I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

In author and ethnobotanist Kerry Hughes takes readers on a unique journey to not only identify the common flowers in our gardens that are edible, but the many different functions that these plants can serve aside from being edible, in the book “Botanicals with Benefits: Develop a New Relationship with Your Garden: The Edible Flower Volume”. 

The Synopsis

(Revised & Expanded!) Kerry Hughes—Ethnobotanical Explorer—would like to take you on a journey to explore plant uses of the plants under your very nose! Did you know that many of our common garden plants have multiple uses that you can access and incorporate into your life?

This Edible Flowers book is the first in a series of books about Botanicals With Benefits. The edible flowers featured in this book are all common garden plants, and they all have more uses than just being edible flowers. There are so many ways in which garden plants work for us, or could be working for us, but until now, there have only been a few places to learn about this vital knowledge. More than ever, now is the important time to begin learning this knowledge, as our lives have been changed forever by a pandemic. Whereas globalism had centered the perspectives of our lives around a global economy, today it is important to start looking inward.. and Kerry would like to show you that there is no better place to start looking than in your own backyard.

This book series will show you that the plants around you can enrich your life with edible flowers, teas, foods, medicines, cut flowers, meaning, aromas that can be applied to the body or in the house, and much more. They are right there for the picking and there is no better way to start your journey than with just one plant…

This Revised & Expanded edition includes 5 more focus plants and larger font for easier reading.

The Review

A truly engaging and mind-blowing read, author, and herbalist Kerry Hughes does an amazing job of connecting the reader with the material through imagery, thought-provoking writing style, and pure knowledge. The fascination and passion for which the author writes really do connect with the reader immediately, drawing them further into this world of plants, and their impact on us as a whole.

What stands out is that this book doesn’t feel like a simple how-to guide or textbook-style narrative. Instead, the author takes the time to balance the history and educational aspects of edible plants with knowledge of the various different plants this book covers and illustrates the ways that these plants can be applicable to things like food, medicine, and even skincare. 

The Verdict

A remarkable, thought-provoking, and engaging read, author Kerry Hughes’s “Botanicals with Benefits: Develop a New Relationship with Your Garden: The Edible Flower Volume” is a must-read educational and cookbook stylebook on edible plants and their many applications. The book is a great start to an ongoing series that allows us all to have a better understanding of the world around us, our impact on it, and its impact on us and our bodies. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

About the Author

Ethnobotanist, Herbalist and Author, Kerry Hughes – with a 20-year record-of-success in natural product development – is driven by a tenacious fascination with the potential health enhancing role plants can play, and her purpose is Ethno-Botanical Discovery and strategically innovating and expanding the boundaries of new natural product development. Through this, Kerry has catalyzed significant phyto-product breakthroughs that have been applied to bring to market new, efficacious and profitable products that not only heal people but also protect our threatened global biodiversity.  

Kerry’s love of natural products has compelled her to write and speak frequently on a variety of subjects. Her writing includes the recently published Botanicals With Benefits: Establish a New Relationship with your garden (2020), as well as these in-depth text books: Understanding Socio-Ecological Systems through Decoloniality: Convergence of Indigenous and Western Knowledge (in press); The Incense Bible, Taylor & Francis (2007), one of the first scientific reviews & examinations of incense, The Health Professionals Guide to Dietary Supplements, Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins (2006), a peer-reviewed guide to herbs and nutritional supplements, and Botanical Medicines: The Desk Reference for Major Herbal Supplements, Haworth Press (2002) an in-depth text-book on the medical aspects of many of our top supplements. Additionally, she has authored over a dozen articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals on various natural product topics. 

Kerry is the Founder of EthnoPharm; a consulting business focused on Natural Product Discovery and Development.  She is also on the Scientific & Medical Advisory Boards for Amare Global, Good Pharma and Hilma, and is on the Advisory Board for Global Food Forums. Kerry has acted as a consultant to the United Nations through the International Trade Centre (ITC) for international development projects involving botanicals and authored essential oil and organic reports for the Market News Service (MNS). As the Director of the US office of The Institute for Market Ecology (IMO), an eco-product certifier, she helped to co-develop and establish the Fair for Life Social & Fair Trade Certification in the US market, the highest-bar global Fair Trade certification standard. Today, she continues her work with standard development on the soon-to-be launched Certified Regenerative standard by A Greener World. 

Kerry has a background in Ethnobotany and Biochemistry, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry, and a Master of Science degree in Agriculture with an emphasis in Ethnobotany and Soil Science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California.  She is also a certified Clinical Herbalist by the Berkeley Herbal Center, A Level 1 & 3 Certified Australian Bush Flower Essence Advanced Practitioner, and has helped teach at the Berkeley Herbal Center & The Herbal Academy of New England. 

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