materia medica
There’s so much to say about Ginger, so I’ll start with something unexpected: believe it or not, Ginger is one of my favorite herbs to help me get to sleep at night. Why? Because it’s strongly antispasmodic – which means that it helps tense muscles relax. Whether those muscles are crampy gut muscles, crampy skeletal…
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Yarrow, Achillea millefolium, is a warrior’s plant. Named for Achilles, the mythological Greek hero of the Trojan War who was nearly invulnerable in battle. And for centuries, Yarrow has been considered “battlefield medicine”, because of its ability to staunch the flow of blood. How does it work? I like to describe it like this: Yarrow…
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I once had a client who said, “and don’t you go telling me I need something stupid like Chamomile! this is a serious situation!” And all I could think was, “Wow, you actually DO need chamomile!”
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Goldenrod, Solidago spp., is a super important herb in our apothecary. It’s delicious and so helpful in so many ways!
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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.…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
Read MoreCheck out the whole Herbal Holidays video playlist here!
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An herbal tribute to the Spring Equinox! There are more free videos for you at our YouTube channel!
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This year, we’ve been making short herbal videos to celebrate every holiday we can think of! We pick one or two herbs for each one and talk about them, so you can have some fun learning about holidays and herbs together! Here’s our most recent one about Hops for St. Patrick’s Day: And you can…
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Why should you carry a first aid kit? Think about the places you go every day – the grocery store, a restaurant, the subway, a kids’ soccer game: if something happened, do you know where to find a first aid kit? If you did find one, would you know how to use it? Would it…
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Our Book is Now Available on Amazon.com
Our first book is here!
This is the perfect introduction to a powerful yet manageable apothecary of 35 herbs and teach you how to apply them to common ailments.
We keep it simple and practical, and along the way teach you how to think effectively about herbs & herbalism, laying the foundations for deeper study.
The book is available through Amazon.com
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