Please follow along as I discuss some of my favorite herbs. I've taken all of the shots myself in gardens and wild places while wandering and smelling and tasting—as well as during classes, collecting pilgrimages, and when researching and meeting new plants for the Peterson Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs (Houghton-Mifflin, as coauthor with Steven Foster).

Many of the shots of native plants and Chinese herbs came from the Berkeley Botanical Gardens and Tilden native plant gardens in Berkeley, California and botanical gardens in Santa Barbara, Denver, and the Living Desert in Palm Desert, California, as well as in wild areas in the Sierra Nevada and all over the western United States. Native plants of the eastern U.S. were taken at the United Plant Saver's preserve in Rutland, Ohio and many wild areas of Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, and other states. Most of the European native herbs came from the second-oldest and oldest medicinal plant gardens in England, Chelsea Apothecary Garden and the Oxford Botanical Garden, as well as the gardens we created near Santa Cruz, California and Williams, Oregon.

These special wild places and botanical preserves were filled with a feeling of serenity and healing essences. I hope you can feel some of the peaceful spirit of these plants when you look at them and read about them on this website.
Many good wishes,
Christopher