The project finally started to emerge in 2007 when my dear friend, Kathleen, introduced me to one of her favorite artists, Diane Power, who is also a teacher. Upon hearing about Diane and her teaching I was inspired, not only to have Diane work on the pictures, but also her class. I was excited about trying this out. I envisioned I would have many images to choose from this way and I would certainly find some I would love. Although it is traditional to "intern" young artists and pay them "in experience" I had never felt this was really fair so I suggested a payment plan to be paid into the class fund and the class started painting.

What I did not expect was that all the paintings would be so good that I would not be able to choose just a few for the each story. Each one resonated with me in a different way and through the different interpretations of each artist the story acquired more depth. I sat with the paintings for three months not sure how to proceed. Finally I realized what needed to be done was to publish each herb as a book by itself. What had started as a book about herbs had become a book about herbs and paintings and the paintings were just as important as the story.

Finally the book was done and I realized what all first-time published authors realize - one often loses money publishing their first book! However, this had been a dream of mine for years and one cannot put a price on having a dream come true. After reading the letters from the young illustrators I could not even put a value on the project anymore. If making one dream come true is priceless. What is the bounty of having 12 dreams come true?

I hope you will enjoy this labor of love as much as we have all enjoyed creating it for you. This project has touched my heart like I never dreamed it would. What started out as an idea has taken on a life of its own. I have certainly gained more from this project in the end than I have given. How can one quantify the profit of love and dreams?