Cooling Body Spray with Rose and Peppermint Essential Oil
Summer is here, and with it all the joys and woes of a warmer climate. Whether summer means road trips, picnics, or time spent by the pool, lake, or ocean, having ways to refresh your skin and cool down from the heat will help make those hot, lazy summer afternoons even more enjoyable. This cooling…
Homemade Bug Bite Salve for Itchy Spots
The summertime invites us outdoors to bask in the warmth of the sun and enjoy more physical activity. All of this time outdoors leaves us sunkissed, grounded, and also, in many cases, bug-bitten. Like all the best things in life, there’s always a little bitter with the sweet. A homemade bug bite salve is the…
Holy Basil-Peach Drink to Beat the Heat
There are so many reasons to love summertime, but juicy peaches and fresh herbs are near the top of the list! By combining cooling herbs and fruits, you can easily balance your body temperature in a delicious and nourishing way. Holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) recipes are one way to do that. This flavorful holy basil-peach…
Stay Cool With A Mint Spritz: A Stovetop Hydrosol Recipe
The sun rises with such force in the summer, sometimes giving off sweltering heat—the kind where beads of sweat drip down your neck, making you uncomfortable and hot. During such hot summer days, the shade is your ally. Much like the trees and their leaves that drape over you help block the sun, herbs are…
3 Fun Summer Herbal Popsicles
What is better than having a cold, delicious, and healthy treat ready in the freezer, waiting for you when the weather is hot? Herbal iced teas are awesome, but have you tried to make your own herbal popsicles from infusions, adding fruit or coconut cream? If you have a popsicle mold at home, these are…
Lavender-Lemon Balm Lemonade
Summer is here and so is the time for long hours of gardening, hiking, picnics, and other outdoor activities and events! So what better way to stay hydrated during the day than with a homemade herbal lemonade? The following herbal lemonade recipe is perfect to cool down on a late afternoon, relax the body, and…
How and Why To Start an Herb Garden
As a kid growing up in Ohio, I really looked forward to the growing season. My father always had a love for plants (mainly flowers) and would take us to the local garden centers to grab the flowers for that year’s gardens. However, when our family first moved into our house there were no plants…
How To Make A Summer Garden Bath Tea
What’s better than unwinding into a summer garden bath tea? Much like drinking herbal teas, herbal bath teas can also be enjoyed long past the last sip, or in this case, soak. You see, when you soak in a relaxing herbal bath tea, not only does your skin soak in the calming, stress-relieving herbal benefits,…
5 Herbs To Help You Transition Seasons From Summer To Fall
Although the days still feel long and hot, the crisp air of fall is right around the corner. There is a tendency for many of us to say that fall simply “snuck up” on us! Since weather patterns can be somewhat unpredictable at times, it can be helpful to utilize herbs that ease the transition…
Strawberry Basil Infusion: A Last Taste of Summer
Who says tea always needs to be sipped hot? Infusions, like the one below, are a great way to rejuvenate your body after a hot day in the sun while also imparting the flavors and benefits of these hydrating summer edibles! August is a busy time of the year! Harvests are gathered and prepared for…
8 Best Herbs For Seasonal Lethargy & Fatigue
With the summer heat waves starting to set in, there is no better time to turn to herbs that can cool us down and help re-energize the body for all of our hot weather adventures! During the hot months of summer, we can accumulate excess heat in the body, resulting in symptoms such as hot…
Turmeric Lemonade: Health Benefits & How To Make It
There is something so beautifully simple about using herbs and roots to live a healthy life. The familiar adage, eat the rainbow is apropos – it is not hard to imagine the health benefits of ground beet root powder with its bright red color or the beautiful blue-green shade of the superfood spirulina. Turmeric is…
3 Steps for an Herbal-Infused Pedicure for Beautiful Nails and Soft Feet
Do you live in a warm climate and sport sandals daily or tread often in bare feet? Regardless of the climate you live in or the frequency with which you walk barefoot, your feet can easily become tired and worn. Don’t neglect the bottom of your soles, heels, or nails! Each can truly benefit from…
12 At-Risk Plants NOT To Harvest This Year
Late spring and summer are ideal times for harvesting plants. This is because, by this time, most plants have developed to the point where their identifying characteristics are obvious—leaves are often fully grown, flowers have blossomed, and some plants are already forming seeds, each of which makes plant identification easier. While most in the herbal…
How To Stay Calm and Cool with Lemon Balm Lemonade
Are you ready for the summer heat? In this post, I’ll show you how to make lemon balm lemonade. Stay calm, cool, and hydrated all summer long with this herbal twist on an old favorite. Summer Days While summer is a time of lazy days and longer nights, it can also be busy and full…
10 Summer Herbs to Forage This Year
The “Dog Days” of summer are upon us in the South. The dogs and cats are lazy, the snakes are more prone to bite, the gnats, flies, and mosquitoes are more bothersome than normal, and the poison ivy is thriving. Thankfully, it isn’t all bad. These slow, hot days bring more time for family gatherings,…
3 Cooling Herbal Teas For Summer
The long, lazy days of summer can be an idyllic respite from the hustle and bustle and routine of the rest of the year—in some ways summer just feels easier. Schedules relax a bit and many of us make more time for play and relaxation. The long hours of daylight invite earlier mornings or late…
Cooling Cucumber Mint Limeade For Hot Summer Days
I have to be honest—when I first stumbled upon cucumber mint limeade, I was hesitant but intrigued. I like cucumbers, but have never had a cucumber drink, at least not outside of juicing. I did some research and found that many people really enjoy this drink. In fact, it is a popular agua fresca served…
How To Make Fresh Herbal Sun Tea
It’s an herbalist’s favorite time of year again. The earth has turned green and we have an abundance of plants all around us. What better way to become acquainted with your green allies than by sipping fresh herbal sun tea? Fresh plant teas produce a sparkling crisp drink that feels like sipping in the summer…
Memory of Summer
When I was a young girl, we would take our yearly summer trip to visit my grandparent’s house. They lived in South Georgia where dirt roads gently suggested a way through the landscape. The drive up to their house was a dusty one; to pass the time, we would hang our arms out of the…
Arugula, Peach, Radish & Corn Salad
Summer produce is still plentiful, even as we head towards September. There are lots of healthy, plant-based meal choices to be created with ingredients like bell peppers, fresh herbs, zucchini, tomatoes, and peaches. And this super corn salad includes lots of them! A sweet, crunchy, savory, peppery salad base pairs perfectly with a cumin-spiked zesty…
Cooling Down with Summer Rose
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, summer is the season of yang and is associated with the fire element, the Heart, and Small intestine. Energy peaks and it is the time of growth, light, and abundance. Summer is the season of joy and for most of us, it is a more relaxed and fun time of year….
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…
Oats: Herbs We Love For Summer
Oats (Avena sativa) and their versatile components have been used for everything from stuffing mattresses, poultices, facial scrubs, cereal, teas, and baths. This small wonder, native to Northern Europe, packs a powerful nutritional punch with its protein, B-vitamins, calcium, and other minerals.
Catnip: Herbs We Love For Summer
Catnip (Nepeta cataria) or catmint, is probably best known as a stimulant for cats, inducing euphoria and friskiness. The scent alone is irresistible to most felines—my own kitty immediately darts into the kitchen the moment I open my jar of catnip. So as not to undermine her feline superiority, I share a pinch with her before adding…
