FLOWERS, BUDS AND PETALS

If you're looking for rose recipes there's no better place to start than "The Herbfarm Cookbook" by Jerry Traunfeld, published by Scribner. Traunfeld won the James Beard Foundation/American Express Best Chef: Northwest/Hawaii award. Among the 200 herb-inspired recipes are ones for candied rose petals, rose-scented chocolate truffle torte and a rose sorbet.

In addition to the marvelous recipes, Traunfeld provides gardening tips on growing, handling, and cooking with herbs. He teaches classes and grows herbs in Seattle. Roses are one of the healing plants included in a title from the New World Library. "The Complete Book of Flower Essences-48 Natural and Beautiful Ways to Heal Yourself and Your Life" is by Rhonda Pallasdowney. This is the most comprehensive book available on flower essences. For each plant she includes a color photo and a thorough description along with detailed guidelines on how to prepare and use each one. For this book she uses her training and experiences in herbalism and homeopathic healing to explore the relationship between herbalism, homeopathy, and flower essences. She teaches classes and gives workshops on flower essences.

There's a wonderful new book from North Point Press that does justice to this worthy plant. "Roses-A Celebration" was edited by Wayne Winterrowd with original watercolors by Pamela Stagg. This unique volume is an anthology of writings on roses by thirty-three eminent gardeners, including Graham Stuart Thomas, Jamaica Kinkaid, Allen Lacy, David Austin, and Michael Pollan.

For the book, Winterrowd asked the contributors why everyone loves roses and what makes these flowers so different. This book lives up to its name. It truly celebrates the unique status of this most beloved plant. When given the chance, roses are very useful plants that we can use for culinary and herbal purposes.

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