Results for Category: Botanical
Who Else Wants To Learn About Spanish Moss?
For starters, Spanish moss is neither Spanish in origin, nor is it moss! Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is actually an epiphyte, an “air plant” that grows hanging from tree branches, gathering its nutrients and water from the air. Although it’s native to Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean, it has become naturalized in…
All About Dandelion (For Your Materia Medica)
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is most assuredly a treasured plant in my local materia medica and is appreciated by herbalists t...
Little-Known Ways To Use Lovage
If we were to walk back in time and enter a medieval medicinal or kitchen garden, in the back we would surely find a relatively un...
Motherwort Through History
Here at the Academy, we often talk about historical knowledge and folk tradition comprising one of the legs of the three-legged stool that informs our understanding of a plant’s therapeutic uses. Scientific studies and the first-hand experience of modern herbalists are the other legs that complete the stool, balancing and reinforcing one another to give…
7 Things to Keep in Mind When Planning Your Herb Garden
Growing an herb garden is a wonderful way to have fresh herbs on hand for cooking, making home remedies, and enjoying nature for its bounty. If you have a large or small yard, or no yard at all, herbs are easy to grow indoors and outdoors with the right amount soil, sunshine, drainage, and attention….
Herbal Myths, Lore, and Legends: Lady’s Mantle, Mint, Fennel, Mandrake, Elder, Thistle, and Belladonna
Every culture offers myths, legends, and folklore to justify some event, instruct us on proper behavior, or issue horrible warning...
St. John’s Wort: Not Just For Depression
Stumbling upon a field of wildly growing St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) is like discovering a ray of Earth-bound sunshin...
What Everybody Ought To Know About Flower Water
Is it a “flower water,” “floral water,” or a “hydrosol/hydrolat”? Although many herbal and cosmetic retailers and websites use the terms “flower water,” “floral water,” and “hydrosol or hydrolat” as synonyms, they are not always the same thing. While there is overlap in these categories, there are flower or floral waters that are not hydrosols…
Pollinator Gardens 101: Helping Mother Nature
Have you noticed less bees buzzing around or a decrease in monarch butterflies in your area? What about a decrease in hummingbirds or moths? Our earth is in trouble, which puts us in trouble since we depend her pollinators for much of our food. Today, I’d like to share some brief information with you about…
Sweet Violets of Spring
I’m sitting here, looking out the office window over the snow-covered hills and sniffing a wee bottle of violet leaf absolute th...
DIY Herbal Pet Shampoo and Rinse for Healthy Skin & Fur
As the ground begins to thaw, we will be spending more time outdoors with our pets enjoying the warmth of early spring. And, jus...
3 Easy Herbs to Grow From Seed
Tuning in to the cycle of the seasons is an integral part of wellness, as our connection to the earth roots and nourishes us in myriad ways. I revel in the cozy cocoon and silence of winter after living out loud and hot in the summer and pushing through the ramped up pace of back-to-school…
6 Spring Herbs You Can Forage Now
Spring is just around the corner and foragers everywhere are looking forward to the first spring herbs you can forage as they burst from the earth. For centuries, humans counted on spring’s nutrient rich plants for food and nourishment after a long winter consuming stored foods. While fresh food is now available all year round…
Three Herbs to Support Digestion After a Long Winter
Human beings are part of the natural environment. We pass through the same natural and seasonal cycles that affect other living be...
The History of Chocolate – Food of the Gods
Delightful, delicious, delectable, decadent. How we describe chocolate varies depending on how much we’re thinking about it! Wha...
All About Wild Cherry Bark (Printable Monograph)
Wild cherry bark has been used in a variety of ways in years past to support the health of the body. Today, we want to peel back the layers so you can learn all about wild cherry bark and how to use it in your home or your herbal practice. Not only are we going…
How To Celebrate The Winter Solstice Like The Ancients
The winter solstice is approaching. This year it will be on Wednesday, 21 December 2016 at 4:44 a.m. central time. What is the solstice? It is an astronomical event caused by the tilt of the earth on its axis and its orbit around the sun. The result in the Northern Hemisphere is the longest night…
15 Uses for Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a much loved staple in our kitchens. Its sweet, floral, clove-like, earthy, and spicy aroma and flavor complement cook...
7 Useful Herbs You Can Harvest in the Fall
It’s autumn, and we’re deep into the annual cycle of harvest at the close of a growing season. Sure, we’ve been harvesting p...
8 Terrific Ways To Use Pine Needles Right Now
Have you ever wished you could stock your herbal apothecary with only a handful of herbs? Herbs that have so many uses, you’d never find yourself in a situation where you didn’t have something that would work? I know I have. Many times, apothecaries can grow large and overwhelming. When you focus on selecting herbs…
Creating a Local Materia Medica with Burdock
Most of us know burdock, even if we don’t realize we know burdock. This plant’s ingenious seed dispersal system—its clingy burrs—demands we pay attention eventually, for example, when removing them from our clothes, our hair, or deep in our dog’s plush fur. Inconvenience aside, you’ve got to give burdock credit for ingenuity. Swiss engineer George…
Creating a Local Materia Medica: Holy Basil
There is an herb in my local materia medica that is not native to my area, does not grow wild, isn’t hardy here in New England, ...
Sage Throughout the Ages: Discover Its History and Uses
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of sage? Food? Herbal support? For many, sage is known as an herb t...
The Transforming Power of Clay for Animals
Clay has long proved a valuable companion to me. It taught me the art of baking delicious muddy pies that my mother would so kindly pretend to eat. It’s been a stronghold, protecting the lucky frog families I would rescue from all the princesses looking to kiss them. It provided essential camouflage in my valiant…
12 Traditional Herbs That Ease Pain
Over-the-counter pain relievers are a modern invention, but before they were available people relied on many different herbs to bring comfort during injury and illness. This article looks at twelve traditional herbs that ease pain and how herbalists approached their use. Many of these herbs have full profiles in our online learning resource, The Herbarium,…
8 Everyday Herbs of the Caribbean
Three months ago, my son and I came to live in Manzanillo, Costa Rica, a small beach town on the southern Caribbean coast. As a W...
Creating a Local Materia Medica With Motherwort
Motherwort is the gift that keeps on giving in my garden. A member of the tenacious mint family (Lamiaceae), she self-seeds hersel...
Is Red Clover Safe During Pregnancy And Breastfeeding?
Sure, it’s a valuable herb for women (and men too), but is using red clover safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding? Generally, red clover is a safe herb to use, however, when it comes to this season of a woman’s life, there are a few important things to consider as there are many conflicting views surrounding the…
Creating a Local Materia Medica With Plantain (+ Plantain Salve Recipe)
Part of the beauty of a local materia medica is its humility, and you can’t get much more humble than plantain (Plantago spp.). Considered a weed the world over, this tenacious and resilient plant steadfastly grows in lawns, fields, roadsides, disturbed land, sidewalk cracks—you name it. And while plantain is often overlooked today (saved by…
Unlock the Power of Mint: A Family-Friendly Herb
Beautifully fragrant with a delightful taste, amazing mint (Mentha genus) is a helpful and welcome herb for everyone in the family...
