Results for Category: Botanical
10 Summer Herbs to Forage This Year
The “Dog Days” of summer are upon us in the South. The dogs and cats are lazy, the snakes are more prone to bite, the gnats, flies, and mosquitoes are more bothersome than normal, and the poison ivy is thriving. Thankfully, it isn’t all bad. These slow, hot days bring more time for family gatherings,…
Keep The Bugs Away With These 6 Natural Pest Repellent Plants
Summer is a great time of year because you can be outside doing lots of fun activities you can’t enjoy when it’s cold out such...
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 epiphy...
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 throughout temperate regions of the world. Sadly, dandelion is not celebrated by all—due to its penchant to grow and blossom wherever it darn well pleases, it is loathed and poisoned by those who value a pristine…
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 unknown plant today—lovage. Unlike many herbs, lovage may have begun its journey with humans as a therapeutic plant and evolved into the culinary plant too few of us enjoy today….
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 st...
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 i...
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 warnings if a person breaks the rules of proper behavior. Myths are generally about the gods, e.g., Zeus, and are usually a symbolic account of what happened rather than factual. Folklore sometimes has mythical creatures like…
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 sunshine. Profuse bright, happy yellow flowers hint at this plant’s well-known use for soothing those suffering from depression. Yet, those cheery flowers hold many more herbal actions and uses within than most of us are familiar…
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 webs...
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...
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 that arrived a couple months ago in an extravagant birthday basket. It is hard to describe, but Marge Clark of Nature’s Gift has this to say about it: “Intensely green initially, this absolute has…
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, just like us, our pets will be transitioning from the dryness of winter to the freshness of spring. Since different seasons have different effects on skin, pet owners should be aware of…
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 my...
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 burs...
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 beings—animals, plants, and ecosystems. This is reflected in traditional healing systems the world over. Western herbalism has a long history of practices and remedies that are determined by the season, and older systems like…
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! What is the number one food craved by woman? Chocolate! Did you realize that chocolate has only been enjoyed outside of the Americas for about 500 years? The History of Chocolate The cacao (chocolate) tree, or…
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 t...
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 sol...
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 cookies, cakes, pastries, pies, breads, oatmeal, cinnamon toast, applesauce, and mulled wines. Cinnamon is also included in spice blends from many cultures and is used throughout the world. Cinnamon’s virtues extend beyond its taste and…
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 plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, and gorgeous leafy aromatic plants for several months now, but when it comes to herbs, fall is a special time for harvest. The plant energy that was devoted…
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 ne...
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 b...
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, and isn’t perennial—it requires annual seeding in the garden and is sensitive to frost. Despite these limitations, I am undeniably, profusely, and irrevocably in love with holy basil, and…
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 that elicits feelings of warmth and comfort. Its properties can also lower cholesterol, rebuild vitality and strength that has been lost during an illness, and it is a tonic…
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 kindl...
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 br...
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 Western-trained herbalist, this for me has meant a daily education on an entirely new materia medica featuring herbs of the Caribbean—virtually none of my familiar temperate-climate plants thrive here! Fortunately, there…
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 herself prodigiously. Her tenacity is nothing a little weeding can’t take care of, and in turn, I have set aside a designated patch where she can reseed to her heart’s content. Let’s learn how…
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? Genera...
