The Essential Herbal March/April 2006

The Mar/Apr '06 issue of The Essential Herbal is in the mail and should start reaching subscribers in another week or so. It is so full of spring, and the dreams and hopefulness of the awakening earth that it was a BIG letdown for me when the temperatures took a nosedive this week. However, I did see my first snowdrop in bloom the other day!

So...we have so much good stuff in this issue. To begin with, there is the obligatory crossword puzzle :-). On the back cover, Barbara Poole writes about poke salad, and the lessons her grandmother taught her.

Geri Burgert agreed to become our "Suburban Herbie", and I'm very excited about that. Geri has such a refreshing take on plants, nature, and the world in general.

Susanna Reppert Brill's column - "Never Enough Thyme" talks about the dandelion and gives several tempting options for serving them. Then, regular writer Susan Evans really surprised me with an article on sea vegetables. It was a surprise because I'd been thinking of that very subject for a few days. Mary Ellen Wilcox sent us something on the bitter herbs of Passover, and also an article on Ginger - The Oldest Spice. We got some lovely recipes using Lemon Herbs from Barbara Steele, and some ideas for starting a garden journal from Karen Creel. After a brief discussion of Albizzia on the yahoo list, Maureen Rogers sent us a profile of "The Happiness Herb". Maryanne Schwartz wrote about Spring Cleaning, but without all the chemicals we're used to using. Karen Hegre sent an awesome dip.

Oh! But that's not all! Barbara Will sent information on the *real* patron saint of gardening. There is information on Soap Felting from Tracy Westbury, and a marketing minute from Rachel Johnston. The Yahoo list came up with a fabulous article on the uses of edible flowers, and Dr. Tamara Hartley-Hunt compiled a wonderful listing describing the flavors and colors of many, many flowers. Cindy Jones gives us information on why we need to have our products tested before selling them, and Betty Pillsbury writes of the wisdon of growing sage in the garden.

We also had lots of new (and also our regular) advertisers. This issue will be gracing the shelves of several new shops, along with the books and kits. It's been an interesting year so far!