Student Feature: Colleen Codekas @Grow Forage Cook Ferment
For the fifth installment of our Student Feature Series, we spoke with Colleen Codekas, author of Healing Herbal Infusions and founder of the popular blog, Grow Forage Cook Ferment. As the name of her blog implies, Colleen is a gardener, forager, cook, and herbalist who elegantly weaves herbs and spices into her seasonal recipes and…
Citrus and Spice: DIY All-Purpose Cleaner
Crisp cool air and tree colors turning to auburn and golden hues welcome the arrival of autumn and winter months. Tis the season to enjoy the comforts of home, like a crackling fireplace, a cozy couch, or a clean kitchen that’s ready for cooking up hearty recipes. And speaking of recipes, have you ever tried…
Floral Mist: DIY Room Spray
A few spritzes of our DIY Room Spray will transport your mind and spirit to bright and colorful gardens bursting with flowers and light. This floral mist is a sneak peek into our Natural Perfumery Course, and it combines the fragrant aroma of jasmine and rose with the citrusy cheerfulness of bergamot. The end result…
Sneak Peek into our Virtual Herbal Book Fair
This autumn, as the days become shorter and the nights start to stretch longer, we’re bringing our studies indoors, preparing warm herbal infusions and potent decoctions. The cooler months are opportune for settling in with a good herbal book from our collection to keep our minds active and continue our learning all through the season….
Once in a Blue Moon Milk Recipe with Ashwagandha and Chamomile
This year has been full of surprises, and it would only be natural for the world to give us yet another surprise during the spookiest month of the year. In a typical year, we can expect to witness twelve full moons, one for every month of the year. This year is a rare exception. In…
What is Enfleurage? Historic Perfumery Technique with Instructions
“Enfleurage” is a French word that you may have seen associated with historic perfumery techniques. If you’ve seen this mysterious word mentioned in old texts or publications, you probably found yourself wondering, “what is enfleurage?” We dug into our Natural Perfumery Course to answer that question and to share a special sneak peek into our…
Student Feature: Alyson Morgan (@Alyson Simply Grows)
For the fourth installment of our Student Feature Series, we spoke with Alyson Morgan (@AlysonSimplyGrows). Alyson is an environmentalist, gardener, slow-living advocate, and mother who has enjoyed watching her family learn herbalism alongside her. Alyson owns Earth Star Herbals, where she offers small-batch, intentional flower essences and herbal products, blog posts, and seasonal musings. Alyson…
Health Benefits of Cinnamon + 2 Warming Recipes
(Excerpted from Spice Apothecary by Bevin Clare. Used with permission from Storey Publishing.) Cinnamon is one of the oldest and most well-known spices. There are four commonly available types of cinnamon, and they can be quite different in taste, chemical composition, and herbal action. All come from the inner bark of several Southeast Asian tree…
Using Goldenrod: A Late Summer Cordial Recipe
Goldenrod (Solidago spp.) flourishes abundantly on roadsides and meadows in late summer and fall. In the plant family, Asteraceae, the genus name “Solidago” is derived from the Latin word “solidare” which translates to, “make whole or heal.” This is a helpful clue into the many ways people have been using goldenrod for centuries. Aptly named,…
Queen Anne’s Lace Part II: Traditional Use of Daucus Carota
Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota) is a fascinating plant with a long and storied past. Because it has poisonous look-alikes, it’s vitally important that you properly identify Queen Anne’s lace if you’re foraging for any part of the plant. Read the first part of this two-part series in Queen Anne’s Lace Part I: Folklore and…