Once in a Blue Moon Milk Recipe with Ashwagandha and Chamomile
This year has been full of surprises, and it would only be natural for the world to give us yet another surprise during the spookiest month of the year. In a typical year, we can expect to witness twelve full moons, one for every month of the year. This year is a rare exception. In…
What is Enfleurage? Historic Perfumery Technique with Instructions
“Enfleurage” is a French word that you may have seen associated with historic perfumery techniques. If you’ve seen this mysterious word mentioned in old texts or publications, you probably found yourself wondering, “what is enfleurage?” We dug into our Natural Perfumery Course to answer that question and to share a special sneak peek into our…
Student Feature: Alyson Morgan (@Alyson Simply Grows)
For the fourth installment of our Student Feature Series, we spoke with Alyson Morgan (@AlysonSimplyGrows). Alyson is an environmentalist, gardener, slow-living advocate, and mother who has enjoyed watching her family learn herbalism alongside her. Alyson owns Earth Star Herbals, where she offers small-batch, intentional flower essences and herbal products, blog posts, and seasonal musings. Alyson…
Health Benefits of Cinnamon + 2 Warming Recipes
(Excerpted from Spice Apothecary by Bevin Clare. Used with permission from Storey Publishing.) Cinnamon is one of the oldest and most well-known spices. There are four commonly available types of cinnamon, and they can be quite different in taste, chemical composition, and herbal action. All come from the inner bark of several Southeast Asian tree…
Using Goldenrod: A Late Summer Cordial Recipe
Goldenrod (Solidago spp.) flourishes abundantly on roadsides and meadows in late summer and fall. In the plant family, Asteraceae, the genus name “Solidago” is derived from the Latin word “solidare” which translates to, “make whole or heal.” This is a helpful clue into the many ways people have been using goldenrod for centuries. Aptly named,…
Queen Anne’s Lace Part II: Traditional Use of Daucus Carota
Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota) is a fascinating plant with a long and storied past. Because it has poisonous look-alikes, it’s vitally important that you properly identify Queen Anne’s lace if you’re foraging for any part of the plant. Read the first part of this two-part series in Queen Anne’s Lace Part I: Folklore and…
Queen Anne’s Lace Part I: Folklore and Identification
Do you ever look at herbs growing around your home or in your local area and think to yourself, “I should really learn more about that plant,” or “I wonder how that herb can be used?” I do it all the time. There are so many plants right outside our front door that can be…
Ginger and Pineapple Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie
The following excerpt is from Jill Stansbury’s new book Herbal Formularies for Health Professionals, Volume 4 (Chelsea Green Publishing, July 2020) and is reprinted with permission from the publisher. This all-purpose anti-inflammatory smoothie is both tasty and beneficial. It can be used after trauma, to help recover from surgery, or to accompany a tea or tincture…
As a Black Herbalist, These are my 3 Favorite Herbalism Books
As a child, I remember going out into nature, pulling weeds, putting them in jars, and making what I called “science projects” to hide in the cupboards of my parents’ house. In my way, I was practicing herbalism, even though I didn’t know it at the time and hadn’t encountered any herbalism books or resources….
Herbal Arnold Palmer Recipe: Just What You Need!
In the late 1960s, Arnold Palmer, a famous American golfer and humanitarian, was known to request a drink mixture of mostly tea with a splash of lemonade, which was later named after him. The beverage is readily available as a non-alcoholic staple due to the perfect balance of bold black tea and citrus-sweet lemonade. The…
