Results for Category: Botanical
Benefits of Fennel: Relief for You-Know-What
It happens to all of us. That moment, usually not long after eating, when we realize that we have gas. Whether during a business lunch, a mid-afternoon meeting, or even—gasp—toward the end of a promising first date, having flatulence never fails to be embarrassing. At least, it’s embarrassing whenever we’re enjoying the politeness of good…
Blackberry Winter – Tips for Helping Bees
“Blackberry Winter” is a hauntingly beautiful song mourning a love affair that ends coldly and without warning. For ga...
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 th...
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 that you’ve gone off the deep end. Gardens are for watering and spreading fertilizer, aren’t they? But sprinkling herbs around your herbal garden isn’t the work of a crazy person—it’s the work of a…
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 your property (or in your home) it will go. But what sort of herbs should you grow in it? Starting a new garden can seem somewhat daunting, especially if…
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 b...
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 ou...
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 the bag for the first half hour before releasing it, to help acclimate the fish to his new environment. Transplanting seedlings of herbs and other plants you plan to grow…
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 glow behind the eyelids pulses. The smell of sea spray mists the nose and the faint crash of waves is an ethereal lullaby. Oh, wait, hold that thought! It’s still winter, and unless the bank account…
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?...
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. ...
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 warming herbal carminative and as a topical anodyne (painkiller) in many healing traditions including Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and western herbalism. Native to Indonesia, cloves are the unopened flower buds of…
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. And many of us use turmeric root powder in our cooking, particularly if we have an affinity for preparing Indian-inspired dishes. Similar to the root-like component of its cousin ginger, turmeric has been a…
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 o...
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, dedicate...
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 halfway through the summer that you’d like to take up gardening but felt you missed an opportunity to grow anything this year. But just because we’re about to enter a…
Oats: Herbs We Love For Summer
Oats (Avena sativa) and their versatile components have been used for everything from stuffing mattresses, poultices, facial scrubs, cereal, teas, and baths. This small wonder, native to Northern Europe, packs a powerful nutritional punch with its protein, B-vitamins, calcium, and other minerals.
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 val...
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 a...
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. The oldest known rose bush is believed to be at least 1000 years old, growing on the walls of the Cathedral of Hildesheim, in Germany. Subject of many a sonnet and poem, lauded…
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 most popular teas in the world. A cooling and calming herb, chamomile is beloved by herbalist and lay person alike! Chamomile is an antispasmodic, relaxing the smooth muscles throughout the body including the digestive track. When…
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...
Garden Wellness
“[People have] has sought out plants with medicinal properties since time immemorial. Evidence of this are the-thousand-year-old...
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 pesticides or weed killer out of concern for their children’s health and to minimize our exposure to toxins. Our yard was viewed not as a status symbol but a place to romp and play, and so play…
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, klamath weed, rosin rose, St. John’s grass, and tipton weed. St. John’s wort is an herbaceous perennial in the St. Johnswort family (Hypericaceae). You will find it growing in the fields and meadows and along roadsides and forests from…
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 t...
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 u...
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.” Native Americans believe strongly in the interconnection of all of creation. They practice their healing arts in a way which includes the natural world and the whole person –…
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 tilt is balanced in such a way that day and night are about equal lengths. Yes, there is snow, but the robins and snowdrops I spotted last week promise us: Take heart, friends. Warmer…
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, b...
