Witch's Garden: Plants in Folklore, Magic and Traditional Medicine (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)

The Witch's Garden describes over 50 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. The Witch's Garden offers:

• The story of our folklore fascination with these magical specimens
• The beliefs and rituals surrounding the natural world
• Illustrations and archival images from the Royal Botanical Garden

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 this story and beautifully evokes the bewitching nature of mysterious plants.

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. Her travel writing is collected on madamepassepartout.com.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world-famous scientific organisation, holding an unrivalled position for its outstanding collections of plants and fungi, artefacts and art, world-class Herbarium as well as its expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development. From its beginnings as a small physic garden in 1759 it has grown to become a top international visitor attraction and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kew's 132 hectares of stunning landscaped gardens and iconic glasshouses make it one of the world's best-loved gardens, a paradise for plant lovers, offering a wealth of ideas and inspiration to all.