Using Aromatherapy for Stress Support
The following excerpt, Using Aromatherapy for Stress Support, is excerpted from Aroma Alchemy by Holly Brandenberger, published by Watkins Publishing. Copyright © 2025. Using Aromatherapy for Stress Support and Relief Aromatherapy is a personal journey, and discovering the right oils for your wellbeing requires experimentation. The process of finding what works best can be both…
Little Known Uses of Witch Hazel and Other Plants of the Southern Appalachians
Have you ever spotted a bottle of witch hazel on your drugstore shelf and wondered about the story behind this curiously named shrub? If you find yourself intrigued by this winter-flowering southern Appalachian native and the mystical mountains that surround it, come along with bioregional herbalist and international educator Patricia Kyritsi Howell to learn more…
Lifting Spirits: Pleasure With Aphrodisiacs
Are you curious to discover how herbs can support you in leaning into full-bodied enjoyment? In Naturally, clinical herbalist and author Rachelle Robinett explores this topic and offers an accessible, beginner-friendly approach to herbalism, walking you through science-backed guidance for using herbs, including aphrodisiacs, how to work with a variety of supportive herbal preparations, and…
How to Make Pickled Carrots with Lavender
The book excerpt below is taken from Preserving the Seasons by Holly Capelle. Preserving the Seasons is a straightforward and beautifully photographed guide to boiling water canning; drying, dehydrating, freeze-drying; freezing, infusing, and quick pickling. These are the easiest and most effective methods for preserving produce, herbs, and edible flowers. The recipe below for Pickled…
Herbs for Dogs: Calendula and Other Herbs for Canine Skin Health
In The Herbal Dog: Holistic Canine Herbalism: Applications and Practice, Rita Hogan, C.H., highlights the many different evidence-based herbs for dogs factors that contribute to canine wellness. Incorporating herbs, diet, lifestyle tips, energetic considerations, and a truly holistic viewpoint of animal as mind, body, and spirit, Rita approaches skin health from the inside out. A…
Daylily Benefits + Recipe: A Sneak Peek from the ‘National Geographic Backyard Guide to Edible Wild Plants’
If you’ve ever wandered through your backyard or along a forest path and wondered which plants might offer more than just beauty, the brand-new National Geographic Backyard Guide to Edible Wild Plants is your next must-have companion. Co-authored by Herbal Academy educators and authors Heather Wood Buzzard and Mimi Prunella Hernandez, this vibrant, user-friendly guide…
Pot Liquor Healing Broth: A Nutrient-Rich Way to Nourish the Body
Herbal traditions are more than remedies—they are a living bridge between the past and the present. For African Americans, these practices represent resilience, survival, and innovation. Passed down through oral traditions, often in whispers during the harsh realities of enslavement, these healing systems were adapted to new environments and challenges. Our ancestors transformed what surrounded…
First Holistic Care Steps to Take After Receiving a Cancer Diagnosis
In Holistic Cancer Care, seasoned medical herbalist Chanchal Cabrera, MSC, FNIMH, RH(AHG), provides an effective framework for approaching a cancer diagnosis through a truly integrative perspective. Having seen many patients through to recovery, Chanchal is a powerful ally during the cancer journey from diagnosis to embarking on medical treatment and holistic support all the way…
Two Ways to Make Sauerkraut for an Extra Digestive Boost
In the 10th anniversary edition of Fermented Vegetables, fermentation experts Kirsten K. Shockey and Christopher Shockey share their passion for fermentation as a traditional preservation method that lends itself beautifully to vegetables. Familiar vegetable ferments like sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickles are tried and true stalwarts of traditional healthy diets, but are just the tip of…
A Blush Rose Gimlet Recipe That is Both Refreshing and Captivating
In this ultimate guide to seasonal herbs, Seasonal Living with Herbs is a transformative book written by Jess Buttermore that explores the supportive, culinary, and crafting uses of herbs. This is a go-to resource for discovering the extraordinary benefits of nature’s bounty. Learn how to preserve herbs and harness their medicinal properties, explore creative ways…
Choosing the Right Herbs for a Person or Situation
In her new book, The Herbalist’s Guide: How to Build and Use Your Own Apothecary, Mary Colvin, RH(AHG), offers a detailed exploration of many herbal preparations, including many recipes, monographs, and clinical insights. Mary shares her passion for inspiring herbalists of all stages who dream of establishing a thoughtfully curated apothecary. Exploring the nuances of…
How to Build a Culinary Kitchen for Herbalists
The following excerpt is taken from the book Foraged & Grown by Tara Lanich-LaBrie. Tara takes us on a culinary kitchen journey to reconnect with our body and the natural world with 100 plant-inspired recipes. Foraged and Grown is a herbalist’s culinary kitchen journey through the seasons with recipes that highlight herbal ingredients and share…
How to Choose Herbs for Sleep
In her new book, Herbal Remedies for Sleep: How to Use Healing Herbs And Natural Therapies to Ease Stress, Promote Relaxation, and Encourage Healthy Sleep Habits, Maria Noel Groves, RH(AHG), weaves her surefooted experience with lifestyle choices, herbal supports, practical tips for herbal usage, and a treasure trove of enticing recipes to help readers feel…
The Practice of Spiritual Herbalism and How It Relates to Sexual Health
In The Art & Practice of Spiritual Herbalism: Transform, Heal, and Remember with the Power of Plants and Ancestral Medicine, Karen M. Rose explores cultural traditions of heart-based herbalism. Offering a perspective informed by tradition, science, and spirit, Karen discusses each system of the body through a transformational lens. Karen draws on the wisdom of…
Lesser-Known Uses of Sunflower: National Geographic Herbal
In National Geographic Herbal, herbalist and author Mimi Prunella Hernandez, RH(AHG), shares her passion for discovering both global traditions and local wisdom surrounding various herbs and spices and is the perfect guide through a worldwide spectrum of perspectives in herbalism. Exploring the benefits of common weeds like dandelion and red clover, as well as little-appreciated…
A Simple Incense Recipe Using Ethically Sourced Herbs
In Earth Medicines: Ancestral Wisdom, Healing Recipes, and Wellness Rituals from a Curandera, traditional healer, storyteller, and Indigenous foods activist Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz invites readers to connect with the the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water that are so deeply integral to her curanderismo tradition. Felicia shares many aspects that shape her own personal practice,…
5 Common Spices to Use for Everyday Health
The following excerpt, 5 Common Spices to Use for Everyday Health, is taken from Spice Apothecary© by Bevin Clare. Used with permission from Storey Publishing. HEALTHY CONNECTIONS: SKIN, BONES, AND JOINTS Our skin is the organ that interacts most with the world. A dynamic and responsive organ, it contends with all kinds of impacts and…
Strawberry-Thyme Shortcake Recipe With Whipped Crème Fraîche
The following Strawberry-Thyme Shortcake recipe excerpt is eprinted with permission from The Prairie Kitchen Cookbook by Kayla Lobermeier. Page Street Publishing Co. 2023. Photo credit: Kayla Lobermeier. Kayla Lobermeier is the creator of Under A Tin Roof, an organization focused on gardening, preserving, and cooking food with real ingredients. Kayla has been featured in Willow and…
Dissolving the Green Wall: Learning to Connect With Plants and Our Environment
The following book excerpt titled “The Green Wall” is taken from Mirrors in the Earth by Asia Suler and is used with permission. For over a decade, Asia Suler has worked one on one with people in her private practice and with numerous students as a teacher, guiding them on a journey of learning, healing,…
Starting Herbs From Seed
Have you ever wanted to start growing herbs from seed? We are delighted to share our friend Richo Cech’s new book, Growing Plant Medicine: The Medicinal Herb Grower, Volume 1, with you today to give you some base knowledge for starting herbs from seed for your herbal garden. In this book, you’ll discover theory and…
The Secret Network of Trees: Exploring the Important Relationship to Groundwater
The following book excerpt on the important relationship between forest trees and groundwater is adapted with permission of the publisher from the book The Secret Wisdom of Nature: Trees, Animals, and the Extraordinary Balance of All Living Things written by Peter Wohlleben and published by Greystone Books in March 2019. Available in paperback as The…
The Core Carrier Oils: How to Store Them Properly
This excerpt on core carrier oils is from the book The Carrier Oil Palette by Jade Shutes and Sherilyn Siegmund-Roach and is reprinted with permission from The School for Aromatic Studies. Carrier Oil Storage Carrier oils deteriorate via two separate processes: oxidation and spoilage. To prevent such deterioration, you must protect carrier oils from light,…
How to Make Lavender Wands
Extract from The Wild Craft by Catarina Seixas, published in 2022 by Hardie Grant Publishing. Photographs © Ana Zilhão Some years ago, while exploring an old, abandoned house, I opened a drawer and found a lavender wand inside. I brought it up to my nose and instinctively inhaled the sweet fragrance deeply, even though the passing…
5 Ways to Prepare Flowers
The following aromatic plant excerpt on ways to prepare flowers is from the book, “Botanicals With Benefits: Develop a New Relationship With Your Garden: The Edible Flower Volume” by Kerry Hughes, and is reprinted with permission. Kerry Hughes, MS, principal for EthnoPharm (www.Ethnopharm.com), is an ethnobotanist, herbalist, and author with a 20-year record of success in natural…
Aromatic Plant Preparation & Uses
The following aromatic plant excerpt is from the book, “Botanicals With Benefits: Develop a New Relationship With Your Garden: The Aromatic Plants Volume” by Kerry Hughes, and is reprinted with permission. Kerry Hughes, MS, principal for EthnoPharm (www.Ethnopharm.com), is an ethnobotanist, herbalist, and author with a 20-year record of success in natural product development. Kerry also is…
Seasonal Medicine for the Winter
The following excerpt is from the book “Energetic Herbalism” by Kat Maier RH, (AHG). Kat is the founder and director of Sacred Plant Traditions, a center for herbal studies in Charlottesville, Virginia. In clinical practice for over 30 years, Kat teaches internationally at universities, conferences, and herbal schools. (Chelsea Green, Nov 2021). At this time…
Meet Indigenous Ethnobotanist Enrique Salmón
The following book excerpt is taken from the book, Iwigara: American Indian Ethnobotanical Traditions & Science, by Enrique Salmón, and is shared with permission. SAGEBRUSH Artemisia spp. Family: Asteraceae Parts Used: whole plant Season: year-round Region: western North America Some plants are both synonymous with American Indian herbology and icons of a particular geographic region….
How to Use Dye Plants: Plant Projects for the Home
This book excerpt is taken from A Woman’s Garden: Grow Beautiful Plants and Make Useful Things – Plants and Projects for Home, Health, Beauty, Healing, and More by Tanya Anderson, and is reprinted with permission from Cool Springs Press, an imprint of The Quarto Group. Using Dye Plants From archaeological evidence, we know that people have…
Book Excerpt: Sustainable Herbs Project
This excerpt is from Ann Armbrecht’s new book The Business of Botanicals: Exploring the Healing Promise of Plant Medicines in a Global Industry (Chelsea Green Publishing, February 2021) and is reprinted with permission from the publisher. Globally, some thirty thousand plant species are said to be used for medicinal purposes, and four to six thousand…
5 Herbs To Support A Body in Pain
Pain is a common symptom of many acute and chronic conditions—one that often leaves us searching for natural solutions to our problems. Thankfully, herbs can assist us during these times, and with the right mindset, herbs can be an effective piece to the pain puzzle. Herbalist Maria Noël Groves has written a new book, Grow…
