A Beginner’s Guide to Reading an Herb Label

Standing in front of a wall of herb products for the first time is quietly overwhelming. The bottles and bags look similar. The labels use terminology that is not immediately obvious. And the price variation between products describing ostensibly the same thing is...

The Autumn Apothecary: Stocking Up for the Season

September has a particular urgency to it in the herbalist’s calendar. The elderberries are ripe. The roots are beginning to concentrate. The last of the summer herbs need to be preserved. And the cold season, with all its demand for immune support, warming...

The Herbalist’s Approach to Cold and Flu Season

The herbalist’s approach to cold and flu season is fundamentally different from the reactive grab for whatever is on the pharmacy shelf when symptoms appear. It begins in September with preparation, responds at the very first sign of illness, and moves through a...

Making Herbal Gifts: Salves, Tinctures, and Teas

There is a category of gift that is not available in any shop: the one that came from your hands, from your knowledge, from the herbs you grew or gathered or sourced with care. Handmade herbal gifts are genuinely useful, genuinely thoughtful, and carry something that...

Building a Herbal First Aid Kit

A herbal first aid kit is not a replacement for conventional first aid supplies and medical care when they are needed. It is a complement: a curated set of preparations for the minor acute situations that most households encounter regularly, where plant medicine is...