Strawberry, Avocado & Hemp Seed Kale Salad
As the warmer New England weather finally seems like it’s here to stay, we are all about salads right now. Bikini and pool season will be here before you know it, and nutrient dense salads are a great way to get an assortment of vitamins and minerals, along with healthy fats and proteins. Kale is…
5 Herbs for Healthy Hair
With summer just around the corner, our skin is not the only thing needing some revitalization after a long winter. Our hair, the protector of our scalp, can take a hefty beating from the cold harsh winter weather, but fortunately there are many herbs that can help us manage our hair and give it a…
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…
How To Make Herbal Glycerites: Tinctures Without Alcohol
Glycerites are sweet herbal tinctures which use vegetable glycerin to extract the active constituents and flavor from an herb. Herbal tinctures are typically made from alcohol, but glycerin is a good alternative for children, animals, and adults when palatability and alcohol sensitivities are primary considerations. While not as potent as alcohol-based tinctures, glycerites are still…
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 little escaped and self-sown flowering plant had emerged. Guess which one. Violet! Perhaps cultivated for hardiness as well as beauty, the little johnny jump-up violets (Viola tricolor) had popped up after…
Herbalists Are CEOs
Herbalists are leaders. In our communities, our families, and in the world, every day herbalists make powerful, impactful decisions. We answer to ourselves and the natural world around us. We take the knowledge that we have learned and we lead from the fore, making choices that preserve, protect, and give back to nature. We are…
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 sister-in-law have all found the time to plant a whole garden amidst schedules that are as crazy as yours. And since you haven’t even gotten started, is it possible to do some late gardening? What…
Seed Cycling For Hormonal Balance
While there are countless advantages to being alive today, there are influences we must contend with in an industrialized world. Electric lights interfere with our sleep cycle hormones. Women long ago had children earlier and breastfed longer, which decreased their exposure to natural estrogen. We spend less time being physically active than our predecessors. Xenoestrogens and…
Herbal Remedies for Headaches
Headaches, especially migraines, are no joke. They can strike out of nowhere, rendering a functioning person into a weak, whimpering puddle of misery in no time at all. I should know – I have suffered from them for a good deal of my life! Using these simple herbal remedies for headaches, I’ve finally gotten a hold…
