Healing garden Cultivating and handcrafting herbal remedies

Blankespoor, founder of Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine, brings her 30 years of experience "as a plant--human" to the page in this information-packed debut. As she writes, "gardening is medicine for our spirit, mind, and body," and she makes a case that growing remedies at home is a way to "tread more lightly on the earth." She starts with soil basics (nettles, chickweed, and horsetail make good fertilizers) and moves through solutions for disease and pests (homemade garlic-pepper spray, for instance, takes care of aphids). Then she digs into making medicine, which includes harvesting (for roots of perennial herbs, this is best done in fall or early spring) and drying plants, either by using a dehydrator or by bundling and hanging them. There are recipes for teas, tinctures, syrups, and oil infusions: elderberry syrup can be "taken throughout the winter months to boost immunity and increase circulation," a "Weedy & Wonderful Soothing Salve" works to "soothe and heal dry, chafed hands and feet and chapped lips," and herbal finishing salts are a "nice alternative for preserving fresh culinary herbs." Lush photographs accompany Blankespoor's practical advice. This compendium is worth a look for gardeners who'd rather turn to the outdoors than the drugstore. Agent: Coleen O'Shea, The O'Shea Agency. (Apr.)