Results for Category: Botanical
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., 2019). In Ecuador, the Eastern Cordillera Real montane forests ecoregion boasts up to 8,000 different plant species (Richter et al., 2009). The southern part of the country, especially the Loja and…
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 s...
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 don’t always find both in the garden. I grew up with gardens that were either designed around production and output or designed for aesthetic purposes. However, you don’t have to choose. Planting the…
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 (...
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, healing, oracles, prophecy, plagues, and archery. As the son of Zeus, king of the gods, and Leto, the goddess of motherhood, Apollo was one of the twelve Olympian gods who was both revered and feared…
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...
