Herbalist's Guide

"Mary Colvin’s The Herbalist’s Guide is delightfully conversational and humble. Mary covers absolutely every detail a budding herbalist needs in order to understand the depth and breadth of herbal practice. Colvin’s presentation contains balanced advice and foundational skills. This guide will become dog-eared from the constant returning to dirt-smeared pages. A soothing overview of herbal terms, preparations, tools of the trade, care of oils, tinctures, dried plants, oh my, the list is too long, and so thorough. And, like a good teacher, Mary shares some homework in each chapter to implant the knowledge. You will not feel alone while using this handbook! I felt I had a wise and steady earth mother guiding me toward practical skills. A gift for all wishing to practice well."
—Margi Flint, RH (AHG), owner of Earthsong Herbals in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and author of The Practicing Herbalist

“Mary has done an excellent job in laying out all the foundational principles a beginner or intermediate student of herbalism needs to learn in order to become a competent herbalist, either for themselves or others. She tells you how to find competent sources of information, source quality herbal materials through harvesting or purchase, and understand the medicinal properties of plants. This includes an excellent discussion of herbal energetics and how to use properties and energetics to select remedies. Her materia medica section provides useful information about harvesting, preparing, and administering many commonly used herbal remedies. The Herbalist’s Guide will make a great addition to any herbalist’s library.”
— Steven Horne, RH(AHG)

“I am hard pressed to say what Mary Colvin does not cover in this fabulous guide for those embarking on the path of herbalism. Her depth of experience and wisdom shine through on every page whether it be growing, harvesting, medicine making, safety issues and even sage advice on how to navigate online resources. Her writing feels as if she is in the room with you as her years of experience lend a deep sense of comfort as you begin or further your work with plants. She reveals her true skill as an educator and herbalist as she begins at the beginning where most books fail to mention – Herbalism and Botany. Honoring the relationships, we need to cultivate with the plant world, Mary tenderly addresses vital ecological issues of today empowering the reader to engage as a participant in the preservation of this ancient tradition. And of course, I love her brilliant teachings on energetics, the foundational language of herbalism.”

—Kat Maier, RH (AHG), author of Energetic Herbalism: A Guide to Sacred Plant Traditions and Winner of Gold Medal Nautilus Book Award for Ecological/Healing Arts

“The Herbalist’s Guide is a fantastic resource for fledgeling home herbalists and students looking for an affordable and approachable yet thorough resource to learn herbalism and incorporate it into their daily lives. Consider this book a foundational herbal study program in book form. The exercises speckled throughout are a gem to gain *experience* with the herbal medicine while learning the plants, body, and building a home apothecary.”

—Maria Noel Groves, RH(AHG), Clinical Herbalist at Wintergreen Botanicals and Author of Body into Balance

The Herbalist’s Guide is an authentic journey of a teacher mentoring the budding herbalist with detailed tools of consideration on developing their plant relationship, growth and cultivation. Colvin expresses herself in a manner that’s simple to understand and grasps the fundamental principles of building your own apothecary. This read is reminiscent of a cheerful, clear, culturally sensitive grandma holding my hand to share with me the steps needed to develop my personal relationship with plants. What a source of encouragement and wisdom graced with beautiful pictures for the serious seeker of foundational herb knowledge. I’ll be recommending this to my students
—Olatokunboh Obasi MSc., RH (AHG), CNS is founder and educator of Well of Indigenous Wisdom School.

“The Herbalist's Guide: How to Build and Use Your Own Apothecary is a great textbook for beginners familiarising themselves with the core tenants of herbal medicine. It's approachable and clearly written, making it a wonderful reference for any budding herbalist building their library of reliable and accurate information from a trustworthy source and longstanding herbalist. In a world where the combined overwhelm, change and questionable validity of online resources can make it challenging to gain a solid herbal footing, it's worth investing in The Herbalist's Guide to know you will always have the guidance of a herbalist you can trust right on your bookshelf.”

— Meghan Rhodes MCPP MAPA, Founder & Director of Rhodes Roots & Remedies: School of Herbal Medicine