Results for Category: Botanical
Companion Planting Herbs
If you’ve been keeping up with our articles, have taken our Intermediate Herbal Course, or even have only just visited us for the first time, you probably already know how strongly we at the Herbal Academy believe herbs can improve our health and enrich our lives. But did you know that herbs can benefit the…
Deter Garden Bugs and Pests with Nontoxic Methods
When your neighbors see you walking through your garden spreading cayenne pepper and seaweed all around your crops, they may think...
5 Easy Herbs to Grow
You may have decided that you would like to start your very own herbal garden this year, and have even had some ideas of where on ...
Sheltering with Valerian
In January, I wrote about medicinal herbs in England use during World War II, and this month I would like to follow-up up with a bit more information about one of the most important plants that were collected and used, valerian. England needed effective medicines to supply the home front, so the Vegetable Drugs Committee…
5 Steps to Starting Seeds
Most of us associate springtime with re-birth and growth, and never is this idea more in line with the season than when we grow our own herbs from tiny little seeds. Even the mightiest oak trees start as an acorn, and we can create a smaller scale version with anything from basil to tarragon to…
Secrets To Transplanting Seedlings: 3 Tips To Success
Do you remember bringing a goldfish home from the pet store and placing it in the aquarium? You were probably told to keep it in t...
The Greenhouse Is Always Greener
A visit to Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouse at Wellesley College. The sensation of sun rays shines onto the skin. The red-orange ...
Do You Know the Power of Mustard Seeds?
Have you ever heard the word “mustard” and thought about something other than a yellow condiment used during summer barbeques? If you’re like most people Stateside, probably not. Our primary association with mustard is that it’s an alternative (or a companion) to ketchup. But did you know that mustard seeds can be of tremendous value—and…
Medicinal Plant Use in World War II
I appreciate the opportunity to write as a guest blogger, and in particular, I am glad to share some of my most current research. Right now, I am hard at work on a book on plant uses during World War II—everything from victory gardens and rationed food to medicines, fibers, timber, airplanes, camouflage, and agriculture….
What Is Clove? A Very Stimulating Herb…
We all know clove is a staple of wintertime recipes, including desserts like ginger snaps and pumpkin pie. Clove is also used as a...
Turmeric Health Benefits: The Golden Goddess
Most of us know turmeric (Curcuma longa) as the vibrant orange powder located in the spice section between thyme and vanilla beans...
Cinnamon for Health: More than Just a Holiday Spice
As a spice, cinnamon plays such a popular role in our breakfast cereals, holiday desserts like pumpkin pie, hot apple cider, and other staples of our cuisine that we tend to forget that it has medicinal properties as well. And while it might not surprise us to learn of its value as an herb, how…
How to Create a Reflection Garden in 4 Steps
With the coming of winter, many of us start to miss time in our gardens. And why shouldn’t we? Our garden is a special, dedicated place. We go to great effort to cultivate the land so that plants of our choosing can have a home. We till the soil, fertilize it, and make sure that…
5 Tips for Getting a Start on Next Year’s Garden
With the coming of fall, it can be daunting to be faced with six months of very little gardening to do. Or, perhaps you decided ha...
Oats: Herbs We Love For Summer
Oats (Avena sativa) and their versatile components have been used for everything from stuffing mattresses, poultices, facial scru...
How to Grow Fresh Basil
Whether it’s to cleanse the blood, act as an anti-inflammatory, or simply to make pesto for an Italian feast, basil can be a valuable staple of an herbalist’s kitchen and a delicious way to ensure continued health. Though it’s easy enough to buy fresh basil at the store, it’s an herb that’s incredibly easy to…
Catnip: Herbs We Love For Summer
Catnip (Nepeta cataria) or catmint, is probably best known as a stimulant for cats, inducing euphoria and friskiness. The scent alone is irresistible to most felines—my own kitty immediately darts into the kitchen the moment I open my jar of catnip. So as not to undermine her feline superiority, I share a pinch with her before adding…
Rose: Herbs We Love For Summer
Rose. The Queen of Flowers has origins in the Middle East, and has been cultivated and cherished the world over since antiquity. T...
Chamomile: Herbs We Love For Summer
German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) is a delicate, apple-scented member of the Asteraceae or daisy family, and makes one of the...
Hibiscus: Herbs We Love For Summer
Hibiscus, also known as Jamaica flower, is one of our very favorite herbs for summer because, like spearmint, its flavor is easily infused into cold water—heating up a tea pot is unnecessary! Hibiscus is a showy member of the Malvaceae (mallow) family native to subtropics and tropics around the world and appears in a variety…
Garden Wellness
“[People have] has sought out plants with medicinal properties since time immemorial. Evidence of this are the-thousand-year-old traditions and records of popular healing. Even in this great age of great development and progress in the fields of chemistry [and] pharmaceuticals,…plants have lost none of their importance.” Botanical Wellness Herbalism is the oldest form of wellness….
Plantain: Herbs We Love For Summer
When I was a little girl, my parents, unlike our neighbors with their perfectly smooth “chem lawns,” never applied pes...
St. John’s Wort: Herbs We Love For Summer
The summer herb of the week is St. John’s wort, also known commonly as touch-and-heal, goatweed, hypericum, johnswort, klam...
Spearmint: Herbs We Love For Summer
Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is one of our favorite cooling herbs for summer! When it’s 90 degrees out, firing up the stove to make hot tea can be unappealing. Fortunately, spearmint, as well as mint family cousins peppermint and lemon balm, are easy-to-grow kitchen herbs that impart their refreshing taste into cold water.
Regrowing Your Kitchen Greens
Did you know you can extend the shelf life of your greens by simply putting them in water? It’s true; I’ve done it! I picked up green onions at the grocery store two weeks ago. It was sad seeing them go so quickly. So I experimented with a jar of water and sunlight and regrew…
The Herbal Healing Practices of Native Americans
“Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it, such that whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” ...
Spring Tonics
Despite the snowy view from our windows, it’s the official first day of spring, the Equinox, so called because the earth’s til...
Hands in the Dirt
The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul. – Alfred Austin As gardeners we shape and sculpt the earth, which in turn shapes us. Fresh air, sunlight, rain, and sweet and pungent scents nourish…
Stinging Nettle
What plant has the highest amount of protein, by weight, of any plant? Hint: it’s not a bean, lentil, or pea, and you can gather it yourself in wild and not-so-wild places. The answer is stinging nettle. Stinging nettle is an amazing superfood vegetable that is not only high in protein but also in calcium, magnesium, iron,…
Yarrow: The Plant That Made Achilles Invincible
Yesterday, we harvested our first yarrow of the season. Yarrow is one of my favorite plants, and its uses are legion. It makes a n...
