With spring already here and Earth Day soon approaching, creating your own backyard botanical sanctuary is a beautiful way to honor the Earth, the land under our feet, the plants and the people who love plants. Though there are so many ways to build a better world—some of which seem impossibly difficult at times—creating botanical […]

“Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark journey with us. Oh, be swift to love, make haste to be kind!” Henri Frédéric Amiel Tweet What can we do to keep our spirits high in a time of fear and uncertainty? Don’t

As we endure another year with the Covid-19 pandemic still looming, we can take this time to pause, reflect and focus on the more important things in life; friends, family and good health. I hope that these 15 recommendations to boost immunity will provide some comfort and guidance during these times when it is all

Be Creative This Holiday Season-Don’t Shop, Stay At Home and Have Fun! While it’s fun to make individual gifts for the holidays, it’s also fun to group them into gift packages. Here are a few of my favorite homemade herbal gift ideas that I’ve made over the years… I hope that they will inspire you

With its well-balanced blend of hot, spicy, and pungent flavors, Fire Cider is not only pleasantly delicious but also a powerful blend of medicinal herbs. The original formula contained Garlic, Onions, Horseradish root, Ginger root, hot Peppers, sometimes Turmeric, and often Echinacea; all powerful immune enhancers that help ward off infections, colds, flu, and bronchial

Portions of this blog are excerpted from the Free Fire Cider website. A spicy hot and deliciously sweet vinegar tonic, I first made Fire Cider in the kitchen at the California School of Herbal Studies in the early 1980s. Intent on teaching my students how to make herbal preparations that were as much food as

Ah, Fire Cider. That tangy, spicy, zesty apple cider-based remedy that comes in as many flavors and colors as there are herbalists, Fire Cider is another wonderful example of ‘food as medicine.’ Cider vinegar may be among the most ubiquitous health items found in the world. Inexpensive, easily made, easy to store, long lasting, versatile,

“Magical” might be the best way to describe the Black Elder (Sambucus nigra)! Its creamy white flowers form sweetly scented umbels in late spring followed by juicy blue-black berries that offer food and medicine to birds and humans alike. Surrounded by mystery and folklore, the Elder plant must be one of the best known and

I began my love affair with Elder (Sambucus nigra, Sambucus canadensis) when I was in my teens. This vigorous shrub grew with joyful abandon along the creek sides and bordered the farmland where I grew up as a child. In the spring the branches of Elder were thick with fragrant creamy blossoms that were picked, dipped

Elderberries are among Europe’s most esteemed remedies for colds and flu. Travel through any European country in wintertime, and you’ll find a variety of Elder products lining pharmacy shelves. This large, handsome shrub has played an important role in the health and well-being of communities throughout history. In Old World tradition, an Elder bush was