Results for Category: Herb Talk
A Family Herb: Stinging Nettle Leaf Uses
The first plants to rise up in the spring, gracing the world with green, often include the very herbs we can most successfully use to be healthy and strong. It’s seasonal herbalism at its best with healthful weedy plants such as dandelions, violets, and chickweed expressing their vitality by simply growing all on their own…
A Family Herb: Dandelion
Hillsides and fields awash with vibrant greens and yellow blooms beckon us outside to enjoy warming springtime weather. It’s...
Purslane: A Nutritional Herb
By Nina Katz – Herbalist Purslane is a land-based vegetable that is extremely high in nutrients and makes a great addition t...
How To Have A Sensational Experience With Oatstraw
by Rebecca Swartwood Salty, sweet, milky, feminine, watery, strengthening, silky, easy… These were my initial impressions after drinking my first cup of oatstraw infusion. It was soothingly thick, almost chewable in my mouth, coating throat and stomach with its healing liquid. As I sat with the tea, I felt strengthened deep into my core, the…
4 Reasons Thyme Is An Herb For Winter Health
There are many herbal allies that you may enjoy working with during the long, cold winter months. Elderberry and elecampane are a couple that come to mind, or perhaps astragalus or angelica are a better fit for you. However, it might surprise you that an herb tucked away into your kitchen cabinet, thyme, is the…
3 Raspberry Leaf Benefits For Women
When thinking of raspberry, visions of tart, delicious little berries come to mind, yet the familiar raspberry offers us much more...
History and Uses of Common Ivy
Helix hedera, or common ivy, is a familiar garden and houseplant to many people. Sometimes, ivy is used as a greenery decoration d...
The Medicinal Mistletoe
Mistletoe, Viscum Album The familiar, white-berried token of the winter holiday season, mistletoe, is a parasitic plant that grows on the branches of several species of trees. Mistletoe burrows roots into the inner wood of trees and feeds from their sap, and a heavy infestation with mistletoe can kill branches of the host plant or even…
Plantain, A Story
We have plantain growing all over our yard. I’m a new, not yet budding herbalist, and I have yet to use it. I have been lying in wait for someone in my household to get a bug bite so that I could try crunching up a leaf and making a spit poultice. I have been…
A Family Herb: Chamomile Flower
The lovely little chamomile flower is reminiscent of peaceful sunshine filled days, which speaks to the gentle power of this plant...
Motherwort: The Plant World’s Mama Bear
Motherwort is the plant world’s mama bear. Or mama lion, from its Latin name Leonurus cardiaca, which translates to the Lion-Hea...
The Horseradish Plant: Harvesting, Processing & Uses
Fall is fast approaching, and with it comes the harvesting of roots. And the horseradish plant is high on our list! For those of you who regularly grow, harvest, process, and enjoy horseradish, I hope you pick up a new tip or two in this article. If you’re new to horseradish harvesting, I hope I…
Red Clover Blossoms
How many times have you walked passed these red clover blossoms without even a second thought? I remember picking them as a little girl and being struck by their beautiful purple color whilst sucking out the sweet nectar from their blossoms. Little did I know just how magical they were, with such a long list…
The Benefits of Elderberries Sambucus nigra and Sambucus canadensis
Across the country, the elderberries are turning dark purple or black and herbies everywhere are harvesting them, drying them, and...
Cooling Down with Summer Rose
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, summer is the season of yang and is associated with the fire element, the Heart, and Small intest...
Jewelweed, A Story
Post written by John Bailey, student in the Intermediate Herbal Course. Who ever knew that herbs and other things that help us on a day-to-day basis, would ever end up in a cool story that would teach me so much? I have been traveling the Red Road (our religion and way of life) for over…
Recipes Using Bee Balm
As we discussed in our last article, many names have been given to the plant monarda: bee balm, bergamot, or Oswego tea (more on that here). It has been used in North America for a very long time and for many purposes. You can find it in nearly every state in the U.S., and since it’s…
A Family Herb: The Comforts Of Rose
The lovely rose has more than a beautiful face. Highly prized throughout history as an herbal remedy, roses (Rosa spp.) have long ...
Benefits of Bee Balm: Monarda fistulosa and M. didyma
Bee balm is the common name of both Monarda didyma, which has red flowers, or Monarda fistulosa, which can have lavender, pink, or...
The Benefits Of Lavender In The Family Home
At our house, lavender is a constant friend, helping to keep our home and its occupants safe, clean, and comfortable. Rich with antimicrobial essential oil, lavender helps to naturally clean and refresh the home. Lavender has a relaxing, yet refreshing action, so it is wonderful to have around the house to welcome home weary souls…
23 Ways to Use Chamomile
Chamomile is one of the most recognized and used herbs in the western world. Many people think of it first for anxiety and insomnia, but it’s far more than a gentle nervine. From tea and tinctures to salves and soap, chamomile’s versatility and aroma have long-been welcomed into our lives. To read about chamomile’s use throughout the…
Get to Know the Versatile Chamomile Plant
From the Astereraceae (daisy) family comes the Matricaria recutita (German chamomile) and Chamaemelum nobile (Roman chamomile). Bo...
9 Ways To Use Valerian, Valeriana officinalis
Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) is a lovely garden plant with pinkish-white aromatic flowers. A perennial to Zone 4, valerian thr...
A Family Herb: Lemon Balm Benefits
Delightfully fragrant lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a wonderful herb for the entire family. In fact, it is one of my family’s favorite herbs! A beloved medicinal herb and a delicious food that has been enjoyed for thousands of years, lemon balm has a wide array of time-tested applications. Lemon Balm Benefits As a gentle nervine,…
Getting to Know the Valerian Plant
Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) is on the other end of the fragrance spectrum. Although some people like the smell of the valerian plant (I’m one of them), many say that it reminds them of “dirty sweat socks.” Dioscorides and Galen must have felt the same way, since they referred to valerian as “Phu.” Other common names for valerian include: garden…
Stinging Nettle Plant: A Spring Favorite
Many herbalists can hardly wait for spring to nourish their bodies naturally with fresh greens from the earth. Much like our ances...
A Family Herb: Violet Plant
Violet plants are a pure delight for the senses, enchanting children and adults alike with their lovely, sweet-smelling purple flo...
Celebrate HerbDay with Herb of the Year™: Savory Monograph
To draw attention to HerbDay 2015, we are celebrating with the reveal of our Savory monograph from The Herbarium, which just so happens to be this year’s International Herb Association’s Herb of the Year™. HerbDay is an international celebration of herbs and herbal products, conceived of by five nonprofit organizations: American Botanical Council, American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, American…
Oregano for Healing and Nutrition
Oregano is a wonderful plant for healing, nutrition and flavor! Oil of Oregano is derived from the wild oregano plant (Oreganum vulgare), a member of the mint family (Lamiacae or Labiatae). The name oregano originates from two Greek words: oros (mountain) and ganos (joy). Oregano is well known as a culinary herb. The oregano herb has…
10 Reasons Why Witch Hazel Rocks!
I have been known to buy witch hazel extract by the gallon. I always keep it on hand and substitute it for water in almost all of ...
