Chickweed Pesto: How to Make This Wild Greens Recipe
Chickweed (Stellaria spp., including Stellaria media) is one of the first herbs to appear each spring. If you’ve been cooped up inside all winter and you’re ready to hit the forests and meadows the minute the weather warms, then chickweed is a fantastic edible green to learn how to recognize and use in herbal recipes,…
How to Make a Simple Chai Syrup
I love any opportunity to share the richness of relationships with plants and have always felt that handmade gifts are the most precious. There’s nothing like gifting friends and family your time and energy, packaged up, with handwritten labels, just brimming with love. This is why for Christmas this year I am offering a little…
DIY Pregnancy Belly Cream: Help Prevent Stretch Marks With This Natural Blend
During pregnancy, the body experiences great changes. The belly grows, the breasts are already preparing for breastfeeding, and overall the whole system is working perfectly to create a living being inside. In this article, you will find some holistic tips to prevent stretch marks and also advice on the optimal care of stretch marks that…
How to Make Rosehip Syrup
Rose hips are my favorite herbal ally to call on when making a syrup. The constituency profile and energetics of rose hips mesh so well with preservation and delivery by syrup. Let’s look at what makes rose hips the perfect ally for syrup making, and some of the reasons we might make an herbal syrup….
Soothing Herbal Cough Syrup with Elderberry, Elecampane, & Licorice
This herbal cough syrup recipe features a lovely and effective blend of elder (Sambucus spp.) berry, elecampane (Inula helenium) root, and licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) root, among other herbs. This recipe is a particularly good fit for dry coughs that need soothing or that contain stuck mucus that needs to be expelled without further irritation. Elder…
Motherwort Benefits + Recipe
Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) is a striking plant. Growing as tall as 5 feet, it bears the signature square stem and opposite leaves of the lamiaceae family. The leaves of this plant are toothed and palm-shaped, waving a warm hello to all that pass (Chevallier, 2000). In this post, we will discuss gathering and using motherwort,…
California Poppy Benefits + Recipe
California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), the state flower of California, is a beautiful wildflower that has been an ally to western-dwelling Indigenous peoples for long before there was a United States, let alone a United States Pharmacopeia. In this post, I will share with you a materia medica on the beneficial California poppy benefits, which should…
Refreshing Monarda-Mint Ice Pops Recipe
As temperatures climb and spring fades into summer, you may find yourself craving a sweet and healthy treat that doesn’t require heating up the house with your oven. Fruit is always a wonderful option, but what else? Our Refreshing Monarda-Mint Ice Pops recipe, below, offers a simple and delicious dessert that your whole family is…
The Beginner’s Guide To Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root is known by a number of names, including Indian ginseng and winter cherry, and its usages are even more plentiful than its aliases. Ashwagandha has become increasingly popular for its many applications as a tonifying (strengthening) herb and is one of the premier rasayanas, or rejuvenating herbs, in Ayurveda. This cream-colored…
