Barbara Griggs - The Green Witch: A Modern Womans Herbal

The Herb Society, P.O. Box 599,

London SW11 4RW

If you are interested in herbs whether culinary, aromatic or medicinal then you should join the Herb Society, whose international membership includes professional growers, medical herbalists and gastronomes. They organize lectures and Open Days, and their Quarterly Review is full of useful information for herb-fanciers. Many suppliers offer discounts to members. Send SAE for details.

Rose water, Orange flower water, distilled Witch-Hazel, simple tincture of benzoin, essential oils of Lavender and Peppermint, tincture of Myrrh, and Sweet Almond oil are supplied by many chemists.

Greenscene Indoor Gardens, Burford Lane, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 0SH. Tel: 01925 75 6328

Greenscene Indoor Gardens supply their Cleanair Plant systems, for both office and domestic use.

To order the cactus Cereus peruvianus, send 3.50, to cover postage and packing within the UK, to:

Abbey Brook Cactus Nursery, Dept. CP, Bakewell Road, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 2QJ. Tel: 01629 580306

A number of companies will supply made-up pot-pourri, or the dried plant material and refresher oils needed to make your own.

Angela Flanders Aromatics, P.O. Box 2222, London E2 7QB

Angela Flanders makes up a wide range of wonderful pot-pourris to her own recipes, including: Melissa, a tangy and refreshing blend of blue and yellow flowers with a lemony fragrance; and Coromandel, a woody, spicy blend with a Cedarwood base, supplied with refresher oils; or you can order from a range of pot-pourri scenting kits, which come with instructions on how to make up your own. Her shop at 96 Columbia Rd, London E2 7QB is open during the Sunday flower and plant market.

G. Baldwin & Co, 173 Walworth Rd, London SE17 1R W. Tel: 020 7703 5550

Huge range of medicinal herbs, roots, barks, powders, gums, balsams, tinctures, including: simple Banzoin, Myrrh, Feverfew, St Johns Wort, beeswax, cocoa butter, Mullein and St Johns Wort oil, Orange flower and Rose water, Turkey Red oil; and dried flowers for pot-pourri, ready-made mixtures.

The Herbary, Prickwillow, Ely, Cambs CB7 4SJ. Tel: 01353 88 456

They supply 80 varieties of organically grown culinary herbs, either freshly cut or container-grown. Send SAE for their catalogue.

Cheshire Herbs, Fourfields, Forest Road, Little Budworth, Nr Tarporley, Cheshire CW6 9ES. Tel: 01829 760 578

Wide range of herbs over 180 varieties herbal vinegars and oils, pot-pourri mixes; their catalogue is a mine of useful information.

Culpeper Ltd, Hadstock Road, Linton, Cambridge CB1 6NJ. Tel: 01223 894054

As well as their pretty little shops up and down the country, Culpeper run a very comprehensive mail-order business. Their enormous range includes: herbal preparations for hair and skin care; bath salts and oils; pot-pourri; pomanders; sleep pillows; herb sachets; soaps; herbal vinegars; fresh herb jellies; and over 170 medicinal herbs. Send SAE for their list.

Mrs Elizabeth Hayes 31 Pyatts Corner, Keevil, Trowbridge, Wilts BA14 6LY. Tel: 01380 870604

Mrs Hayes makes up a range of Herbal Pillows, 16 different mixes including: pillows for insomnia, migraine and asthma. SAE for list and details.

Barwinnock Herbs, Barrhill, Ayrshire KA26 ORB Tel: 0146 582 338

Organically-grown medicinal, culinary, pot-pourri and dye plants by mail; send 3 first-class stamps for catalogue.

Neals Yard Remedies, 3 Golden Cross, Cornmarket St, Oxford OX1 3EU. Tel: 01865 245436

Full range of medicinal herbs, organically grown or wild-crafted where possible; infused oils including St Johns Wort and Calendula (Marigold); ointments, including Stellaria (Chickweed); essential oils, many of them certified organic by the Soil Association; base oils; flower waters including Chamomile; Orange flower and Rose water; and their own pot-pourri mixes, including blends for the four seasons. Send first-class stamp for catalogue.

Hewthorn Herbs and Wild Flowers, Simkins Farm, Adbolton Lane, West Bridgford,

Notts NG2 5AS. Tel: 01602 812861

Hewthorn supply 200 native species for woodland, wetland, meadow or your own garden. Their range of decorative, medicinal, aromatic and culinary plants includes lovage, mullein, marshmallow, cowslips and primrose. Send 2 first-class stamps for catalogue.

The Tisserand Institute, 63 Church Road, Hove, Sussex BN3 2BD. Tel: 01273 206640/7724 d 79

Full range of aromatherapy supplies, including essential oils, massage lotions, bath oils and blended oils. Their Aromastream diffuses vaporized essential oils around a room without heating them. Mail-order catalogue on request.

Bodytreats Limited, 15 Approach Road, Raynes Park, London SW20 8BA. Tel: 020 8543 7633

Full-range or organic essential oils, carrier oils, and flower waters, including Damask rose and Orange flower. They also supply amber dropper bottles for your own mixes. Send SAE for detailed price list.

Shirley Price Aromatherapy Ltd, Essentia House, Upper Bond St, Hinckley, Leics LE10 1RS. Tel: 01455 6154 d 66

Essential oils, carrier oils, essential oil distillates including Melissa, Clary Sage and Rosemary water; special essential oil mixes for specific conditions, including herpes/cold sores, insomnia and asthma/hay fever; full range of hair and beauty care preparations based on essential oils.

A number of national supermarket chains, including Safeway and Waitrose, now have regular ranges of organically grown food. If your local supermarket does not, write to the manager and ask why; supermarkets are very sensitive to customer demands.

The Henry Doubleday Research Institute, The National Centre for Organic Gardening, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Coventry CV8 3LG. Tel: 01203 303517

This is the biggest and fastest-growing organic movement in Europe. Set in the Warwickshire countryside, it has an organic show-garden, a shop selling a huge range of organic produce, from cheese to vegetables to wine, and an organic-only restaurant that is featured in The Good Food Guide. They also organize an annual National Organic Food and Wine Fair. If you would like to go organic in your own garden, they will help with advice and information.

The Soil Association, 86 Colston Street, Bristol BS1 5BB. Tel: 01272 299666

Nearly 50 years old, this pioneering Association actively campaigns for organic agriculture, and acts as a consumer watchdog on food quality issues. Membership brings you their excellent magazine, information, etc. If you are trying to find a local organic food supplier, their Regional List (2.50 including p&p) gives names, addresses and telephone numbers of farmers and suppliers in your area. Their Organic Directory Year Book (7.95 plus 1 p&p) includes addresses of shops, wholesalers, markets, bed-and-breakfasts, and more.

Pollution-free seaweed Look for the Clearspring label in health-food shops; as far as possible, their range of seaweeds are farmed in unpolluted stretches of sea.

Bottled juices from organically grown fruit and vegetables The Swiss Biotta range includes: Potato, Carrot, Celery and Beetroot juices, preserved with a tiny amount of health-giving lactofermented whey. On sale in most good health-food shops.

The National Institute of Medical Herbalists, 9 Palace Gate, Exeter, Devon EX1 1JA. Tel: 01392 426 022