Results for Category: Botanical
Summer Solstice: Mark the Changing of Spring Into Summer With Intention
It seems to me as though the more years I accumulate the faster they seem to fly by, each racing past more quickly than the last. A core lesson of my adult life has been to find ways in which I can regularly slow down and honor the passage of time. One of my favorite…
How to Grow Your Own Tea Garden + Helpful Harvesting Tips
It’s an Appalachian summer morning and the sun is just starting to peek its face over the mountain. I start my day in the tea ga...
A Mother’s Day Tribute to ALL Mamas!
Being a Mom looks different for everyone. Much like our herbalism journey, no two paths are the same. We asked some of our inspiri...
Growing an Edible Flower Garden
No garnish elevates a drink or dish quite like an edible flower. While I am sometimes able to find edible flowers among the fresh herbs in my local grocery store, nothing beats the quality and freshness of being able to pluck them fresh from my garden. Growing an edible flower garden is easily done in…
Prepare Your Herb Garden With These 4 Spring Tasks
Spring is an exciting time in the herb garden! So many beloved herbs are perennials, and as they begin to sprout and grow after the long winter slumber, we may have visions of abundant harvests ahead. By preparing your herb garden for the season with these spring tasks you can make that vision a reality….
Andean Plants and Their Herbal Uses
The Andes mountains are home to at least 20,000 endemic species of Andean plants (Myers et al., 2000 as cited by Cueva-Agila et al...
A Spring Equinox Drawing Exercise with Botanical Illustrator Joséphine Klerks
As we’ve worked behind the scenes on our new drawing exercise mini course, Botanical Drawing for Herbalists, we’ve spent many ...
A Day In the Life of a Botanical Illustrator With Madison Safer
Madison Safer is a freelance illustrator who beautifully interweaves her creative artwork with her herbal practice. You may have seen her work in Taproot magazine or on social media, where her cozy, nostalgic designs illustrate topics that are near and dear to naturalists and herbalists of all skill levels. We particularly love her Fire Cider…
How to Make Oak Gall and Coreopsis Botanical Paint with Rebecca Desnos
With the launch of our new Botanical Drawing for Herbalists Course, we’ve been extra inspired by projects that involve making ink and dyes from plants. For this project, we teamed up with plant dyer and author Rebecca Desnos to learn how to make botanical paint from oak galls and coreopsis flowers. You can start your…
Planting the Rainbow: Incorporate Plants Into Your Garden Based On the Color of the Blooms
Gardening is a hobby that can fulfill both the utilitarian as well as the aesthetic sensibilities within the human soul, but you d...
The Father of Medicine: Was Hippocrates an Herbalist?
“Where there is love for mankind, there is love for art of healing.” – Hippocrates Considered the father of medicine...
Gardening By the Moon: How Lunar Planting Deepens Your Relationship With the World You Live In
When we hear a phrase like “gardening by the moon,” it can elicit mystical and magical thoughts. However, this is an ancient (rather than new age) method for managing agricultural work that continues to be a tool for farmers today. One of the most popular planting guides ever produced, The Old Farmers Almanac, uses lunar…
Herbs for Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, and the Aging Brain: What the Research Has to Say
Most of us will be touched by the heartbreak of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Whether a parent, life partner, friend, or oneself, we face the slow loss of loved ones and difficult decisions about care. Research on herbs for dementia offers a ray of hope in this dark landscape. Research has focused on plants with…
Herbs of Apollo: Greek God of Healing, Prophecy, and the Sun
Who Was Apollo? Apollo was the ancient Greek god with a multitude of powerful associations, including the sun, music, poetry, heal...
Plant Allies to Prepare Your Immune System for Winter
Winter stirs up nostalgic thoughts of evergreen trees and warm, cozy fires, but it can also cause increased stress and anxiety, wi...
Motherwort Benefits + Recipe
Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) is a striking plant. Growing as tall as 5 feet, it bears the signature square stem and opposite leaves of the lamiaceae family. The leaves of this plant are toothed and palm-shaped, waving a warm hello to all that pass (Chevallier, 2000). In this post, we will discuss gathering and using motherwort,…
In Search of the True Brahmi: Bacopa vs Gotu Kola
Herbs known by the name “brahmi” have an affinity for the nervous system and tend to support memory. There are a few different herbs that go by this name, the most commonly known are Bacopa monniera and Centella asiatica. Given that the name “brahmi” is applied to more than one herb, one may be left…
How to Harvest and Prepare Prickly Pear Cactus
The prickly pear (Opuntia spp.) cactus is synonymous with the American West, and what a gift she is to desert dwellers. The name p...
The Herbs That Got Away: Rediscovering Silphium and Other Missing Historical Plants
With a landscape brightened by vivid colors and infused with aromatic scents of ocean and mountains, the ancient Mediterranean reg...
Plant Personalities: How Growing Plants Deepened My Relationship With Them
I can proudly shout from the rooftops that I am a giant nerd! I am obsessed with herbalism, plant personalities, and creating deeper connections to the earth. This path is a lifelong study, which is one of the many reasons I am drawn to it. As an herbalist, I can continually read, study, play, and…
Transform Your Land Into a Botanical Sanctuary
Native plants and their habitats are under threat. These threats come from overharvesting caused by the demand of the herbal market, and land development as more housing and other developments pop up around the country. As herbalists and plant enthusiasts, part of our journey is learning how to be stewards to our plant allies with…
How to Source Sustainable Seaweed
Seaweed has been farmed in Japan since at least the 17th century (“Seaweed Farming”, n.d.), when farmers cast bamboo branche...
5 Easy to Grow Perennial Herbs for Busy Gardeners
For anyone who has attempted gardening, it can be hugely disappointing to spend an entire weekend setting up your garden and then ...
Vining Herbs: Take Gardening to New Heights
Vining plants do so much for a garden. Vertical climbing plants take up minimal ground space and add height and texture to the garden scape. They will hide unsightly garden walls or become a whimsical focal point when grown on an arched trellis or pergola. Trellised vining plants grown on porches and patios can provide…
California Poppy Benefits + Recipe
California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), the state flower of California, is a beautiful wildflower that has been an ally to western-dwelling Indigenous peoples for long before there was a United States, let alone a United States Pharmacopeia. In this post, I will share with you a materia medica on the beneficial California poppy benefits, which should…
How and Why To Start an Herb Garden
As a kid growing up in Ohio, I really looked forward to the growing season. My father always had a love for plants (mainly flowers...
Bioregional Herbalism
Bioregional herbalism is the oldest form of herbal practice. Before global trade people used what was close at hand. This taught h...
Herbal Trees
Trees are a lovely way to decorate and enhance the landscape in a multitude of ways. Some trees are large with dense canopies and these make for excellent shade trees. Smaller trees, often cross-classified as shrubs, can be great for landscaping or placement closer to a building. There are many flowering trees that add a…
4 Options for Herbal Ground Cover
An herbal ground cover is a great option for gardeners looking to fill empty space in their garden beds or fill patches in the yard where grass has a difficult time growing. Some people even grow ground covers as an alternative to traditional grass lawns, which require heavy watering and feeding to maintain. Ground covers…
How to Grow Echinacea
Echinacea (Echinacea spp.) is an herbaceous, flowering perennial native to North America. This plant has a long history of use and...
