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…
3 Ways To Prevent A Sunburn Naturally + A DIY Sunburn Relief Spray
Sunburns are such a bummer, but if you’re like me and you enjoy being outside when the weather is nice, getting a sunburn is a likely possibility. Today I’m sharing some tips that could help you to naturally prevent a sunburn as well as sharing a DIY herbal sunburn relief spray with you that you…
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…
The China Study: All-Star Collection Review & Giveaway
When I was younger, my mother had a cookbook in the kitchen that she’d pull out every week to try something new. It’s a fact that when we cook our foods from scratch, we have to think more about what we’re putting in our bodies. In today’s day and age where we unconsciously shove highly…
How To Use Lemon Balm As A Natural Bee Sting Remedy
When it comes to natural bee sting remedies, what herbs do you think of? I’m sure there are many, but the first one I’ve always thought of right off the bat is plantain…until recently that is. Plantain is a great natural bee sting remedy, but I recently learned about lemon balm and its amazing ability…
Yarrow as a Natural Support for Fever and Flu
Yarrow is a lovely wildflower. You can find it growing on roadsides, fencerows, fields, and meadows, the white bobbing flowerheads buzzing with butterflies and bees. It is often overlooked and that is rather unfortunate, as it is a natural support and one of the most useful, potent herbal allies that I can think of! It…
How To Make A Homemade Sugar Scrub with Calendula
Over the last 8-10 years, I’ve become more focused on living a healthier lifestyle and raising my kids with that mindset as well. Because of this decision, I’ve had to change a lot of things in my life–things that most people may see as harmless, but I can see that they do more harm than…
How to Use Chamomile to Reduce Stress
In our crazy, stressful, overly-busy and hectic lifestyle, people have lost the ability to slow down, relax, and nourish themselves. We keep trying to please everyone – our bosses, spouses, children, and random strangers on the street – to the point that we live in a constant state of agitation and hyper-defensiveness, and we lose…
Herbal Burn Salve Recipe with Comfrey, Calendula, and More
This past month, my four-year-old landed a second-degree burn on his leg, thanks to a cup of accidentally spilled hot cocoa. Thankfully, I had an herbal burn salve in our medicine cabinet that was a perfect remedy for this painful situation. The Story Now isn’t that just the way things tend to happen? Kids always…
DIY Sweet Oranges & Rose Perfume
For Mother’s day this year, I wanted to make my mother something extra special that I knew she would adore. It wasn’t that hard to come up with the scent for this special gift–something with roses and sweet oranges, my mom’s two favorite scents. A Sweet Oranges and Rose Perfume seemed like a good place…
Crafting a Natural Bug Repellent with Essential Oils
The warm weather has finally arrived. And so have the bugs. What kind of bug repellent do you wear? If you’re the type of person who prefers to use products with plant-based ingredients, then you may just want to craft your own with essential oils and other simple ingredients. I have enjoyed crafting my own…
Bee Informed: The Bee Population Decline and What To Do About It
There are blares from car horns in the lines of traffic that stretch endlessly along paths of asphalt. We travel to and fro: to work, to school and to leisure. The sights, scents and sounds of everyday life consumes us, leaving little time or energy to notice the natural world that teems around us. We are…
Sweeten Your Breakfast With Dandelion Flower Syrup
Everywhere that I turn, dandelions are popping up out of the ground. Many find them a nuisance, thinking they are just weeds, but dandelions are a wonderfully nutritious herb! Rich in vitamins and minerals, dandelions are known for not just for their medicinal properties, but also their delicious taste in salads, cookies, and syrups. You…
Cool as a Cucumber – 5 Ayurvedic Tips for Summer
June 1st marks the start of a new seasonal cycle in Ayurveda. We’re transitioning out of the thaw of spring and lightening the load, but we should also be preparing for nature’s warmer months and its more sharp and penetrating qualities. According to Ayurveda’s elemental theory, Fire and Water are most at play during the…
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 rewarded with droopy, wilted, dead plants within a few weeks. Fix.com has created an infographic entitled 9 Steps to Harden Seedlings, giving you all the info you need in order to give…
How to Make a Happy Uterus with Lady’s Mantle Tea
Lady’s mantle cups her hands to hold the morning dew. Despite her inconspicuous flowers, gardeners adore her for the dew drops, formed by a process called guttation (Roshchina, 1993), that glisten on the tips of each of her scalloped leaves and captivate even the most casual observer who strolls by. The herbalists adore her for…
Put the Healthy Back Into Summer With High-C Herbal Ice Pops
Summertime in Texas usually means extreme heat and sunshine. After a day of fun out in the sun, we are all usually overheated and in need of something to cool us down and replenish our electrolytes. When this happens, my first act is to go to the freezer and see what ice pops we have…
Tips to Reduce Shopping-Related Plastic Waste
According to statistics, in 2012, the United States produced a staggering 32 million tons of plastic waste and only recycled a mere 9 percent of that (EPA, 2014). This non-degradable plastic not only takes up lots of space in our landfills, but both large and small pieces of plastic waste find their way to our oceans…
Homemade Calamine Lotion for Quick Itch Relief
I had been longing for spring to come. Daily hikes through the nature preserve, with our family dog and my four-year-old son, were all that I could think about throughout this crazy cold winter in Texas. Our very first hike through the woods welcomed me to spring with a lovely rash all over my ankle…
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 even as it is daily right under our noses. Humankind has focused so much on the calorie-dense oat grain as a food source, we’ve neglected its medicinal uses, not to mention those…
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…
