herbs

Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) is intensely fragrant and very pleasing to look at, but don’t let the perennial’s cute, daisy-like appearance fool you. Centuries ago, the flower was used in certain areas of Greece, Egypt, and ancient Rome for its many healing purposes. The medicine is said to be contained in the flower area of the herb, which contains strong oils. There are many kinds of chamomile, and they can be used in things like teas, oils, tinctures, soaks, homemade salves, vapors, washes, and more.

Allergy season is here! Itchy watery eyes combined with sneezing and a stuffy nose can really be a drag. Today’s walk through Mother Earth’s Medicine Cabinet will take us through a small section of natural antihistamines to help you through allergy season.

Along with cultivating an organic garden often comes the patient practice of weed-picking. It can sometimes feel like a tedious as well as an endless job. When it comes to removing the unwanted plants in your garden, the smarter and not harder method is always the best route to take. Weeding a little bit everyday goes a long way. Fellow gardeners, do not despair. Here are 9 wonderful tips for making your weeding easier.

There are a multitude of herbs that have reportedly numerous healing properties and can be effective for treatment in a wide array of conditions. Ashwagandha is one of these herbs. Ayurvedic practitioners in India have been utilizing this ancient herb for many issues, especially for conditions that have root in the brain, including memory, cognitive functions in general, the regulation of neurotransmitters and insomnia.

Natives in Australia have long known this plant to be a panacea – able to cure almost any ailment. Since they are a deeply mystical people, it would be easy to draw the parallel of how the aborigines would have used knowledge of tea tree and how this knowledge would most certainly have extended into conditions of the mind and the realm of the psychic, beyond the physical. Let us explore further.

Helichrysum italicum is a flowering plant that’s a member of the Asteraceae family and a relative to the daisy. Helichrysum is native to the Mediterranean and thrives in the dry, rocky, and sandy ground. One of the plant’s nicknames is the Everlasting Flower due to its rejuvenating skin benefits, as well as the plant’s ability to naturally improve your complexion.

There are many plants and herbs in Mother Earth's aresenal that repel bugs.  Here are some of our favorites! All of these plants are amazing options for all-natural bug repellents.  All of these plants, aside from the garlic, can be planted in and around your yard to keep the insects further away from your home.

Ever think about how we would get nutrients if we were unable to purchase containers of encapsulated vitamins? Well, from our gardens of course! Before vitamin capsules even existed, we gained our nutrients naturally from fruits, veggies, and herbs grown in the garden. Today, there are gardens that are specifically grown to yield plants just for the sole purpose of providing nutrients for the body.

I first came across turmeric in our family kitchen as a child. My mother had printed out a recipe for curry cauliflower, and while the curry powder gave the roasted cauliflower its delicious taste, turmeric was responsible for the subtler taste and stronger hue. Since then, I’ve seen turmeric in everything from egg and tofu scrambles to salad dressings to cookies–I kid you not. Most recently, I stumbled upon a recipe in Meghan Telpner’s The UnDiet CookBook for Jamu Juice. 

Growing up, there were a few different honeysuckle bushes around the neighborhood. They were like a kid magnet – we would all gather around them and wonder how a flower tasted so sweet, picking the little blossoms and sipping their sweetness. I had no idea at that age that these nectar-filled blossoms were actually good for me or that they held any sort of medicinal properties. Mother Nature's Medicine Cabinet is full of surprises and they are all really amazing.