Forget-Her-Nots Every Flower Has a Secret

Laurel’s mother passes away, just when she needs her most.. on the cusp of becoming a young woman. Her father immediately sells their home and moves them away from her mothers beloved gardens. Her grandmother is devastated and becomes withdrawn, even going so far as burning her own gardens!
Laurel starts school at a boarding school that her mother and her grandmother both attended. The only person she knows there is her cousin, Rose. She is lonely with few friends and deeply missing her mother, home and the supporting love of her grandmother.
Things begin to change one day when Laurel is giving a presentation in English class on the Victorian Language of Flowers. Strange sensations and thoughts begin to happen when Laurel interacts with the flowers she brought for the demonstration.  She soon learns she has the ability to affect peoples lives with the flowers she shares with them! Giving a spinster teacher a bouquet transforms the teacher's life with a love interest, and soon Laurel’s secret is out. Other girls begin clamoring for Laurel to give them flowers to help with tests or attract a boy. Being only fourteen years old, Laurel doesn’t fully understand or have the ability to have control of her power and many unusual things begin to happen to the girls who receive requested  tussie mussies and bouquets from her!
Ms. Suarez, who is in charge of the schools conservatory, takes Laurel under her wing and begins to reveal to Laurel her family legacy. Her grandmother finally recovers from the devastating grief of loosing her daughter, and joins in to help guide Laurel in learning to control her inherited power.
I highly recommend this book for young women. Very well written, entertaining, and enchanting. I found it a delightful read myself! Amy Brecount White has crafted an amazingly magical story!

 Hugs to All who Visit Comfrey Cottages xx

Free Webinars for You

Tomorrow evening, Wednesday 26th, the American Herbalist Guild is offering a free webinar entitled From Seed to Safe Use: Defining the Modern Apothecary. It will be presented by Eric Yarnell, Eric 'McKey' McKinney, and R. Erin 'R.E.' Murrell.  In this joint-lecture, they will  explore both the history and the many facets of the modern day apothecary, all the way from seed to safe use. You must register ahead of time if you are interested and on the site, there is a spot to click to figure out what time it starts in your area.

The Color of Vitality: Seeing Healing Constituents in Healing Foods and Herbs, webinar, Tuesday February 7th., via the Sylvan Institute of Botanical Medicine, will be taught by Lisa Ganora. “ What are the purple, blue, and red antioxidants in berries and what do they do? What anti-cancer constituents do carrots, sweet potatoes, and Dandelion flowers share? What are the hidden companion molecules of colorful chlorophyll? In this webinar we'll explore using the senses to detect, evaluate, & understand some interesting constituents and the synergy among them.” Click the link to pre-register for this also.

The School of Modern Herbal Medicine has been presenting some awesome webinars. I don’t know why I didn’t think to share with all of you about them earlier! And yet again, click above as many of them are still available for viewing and their handouts for downloading:) 

Webinars are a great resource for learning right from the comfort of your home! Enjoy, and please share if you do take advantage of any of these learning opportunities:)

Herbal and Honey Hugs to all who visit Comfrey Cottages xx

 

The Language of Flowers – Book Review

This novel touched me on so many levels and plucked so many emotional heart strings. Vanessa Diffenbaugh has crafted a magical book that takes the reader through a journey of loneliness, solitude,rejection, hate, grief, mistrust, love, redemption and hope.
Victoria has spent a life time in the foster care system. She turns eighteen and is emancipated. She is unable to feel a connection to other people, and instead is immersed in a world dominated by flowers and their meanings, as learned from the Victorian language of flowers. She is alone and homeless, when a florist learns of her unique ability to choose flowers that will help the flower shop customers with their own problems. A flower vendor at the flower market enters Victoria’s life and forces her to examine her life and face a painful secret, which changes her destiny.
Vanessa Diffenbaugh was inspired to write The Language of Flowers from her own experiences as a foster mother. While researching flower dictionaries, she noted that there were discrepancies between them and sometimes the same flower would be said to mean two or more different things. The more she researched, the more discrepancies she found! Therefore, she has included in this book, a flower dictionary she has made using either the science behind each flower, the most popular or frequent meaning, or the meaning she best liked. I think she did a brilliant job!
I don’t often spend money on novels, as I just don’t have room in the budget for both novels and the herbal books I need for my studies, but this novel is one I am going to definitely buy. Not only because I want to reread it whenever I like, without going to the library, but I also want the flower dictionary part as part of my herbal/plant library. Besides the fact, as Lily gets older, I think this book will help teach some valuable lessons. One being that love can overcome even the worst secret we might hold.
Vanessa Diffenbaugh is the founder of the Camellia Network. The mission is to create a nationwide movement to support youths transitioning from foster care.
Using the Language of Flowers, I thank all of you who read and comment at Comfrey Cottages

Bellflower – Gratitude
And in the coming New year I wish you each

Celadine – Joys to Come
Herbal and Honey Hugs to all who visit Comfrey Cottages xxx