimens, documenting the beliefs and rituals surrounding the natural world. This book beautifully evokes the bewitching nature of mysterious plants.