The Indiana Botanical Gardens

The Herbalist was as important as the bible in my Gramma's house back in the 1950s.  In those days most rural folks self-treated their ailments with herbs, teas, and ointments.  Doctors and clinics, like we know today, just didn't exist.  So, their only choice was to "send for" their own remedies and then tolerate whatever ailed them until the mail carrier brought them relief. 

Gramma spent alot of her lonely hours leafing through the Indiana Botanical Gardens catalogs.  I watched her.  That was the only doctor she had, and now I realize she was searching  for ways to ease her silent sufferings.  Poor soul.

According to their website, http://www.botanicchoice.com/, the Indiana Botanical Gardens, Inc., is now the largest seller of herbs by mail order in the world. Both my Gramma and Mom ordered their products, and I know for sure as a kid they applied these herbal remedies to my childhood bodily afflictions, as well.

Today, this company's 21st century online catalog offers a huge range of therapies, including cosmetics, and I see their spa line features exotic ingredients such as hoodia (the African desert plant).   I can't help but wonder what Gramma would order today if she'd see all the stuff they are selling.  Maybe the two of us could sit together, smear some hoodia on our faces, and giggle at how silly we look.  Gosh, I miss her.