Book Review of St. Hildegard’s Garden by Paul Ferris

Review of the Book St. Hildegard’s Garden by Paul Ferris
I am happy to share with you this book review of St. Hildegard’s Garden by Paul Ferris. It is an amazing resource as well as a beautiful book. The subtitle, Recipes and Remedies for Healing Body and Soul, gives the interested reader an insight into what to expect.
What is St. Hildegard’s Garden about?
St. Hildegard’s Garden is about the natural plants and remedies shared by St. Hildegard. Divided into three sections. Paul Ferris first shares a short biography about St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), a Benedictine nun. He then talks about the time in which she lived, so we can better understand the context of the information in the book. We also learn that, in addition to the riches of information contained in St. Hildegard’s Garden, St. Hildegard was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI; she was musical and a writer.
In Part 2, the section titled Hildegard’s Garden has an extensive alphabetized listing of herbs, foods, and plants. Each entry has a quote from St. Hildegard and a page about her recommendation for its usage as well as general information about the particular plant. On the opposing page is a hand-drawn image of the plant discussed.
Part 3 shares St. Hildegard’s thoughts and recommendations on certain herbs, seasonings, and foods, as well as health remedies and recipes.
For each of her health remedies, she explains which remedies to use for which ailments and includes recipes and instructions to follow to create and administer the remedies. Some examples of remedies are for fevers, melancholy, indigestion, muscle aches, skin lesions, and more.
St. Hildegard’s recipes include lentil soup, pesto, and laurel and almond cookies.
What can we learn from St. Hildegard’s Garden?
St. Hildegard’s Garden is a treasure trove of information. Much of what she shares with us has since “been scientifically confirmed,” notes Paul Ferris. Over 900 years ago, she knew what she was talking about.
God created the world and everything in it. Plants that help us heal and sustain us as food are part of His creation. St. Hildegard’s written legacy is of great use to us to understand more about God’s providence in caring for us, His creation. It is a reminder of how good God is and how He provides for us.

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We can turn again and again to St. Hildegard’s Garden as a resource and to learn more about healing our body and soul through the legacy St. Hildegard left for us.
St. Hildegard’s Garden is available in hardcover or ebook versions:
Sophia Institutr Press: St. Hildegard’s Garden
Amazon: St. Hildegard’s Garden
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