During the past 18 years, medical herbalist and herbal consultant Anne McIntyre has brought out 15 books, all of which address the power of herbs, herbal healing traditions and information on how to recognise and gather herbs.

She has been practising herbal medicine for more than 25 years, with clinics in both London and Wales, but spends most of her time in her home in a village near Chipping Norton, where she has created a delightful spiral herb garden.

Even during the dark winter months, when many of the plants are showing signs of frost damage and the roses are devoid of leaves, one is conscious of the beauty of this garden, which has featured on BBC’s Gardener’s World several times.

It’s here that Anne conducts regular guided herb walks during the summer, to enable visitors to identify the various herbs and learn about their therapeutic uses.

Anne designed the garden in a spiral as she wanted it to represent a journey through a woman’s life, from birth to paradise.

While walking its curling path she explained her idea: “Over the arches that represent the birth canal I have grown raspberries as their leaves make for trouble-free birth.

“Then there are herbs for babies and small children which will help settle their digestions, relieve colic and aid sleep. For older children there are herbs for colds and coughs,“ she said.

A little further down the path of life, Anne has created a moon garden using plants that are either silver to represent the moon or red for menstruation. Masculine energy is represented in the next part of the garden and a heart-shaped love garden with roses, thymes, marigolds and many other herbs associated with love and romance flourish.

When asked why herbs still have a place in today’s world, she smiled. Then, after letting her fingers ripple through a cluster of leaves unaffected by the frost, she said: “Modern science is now confirming what the ancients knew thousands of years ago. I do a lot of teaching in my garden with people who know nothing about herbs, but would like to learn.

“I first set them the task of choosing one of the herbs in the garden and sitting with it for half an hour. During this time they study its shape and form, tasting its leaves and observing the effect of its taste and aroma. When the time is up, they are asked to write down what they believe the herb can be used for.”

Nine out of 10 people who are set this task get it right. She believes herb recognition is an innate knowledge given to us all, as everything comes from the earth. She is convinced that when we tune into a herb’s properties, we tune into something that goes back thousands of years.

Ever since she became fascinated by herbs as a teenager, Anne has striven to encourage us all to become more aware of the healing properties of herbs — hence her many publications.

In her latest publication, The Complete Herbal Tutor, she provides a clear explanation of how herbs can be used to treat each of the body’s systems.

She describes it as an easy-to-use reference book that caters for students, professionals and home herb users.

She is the current President of the Herb Society, a Fellow of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists and a Member of the Ayurvedic Practitioners’ Association.

“I’d love everyone to be better educated. I often watch what people are placing in their shopping trolley in the supermarket and shudder.

“I remember my children coming home from school one day and asking if I was eccentric, as I served them food that their friends had never even heard of, such as avocado pears.”

Anne accepts that she will never be able to reach out to everyone, but she is confident that her books, which include one on healing drinks, have the ability to increase our awareness of the health giving properties of herbs.

* The Complete Herbal Tutor is published by Gaia at £16.99.