Calendula: The Golden Healer Latin Name: Calendula officinalis Botanical Family: Asteraceae About Calendula Calendula, also known as pot marigold, is a vibrant flowering herb native to Europe and parts of Asia. Beloved for its cheerful golden blooms, Calendula has a long history of use in herbal medicine, culinary dishes, and even cosmetics. It’s a hardy […]
I consider anyone an herbalist, if you have the love & respect for what our plants have to offer us. If you are listening to what nature is telling you for sustainably harvesting & not taking without permission. You are an herbalist in my eyes. What hurts my heart is hearing & reading people online […]
Cooking, baking & gardening all have the same thing in common. You experiment. It is so fun to explore different possibilities in a plant, successful or not. Building up your taste buds. Learning more about your connection to the plant you are working with. When baking there are so many flowers, herbs, berries & roots […]
I have started a little side obsession. It’s infusing honey. I love to experiment with honey to create a super power punch medicinal infusion. Once I am half way through a medicinal honey jar, I start a new one! I have about 4 always in my fridge, of different flavors & tastes. This is like […]
I remember exploring barefoot in the back acreage of my grandparents. I would eat plants that (at the time) I had no idea what they were about. I assume, it just felt right, so I ate it. Oregon grape is a plant that I had no idea what the name was, until my herbal studies […]
2 c. all-purpose flour1/2 c. sifted nettle powder3 eggs2 Tbsp. olive oil1/2 tsp. salt1 (or more) Tbsp. water 1. Mix flour, nettle powder & salt on the counter. 2. Make a hollow center for your eggs & olive oil. Gently incorporate the liquid with the dry. In a circular motion around the well. Mix with […]
Who doesn’t love a DIY beauty project? You don’t need to have a lot of herbs to make your own beauty products. Carefully collecting your rose petals, chamomile flowers, & your lavender buds from your own garden. Drying them in a dehydrator, or on your own dry rack,( I made a herbal dry rack out […]
Milk thistle – Silybum marianumFamily: AsteraceaeCommon names: Milk thistle, Lady’s Thistle, Lady’s Milk, Marian thistle, Variegated ThistleParts used: Seeds & leaf Key Actions: -Seed–-Hepatorestorative-Cholagogue-Decreases insulin resistance-Hepatoprotective-Antidepressant -Leaf-Galactagogue Energetics: -Moistening-Reduces excess heat-Reduces congestion & stagnation of tissues-Mildly bitter & mucilaginous Helps/Uses: -Protects liver damage from Environmental damage, drugs & alcohol-Physical liver damage-Depression-Improves liver function-Hormone balancer-Metabolic syndrome-Hepatitis-Increases […]
My pain I was diagnosed with Osteoarthritis in my jaw officially last year which came with a plan for a jaw restructure. I have had so far one surgery completed with another one to follow after a year of separating my teeth to have them slowly come back together. I had installed a mouth piece […]
Sometimes just a couple teaspoons of joy could brighten your day! Everything about this recipe is bright. Calendula & Chamomile flowers infused with jojoba, sweet almond or apricot oil. The lemon citrus & bergamot notes smells so nice & subtle. Calendula is known for her anti-inflammatory & antioxidant components. Calendula also decreases the pigment melanin […]
I don’t know about you, but I do not sleep well. I have been waking up a lot lately around the 4 am hour. Which in Traditional Chinese medicine would be between 3am-5am, & mean that my Lung qi is out of balance. A lung imbalance would be related to underlying sadness or grief, which […]
Common names: Allecampane, July Campane, Elicompane, Dock, Sunflower, Wild Sunflower, Yellow Starwort, Elfdock, Elfwort, Horse Elder, Horse Heal, Scabwort Family: Asteraceae Energetics: Warming & drying Key actions: Bitter, antiseptic, diaphoretic, expectorant, tonic, antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-parasitic, anthelmintic Combinations: Thyme, Elderflower, Licorice, Hyssop, Mullein Long ago Elecampane roots were candied to help calm asthma, indigestion & Tuberculosis. […]
Common names: Hops, common hops, Hopbind, Hop vine Family: Cannabaceae Energetics: Cooling & relaxing Key Actions: Analgesic, anaphrodisiac, antacid, anthelminthic, anti-spasmodic, nervine, phytoestrogen, sedative, hypnotic Other than the popular use of creating beer, Hops is also a great nervine & sleep aid for insomnia. If you are experiencing nervous diarrhea or looking to stimulate your […]
What are garden volunteers? Volunteers are not nice friends who come & help pull weeds or finish that to do list for you in your garden. They are plants that have lovingly popped up in random places where you did not plant them. The plant either had self seeded (it happens even with annuals!), or […]
-What is this hippy ‘grounding’ stuff?- When I google “grounding”, the first thing that pops up is Merriam Webster’s definition. ground·ing | \ ˈgrau̇n-diŋ \ : training or instruction in the fundamentals of a field of knowledge Training or instruction in the fundamentals. Of a field of knowledge. It clearly sings to me, that my […]
Did you know that Melissa officinalis AKA Lemon balm, is basically the créme de la créme for our bees. The genus name, Melissa (which is also the name of my partner, very fitting in my life) is derived from melisso-phyllon, the Greek term that means, “Bee leaf”. How cool is that ?! Lemon balm is […]