Results for Category: Botanical
Looking for Natural Flu Remedies? Woad Works!
Worries about influenza, Ebola, and measles are making headlines. As herbalists, we have many natural flu remedies in our toolkits, including a repertoire of immune boosters, cold remedies, and digestive aids to help with viral symptoms. Wouldn’t it be helpful if there were other plants, like elderberry, that work at the cellular level to prevent…
Comfrey Uses + Soothing Comfrey Cream Recipe
I started growing comfrey a couple of years ago, but my reasons were NOT strictly altruistic. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of ...
How To Grow Pea Shoots Indoors: Fresh Greens Year-Round
With the garden tucked in for the winter and the farmer’s markets closing up shop until spring, we’re back to listless strolls...
Boost Your Pet’s Life With Turmeric: Natural Wellness Awaits!
Just as herbs can positively affect humans, the same is true for animals. It is thought by some that humans may have first learned to use certain herbs by watching the actions of animals. As humans seek to live more natural and self-sufficient lives, many of us also seek to use natural care for our…
Planting Fruit Trees in the Fall
In some areas of the country, fall is the best season for planting fruit trees. While it seems like planting fruit trees would be a complicated endeavor, using this simple planting process will set you up for success.
Mountain Wellness: Yarrow and Arnica Uses
Those of us on the path of studying herbalism will attest that learning about the edible and wellness properties of plants has shi...
The Beauty of Herbs
The plants we gather from field and forest contain hundreds if not thousands of nutrients and active constituents packed into dark...
Rose Hips: The Floral Superfood!
What do we typically think of when we see a rose? Usually, we think of a long-stemmed flower used as part of a romantic gesture, or even the fragrant bushes that fill up our yard on a warm summer day. But believe it or not, plants of the genus rosa are not just a source…
The Health Benefits of Neem
Is the world’s number one herb a sleeper? Well, if you have never heard of the benefits of neem (Azadirachta indica) then the answer is yes. However, very few people in India will not be familiar with this herb since its use in ayurvedic healing dates back some 5000 years. Described by some as a panacea, neem…
How To Save Seeds: From Harvesting to Using Them
When It Comes To Gardening, Timing Is Everything I am sure you have been in that place, being the careful gardener that you are. ...
7 Reasons Herbs May Not Work
Many times people new to herbs get excited about learning and using herbs. I know I sure did. They go out and buy all kinds of boo...
Health Benefits of Goldenrod (+ Tea Recipe)
You know it’s late summer when you see the beautiful and stately goldenrod plant gracing our yards, meadows, and waste spaces. It mixes in so beautifully with Joe-Pye weed, queen Anne’s lace, and loostrife. I am among the many who grew up thinking goldenrod was ragweed (learn about their differences here) and responsible for the late…
10 Awesome Uses For Aloe Vera
It’s late in summer, and with the heat bearing down upon us, most of us Americans are dreaming of the impending fall that is just around the corner. At the beginning of the summer, my back patio started with only one aloe plant, but now, over the course of three months, it has transformed into…
3 Supportive Roots to Harvest in Fall: Dandelion, Burdock and Yellow Dock
As the days grow a bit shorter and the nights a little cooler, we can sense the approach of autumn and the changes it brings. Fall...
How to Plan and Plant a Fall Garden
Believe it or not even in cold weather climates, you can plant a fall garden and watch it grow. While the thought of a lush, vibra...
3 Surprising Medicinal Uses of Black Pepper
It’s hard to imagine an American dining table without a black pepper grinder or shaker. A tropical vine native to India, black pepper (Piper nigrum) is reported to have become a staple of the American table after it found its way over from Europe where it was highly prized several centuries ago. And yet, is the…
Starting a Keyhole Garden
Gardening is a passion that has resurfaced with a vengeance in recent years. Whether it’s to save money on veggies and fruits, or a purposeful garden to avoid GMOs, getting dirt under your fingernails in the garden is catching on. With so many newcomers to the gardening game, it’s no surprise that there are many…
How To Start An Indoor Herb Garden
Have you ever wondered about the bounty that nature gives us each and every year? If you’re here, I’m betting you have...
5 Simple Ways to Conserve Water for Your Garden
Much of the country, including the Southwest and northern Texas, are currently experiencing significant drought. This is not only ...
The Shakers and our First Herbades
Who Were the Shakers? The Shakers were a religious sect of “believers” who established agriculturally-based and independently functioning communities in America ever since their arrival in 1774. Twenty-four villages in all were established by the end of the 19th century. Currently, two villages remain which are considered “active.” Many of the villages have become museums…
The Nature of Herbalism
In today’s world of processed food and manufactured drugs, a growing number of idealistic individuals have eschewed the mass-produced mainstream options to embrace the benefits of the natural, organic, and traditional. In particular, more and more people are recognizing that herbal remedies, compared to many conventional medicines, are often safer, easier to use, and simply…
How to Harden Seedlings and Protect Your Garden
Gardening is a popular past-time, and many people invest a large amount of money every year in plants and seedlings, only to be re...
Oats Benefits: Getting To Know Avena Sativa
Such a beautiful name, Avena sativa, known by most as the common oat. It’s interesting how knowledge of a plant can become lost ...
Harvesting and Cooking Nettles (Plus, Nettle and White Bean Recipe!)
Spring nettles are at their best right now in New England – new, spring-green, and tender – so last weekend I was delighted to discover a large patch simply brimming with the prickly goodness of nettles. Harvesting, preparing, and cooking nettles doesn’t have to be hard. Along with health benefits of nettle in herbal tea, these…
5 Herbs That Grow In Shade
With the coming of summer, you’re all ready to take in the majesty of the large, sweeping landscape that is your forty-acre property. You can picture the vast plots of land you will use to grow your garden of sun-loving herbs like basil, sage, lavender and—wait a minute. Actually, this may not be your scenario…
The Virtues of Violets – Health Benefits of Violets
A few weeks ago, I looked around our 5 acres to see what may be sprouting after a long, cold winter. Soon I saw that my first lit...
3 Easy Tips for Late Gardening
It seems like everyone in your life is gardener extraordinaire…except for you. Your neighbor, your best friend, and your perfect...
What is Compost Tea? Plants Drink Tea, Too!
At the Herbal Academy, we believe in cultivating awareness of our interconnectedness with the living communities all around us. When we use the earth’s resources with wisdom and respect, all of us (plants, animals, humans) will live far more healthy and abundant lives. A key way we enjoy these gifts is by consuming herbs for…
How to Compost: Getting Started Guide
Spring is finally starting to show its face in our corner of the world, and Earth Day is just around the corner. What better time to talk about ways to keep our lovely planet healthy? It may seem impossible, but each of us can make a difference, in small or large ways. “Food makes up…
How to Make an Easy Red Clover Tea: Red Clover, Red Clover, Bring Good Health on Over
Red clover (Trifolium pratense) is a well-known “weed” introduced to North America by European colonists and is now commonly f...
