DIY Curtain Holdback
Items needed for the DIY Curtain Holdback: Door Plate of choice Door Knob of choice (must have threaded type for screw) 2 – 3/8” carriage bolts 3 ½” – 4” long 2 – 3/8” flat washers and 2 – 3/8” nuts Crescent wrench Electrical tape Paint brush Craft paint Tape over head and beginning threads…
Plantain: Herbs We Love For Summer
When I was a little girl, my parents, unlike our neighbors with their perfectly smooth “chem lawns,” never applied pesticides or weed killer out of concern for their children’s health and to minimize our exposure to toxins. Our yard was viewed not as a status symbol but a place to romp and play, and so play…
St. John’s Wort: Herbs We Love For Summer
The summer herb of the week is St. John’s wort, also known commonly as touch-and-heal, goatweed, hypericum, johnswort, klamath weed, rosin rose, St. John’s grass, and tipton weed. St. John’s wort is an herbaceous perennial in the St. Johnswort family (Hypericaceae). You will find it growing in the fields and meadows and along roadsides and forests from…
Spearmint: Herbs We Love For Summer
Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is one of our favorite cooling herbs for summer! When it’s 90 degrees out, firing up the stove to make hot tea can be unappealing. Fortunately, spearmint, as well as mint family cousins peppermint and lemon balm, are easy-to-grow kitchen herbs that impart their refreshing taste into cold water.
Herbal Academy of New England’s Summer Reading List 2013
NUTRITIONAL HERBOLOGY By: Mark Pedersen This is a lovely reference guide to herbs and their nutritional and medicinal values as well as folk history. THE CHINA STUDY By: T. Colin Campbell, Thomas M. Campbell ll, Howard Lyman and John Robbins If you haven’t read this one yet, don’t walk, run to your nearest book store….
Make It: Flower Water
At this time of year, I am often stopped in my tracks by a sudden sweetness carried by the wind. A quick look around will reveal a blooming delight nearby, spreading its fragrant essence through the air. Today I found the roses outside my house blooming after a long winter’s rest, unfolding their strong petals…
Sticks and Stones: Homemade Plant Markers
Many of us are transitioning into summer by planting our gardens. And there is nothing better than planting in style! These homemade plant markers are not only attractive; they are free, easy to make and very green. All you really need are sticks and stones from the backyard!
Nourishing Weedy Tea
Herbalists have an eye for beauty and worth, seeing usefulness inside what others consider useless. Often reviled plants like nettles, dandelions, burdock, plantain, chickweed, lambs quarters, and red clover often grow nearby in favorite fields or woodland paths, or even on our lawns, and make delicious and nutritious teas as well as herbal vinegars, soups,…
An Introduction To Phytobiophysics ®
Our good friends at Mossop Natural Remedies put this video together for our students and readers! Sit back with a cup of tea and enjoy the presentation, An Introduction to Phytobiophysics®, by Diana Mossop. http://youtu.be/keAFGx8DT-g&w=550&h=309 A little about Diana: Professor Diana Mossop has been studying natural remedies from plants for the best part of her…
Greens and Roots on a Bed of Warm Quinoa
There is nothing more delicious than vegetables right out of the garden. With this quinoa salad recipe you can use whatever you have on hand from your latest CSA pick up, your garden or the vegetable crisper. The satisfaction you feel from eating this salad comes from the texture, taste and temperature. This mixture of…
How To Make Herb-Infused Oils
If you have never made an herb-infused oil, you are in for a wonderful treat! These easy herbal preparations are a wonderful way to capture the benefits of herbs for many uses, from skincare to cooking. There are so many herbs you can choose from depending on your intended use, and there are so many…
Regrowing Your Kitchen Greens
Did you know you can extend the shelf life of your greens by simply putting them in water? It’s true; I’ve done it! I picked up green onions at the grocery store two weeks ago. It was sad seeing them go so quickly. So I experimented with a jar of water and sunlight and regrew…
Outrageously Delicious Homemade Jam
Making a delicious jam is easier than you think! Here are three of our favorite recipes.
Upcycling for the Herbalist
If you’re sentimental like me, you likely have a stack of greeting cards stashed away that you can’t bear to part with – not only because of the messages inside, but because they have lovely colors and designs.
Interview with Madelon Hope
April 10, 2013 In our “Herbalists we Love” page, we are going to give our readers insight into the lives of herbalists. Here we will introduce you to herbalists that are well suited as guides into this realm of healing and the passing on of knowledge. Our first herbalist is Madelon Hope who has been…
Mossop Natural Remedies: Review and Giveaway!
The Phytobiophysics Flower Formulas support emotions and help people to deal with the sad, painful and traumatic experiences that we all suffer with throughout our lives. Emotions interfere with function which then creates physical imbalance. Through stabilizing the emotional issues in our lives, we may then recover from the physical manifestation. This quote is…
In the Spring…
In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. -Margaret Atwood Quoted in Bluebeard’s Egg.
Natural Easter Egg Dye
There are more natural ways to color eggs than using the fizzy tablets we used as kids. You don’t have to run to the store to buy a kit or any special materials. Colorful veggies, fruits and spices all make nice dyes. This year I experimented with what I could find in my kitchen. I…
The Herbal Healing Practices of Native Americans
“Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it, such that whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” Native Americans believe strongly in the interconnection of all of creation. They practice their healing arts in a way which includes the natural world and the whole person –…
Berry Bok Choy Chia Smoothie
My go-to smoothie these days has a little secret: bok choy. Now, I love me some leafy greens, but since even I find it challenging to fit in the recommended servings all in one day, I fancy finding places for them wherever I can. Bok choy is in the cabbage family and is high in…
Teacup by Teacup
Turn up the flame, wait for the teapot to heat and whistle. Pour hot water over the jar of dried leaves and flowers. A slow stir with a spoon sends steam rising from a spinning spiral of herbs. The technology is simple: water, fire, glass. No shares, likes, pins, tweets, or re-tweets. Simply water silently…
On The Road
We are packing up our cameras and notebooks and heading out on the road to bring you exclusive interviews and personal stories from herbalists across the country. We’ll introduce you to some of the world’s most well-known and revered healers and teachers, as well to the treasured local village herbalists working diligently behind the scenes…
Flowers For The Home
Flowers in the foyer, fresh lemons in the kitchen and plants, well…everywhere else! They say that the kitchen is the heart of the home and I wouldn’t disagree with that. We love hanging out in the kitchen. It is the place where we nourish ourselves, enjoy the company of family and friends and spend time…
Fancy Oatmeal
Sometimes my favorite cereal grain can feel a bit bland. Oatmeal for breakfast again? It’s the equivalent of khaki pants. Yawn. What about raisins? No offense to raisins, but again…yawn. The other day I ladled some oatmeal into a bowl and looked at it, all pale and lumpy, crying out for a splash of color. …
Tea Time Before Bedtime
Children of all ages love to have tea. They love the ceremony that having tea provokes. It can be a time to hang out with our little ones without the distractions of homework, TV and computers. Shut it down, sit down and enjoy a cup of tea together before bed.
Spring Tonics
Despite the snowy view from our windows, it’s the official first day of spring, the Equinox, so called because the earth’s tilt is balanced in such a way that day and night are about equal lengths. Yes, there is snow, but the robins and snowdrops I spotted last week promise us: Take heart, friends. Warmer…
Scientists in the Making
Hypothesis hy-poth-e-sis (hahy-poth-uh-sis) Plural: Hypotheses (seez) Definition: A proposition or set of propositions, set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specific group or phenomena, either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide investigation (working hypothesis) or accepted as highly probable in the light of established facts.
Sex on the Table
You may be envisioning dishes crashing to the floor along with articles of clothing as the chandelier swings overhead. Well, that just may be the outcome after you’ve tried some of the suggestions we are about to give you. Interested? Read on! Our bodies respond in every way to the nutrients we put into them….
The Art of Conversation
I love texting! Texting is just easier, less intrusive and certainly less awkward then conversing over the phone, at least in some cases. However, we need to be aware of the consequences that texting has on real conversation. Texting or phone conversations for that matter do not allow for the observation of body language or…
Get Healthy The Write Way!
Clinical trials have shown that journaling boosts your immune system, reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, increases feelings of happiness and diminishes symptoms of depression and anxiety. Indeed the Journal of American Medicine Association (JAMA) reports that writing about stressful experiences reduces physical symptoms in patients with chronic illnesses. There are those that suggest journaling prolongs…
