In depth articles on the dear plants we love, herb growing, harvesting, materia medica, medicine making and more
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Featured
In depth articles on the dear plants we love, herb growing, harvesting, materia medica, medicine making and more
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Hidden beneath the surface of soil, there is an entire underground apothecary to delight in. In this blog post, I share all the info you’ll need to gather your own root medicines. You’ll find detailed info on when to harvest based on season, lifecycle, and root type; plus how to harvest roots without harming the plant....
As humble co-creators in the garden, observation and timing can go a very long way in creating a healthy garden ecosystem. In this blog post I share some tips on timing your seed sowing in a way that works with the natural energy of the season, and encourages happy and hardy seedlings that turn into resilient and thriving gardens…
Thriving in the dappled shade along creeks and streams, wetlands and forest lowlands, Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus) is a prominent plant in our coastal rainforests. A valuable medicinal and ceremonial plant to indigenous people for millennia, Devil’s Club lifts the spirit, sharpens the mind, and fortifies the body against stress…
One of our most powerful skin-healers, Calendula (C. officinalis) is highly sought-after as an all-purpose topical remedy for a wide variety of inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, and acne. This radiant remedy is also an important ally for supporting the lymph and healing digestive issues…
Fresh Milky Oat (Avena sativa) is a go-to remedy for strengthening and restoring the nervous system. Both calming and fortifying, the herb helps improve concentration, buffers against stress, uplifts the spirit, and increases resiliency of body and mind…
St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) has been used in herbal medicine since ancient times. The herb brings a light and vitality, an intense brightness like that of the sun on Summer Solstice. It brings its light to the most barren and worn-out patches of earth the depleted, cast-aside, and forgotten places…
It is spring in the PNW, and with all the brand new luscious growth, the very first spring-harvest herbs have arrived! In this post I share about five of my favourite spring healing herbs that can be found wild and weedy in the forest, field or garden and how to prepare them into a nutrient dense herbal vinegar…
Mahonia, also commonly known as Oregon Grape, is an abundant understory plant found throughout the coastal rainforests of the Pacific Northwest. Well known as a blood cleanser and digestive bitter, Mahonia can rekindle the digestive ‘fire’ within both our bodies and our spirits…
Most of us think of spring as the prime time to start seeds, but for many varieties, fall can be the best (and easiest!) time to plant. Sowing seeds in fall not only gives the plants a huge head start for the next growing season, it is also when Mother Nature plants her seeds…
A native wild flower of the PNW, Yarrow (Achillea millifolium) is in now full bloom along seasides, forest edges, and open meadows. Incredibly versatile in the apothecary with its synergistic collection of herbal actions, Yarrow is a veritable medicine chest in and of itself…
Though sometimes overlooked as just an annoying garden weed, Dandelions are in fact a superfood. The entire Dandelion plant is edible, nutritious and delicious. In this post I share about the edibility, medicinal uses, harvesting and ‘growing’ this oft misunderstood weed…
The art of seed-starting is easy to master with a little practice and dedication. Growing plants from seed is a rewarding and very inexpensive way to start your home garden. In this post I’ve put together a guide to help you successfully start herb seeds at home this spring…
February is the perfect time to harvest the sticky, sweetly-scented, dormant leaf buds of Balsam Poplar. In this post I share about harvesting, medicine making, and working with the spirit of Western Balsam Poplar (Populus trichocarpa), aka Black Cottonwood, one of three species of Poplar native to Western Canada…
Wintertime can be challenging for many. It can be the worst time of year for anxiety symptoms to pop up. In this post I share about three herbal therapies that I’ve found helpful for managing the symptoms of anxiety and overwhelm that may come up at this time of year, or at any point along the wheel of time…
August is the perfect time to harvest the unripe green seeds of Stinging Nettle here in the PNW. Adaptogenic and nutritive, increasing energy and vitality, Nettle Seed fits the true definition of a super-food. The seeds are both a food and a medicine, and are wonderfully invigorating and restorative to the body…
Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) has been on my mind so much lately. With the blooming, buzzing and bursting that comes with the month of June, this humble ally offers much medicine for the soul. Serene and contained, modest yet fierce, Motherwort acts as an anchor for our spirit, grounding us into our bodies in this season of intoxicating movement…
I have eagerly been awaiting this beauty to shine with its sweet delectable flowers. Wild Rose (Rosa Nutkana) is one of our native species here in the Pacific Northwest, and they are just beginning to beam with so much abundance. Here on Vancouver Island, Wild Rose can be found growing on the edges of marshland, forests, open-fields...
Horsetail (Equisetum sp) is a remnant of a time before humans, a time before trees, before flower and birds. A time when everything was much slower, more primal; the vibration of the earth resonating deep and low. Horsetails, along with their cousins the ferns, were some of the first plants to evolve on land after the mosses and liverworts…
Spring has arrived here in the PNW and with it the ubiquitous Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica). The bounty that this special native forest plant offers is now at our (tingling!) finger tips. The deep green tender new shoots, sweet and earthy, are sprouting upward rapidly in the warmth of the spring sunshine here on Southern Vancouver Island…
Only some perennials can be propagated by cuttings. Annuals and biennials cannot be propagated from cuttings, they have to be started by seed. Only perennials in certain plant families can successfully be propagated by cuttings, an example would be the Mint family which includes...
Growing your own medicinal or culinary herbs is intensely rewarding. There is a deep connection to the earth and your sustenance that you experience when you harvest your own plants for making into medicine, drying for teas, or using in the kitchen...
Understanding the different lifecycles of the plants you are growing will help you to determine the best time of year to plant. If you wish to save your own seed, it will also help you to know when you can expect the plant to flower and produce seeds. In flowering plants, such as herbs and veggies, the plant life cycle begins with a seed...
The only thing more rewarding than eating out of your own garden is foraging in the forest, and here on the West Coast as well as in many parts of the world, nettles grow abundantly in the wild and are a valuable food source for many. Look for spots in the woods that are damper and shadier; alder, maple and cleavers are good indicator plants, where you find them you often find nettle.
Growing your own herb garden can be a rewarding and connecting experience that you can enjoy for many years to come. When starting your herb garden try starting small. Choose herbs that you will find useful and that require minimal care. Add to your garden as you gain experience and begin introducing the more challenging herbs over time...
Lemon Balm is prized as safe but effective herbal mood enhancer. It can help with anxiety, nervousness, insomnia, melancholy, and depression. Helpful for digestive upset, menstrual cramps, and menopause. A safe herb for children, substitute glycerin for the rum in this recipe to make an alcohol-free tincture...
Calendula makes a wonderful all-purpose salve for your home remedies kit. It is soothing and healing to the skin, and indispensable for chapped lips and hands, wind or sun burnt skin, scrapes and bruises, and scar prevention. Calendula is anti-inflammatory, astringent, analgesic, vulnerary, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial...
Herbal liniments are great to have on hand in your herbal first-aid kit or home medicine cabinet. They are used topically and can be formulated to provide instant relief from many common ailments such as achy joints, inflamed muscles, nerve pain, wounds, bruises, swelling, inflammation and sprains...
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is a medicinal herb native to India where it has been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for many thousands of years. Sometimes known as ‘Indian ginseng’ the roots of ashwagandha are used in herbal medicine to increase vitality in the body, reduce stress and improve quality of sleep...
Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum), also known as coriander, is an annual herb native to parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Its leaves and seeds are commonly used as a culinary herb and spice all over the world. As well as adding intense and refreshing lemony-like flavour to cuisine, cilantro has many added health benefits helping us to detoxify heavy metals from the body, ease inflammation, boost immunity, and regulate cholesterol...
There can be many reasons to choose to grow in containers rather than in the ground. It is a good option for those that are lacking space and access to land and garden area. Container growing can also be a good way to keep your plants going when at a temporary residence, or in transition from one residence to the next...