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Elder, Sambucus canadensis, nigra, is one of our favorite herbs. You may have heard that elderberry syrup can help with the flu. You may have wondered, is that actually true? IT IS! Elderberries are chock full of vitamin C and anthocyanins, which are antioxidant. Both of these are great for supporting good health every day.…
Purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, is an under-appreciated herb, and it’s been villianized with the tag “invasive”. That label in general is really problematic for me, because plants aren’t native to locations, they’re native to growing conditions: if we change the conditions, the plants will change too! A great book on this topic is Where Do…
Calendula is the herbal (and botanical) name for pot marigold: Calendula officinalis. It’s not only good at keeping pests off your tomato plants, it has a whole host of medicinal actions. Calendula is commonly made up into an oil or salve, and is useful for just nearly anything that happens to your skin. Campfire burns,…
Last year Ryn went to Coal River Valley, West Virginia as part of an Herbal Medics team doing free clinic and community education work for communities affected by mountain top removal. Throughout the year, people in the community who were interested in learning have been studying online with us for free to build their herbal…
Fiona Apple says, i’ve got my feet on the ground and i don’t go to sleep to dream. But, sometimes, you do. The Importance of Dreaming There is more and more being discovered about the mood-regulatory functions of dreaming. Dreams are an opportunity for the subconscious to go to work on the troubles and lessons…
Who’s Afraid of Phytochemistry? part 1 of ? Don’t let the diagrams scare you! Don’t let the long names drive you away. Phytochemistry can be intimidating at a first look, but it does have some useful insights to offer even the most folksy of healers. The best parts of it are those that bear…
I recently told a friend that I’m getting braces and I thought she’d make some comment about how braces are for kids and I’m too old. Instead she said, “Wow! That’s a lot of progress for you! I never thought you’d ever do something like that!” Which made no sense to me, because, of course…
I LOVED Take Your Daughter To Work Day when I was a kid (thanks, Dad!! <3), and today, my daugther Amber came to the school with me to talk about our favorite herbs! To be fair, through Amber’s life, most days were take my daughter to work days, and she was always super helpful. I…
Check out the whole Herbal Holidays video playlist here!
A good herbal joint liniment can make the difference between a slow, drawn-out, and incomplete healing process and one that proceeds quickly to complete recovery. A liniment, as I use the term, means a combination of an herbal infused oil with some herbal tinctures, and usually some essential oils as well. The combination works better…
An herbal tribute to the Spring Equinox! There are more free videos for you at our YouTube channel!
For those of us who are actively experimenting and taking action to improve our health, who are carefully noticing that what we eat or how we sleep or how we live affects our well-being, who are researching and learning about ways to be healthier: Often there is an expectation, not always consciously, that if we…
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