I like to imagine the humble blackberry like a village wise-woman of old, there for all in their time of need, offering a shoulder to cry on, a clip round the ear, or spurring you on through the hardest of challenges.
The humble blackberry
Making medicine when you have the lurgy
It's been a week of lurgy and on my quest to feel some sort of well again I've been working on some recipes I've been wanting to try for a couple of years. Herbalists are pretty strange creatures and have a tendency to use times of illness to experiment with their medicine making. I am... Continue Reading →
Sunshine herbs
I've been a little off the radar recently. Initially I had lost my inspiration to write, but as winter went on, it became almost as much due to a sense of guilt from not having written earlier. I know I can't be the only one but this must be the first winter that I haven't... Continue Reading →
Monographs – Schisandra
Binomial Schisandra chinensis Common name: Five flavour fruit, Schisandra, Magnolia vine, Bei-Wuweizi, Wu Wei Zi [3], gomishi (in Japan), amika (in Korea), ng may gee (in Hong Kong) [13] Family: Magnoliaceae/Schisandraceae Parts used: Berries Native to: China and Eastern Russia Distribution: Northeast Asia, Eastern Russia, Japan, Korea Botanical Description: Deciduous or evergreen woody vine that... Continue Reading →
Herbs for the holidays
It's December and that means holidays, parties, colds and lurgies. We won't talk about the C-word or specifically the O-variant, there's enough of that out there at the moment, being discussed by people with both far more knowledge than I and far less. Let's instead look at four herbs that I think are the go-to... Continue Reading →
Self love tea
I've know I've been MIA for the last month. I've been going trough some crappy stuff which hasn't made writing feel all that appealing or even important. Let alone a the total lack of inspiration that comes with it. Today I thought I'd ease myself back in though by sharing the tea formula I whipped... Continue Reading →
Monographs – Oat
Binomial: Avena sativa Common names: Oats, groats, oatmeal, joulaf, common oats, wild oats, Common wild oats, sterile oats, cat grass Family: Poaceae Parts used: Young seed, stalk Native to: Believed to have originated in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East [1]. Evidence of domestication since the Bronze Age in Europe [1] Distribution: Found growing... Continue Reading →
The decision to train as a Medical Herbalist here in the UK
I've been absent for a couple of weeks. I wanted to post my monograph for oats but I kept putting it off, and then putting it off some more. The truth is, I've been umming and ahhing about committing to undertaking an accredited four-year course in herbal medicine for some time. After taking both the... Continue Reading →
Thyme cough and throat syrup
I don't know if it's because the weather has started to turn and there's an ever-so-light chill in the air or if I'm just being overly cautious but this week my gut told me it was the week to start prepping for autumn and winter lurgies. When I get ill I seem to feel it... Continue Reading →
Monographs – St. John’s Wort (SJW)
Binomial: Hypericum perforatum Common names: (Common St. John’s Wort, perforate St. John’s Wort [4]), (Klamath Weed [7]), (Amber, Cammock, Penny John, Touch-and-heal, Balm of the warrior’s wound, Rosin rose [11]) Family: Hypericaceae Parts used: Flowers, leaves, buds (approximately top 10 cm of the plant) Native to: Europe, Western Asia [4] and Northern Africa [10] Distribution:... Continue Reading →
Herbal She Wrote 