The holidays are creeping up on us and now is a good time to get to work on some sweet herbal gifts for your loved ones…or for yourself. Homemade botanical gifts add a wonderful personal touch to holiday (or any time) gift-giving. Here are a handful of popular and easy-to-put-together projects.
If you live in a particularly snowy region of the world you might think that there is very little opportunity for wild foraging. Everything appears asleep and buried during winter. With the right knowledge, however, you will find that there are plenty of plants that are ideal for harvesting in winter.
I recently wrote on citrus essential oils, my favorite oils for scent. Now, we’ll move on to conifer essential oils, another group I love. These are uplifting and motivating, and they blend beautifully with citrus oils for both scent and energetics.
When folks think of medicinal plants, they usually picture herbs, flowers, and such. But don’t forget about trees! Many tree species are great medicine; an entire book could be written on them. I’ll take it easy on you and cover just 5 really good ones here. Most likely one or more of these can be found near you.
I don't take too many baths, but when I do, it's usually because I'm stressed. Baths have powerful healing properties that enable us to pretty much soak our troubles away. They're great for relaxing muscles, reducing inflammation, and putting us in a sleepy-time mood. That said, simply hopping into a tub filled with hot water won't always do the trick. There are several ways to make bath time extra special, and I advise you try one of them out.
Today’s walk through Mother Earth’s Medicine Cabinet will lead us down a path to check out Pine Pollen. All pine trees produce this magnificent pollen that can be harvested or purchased at a health food store. The pollen is not actually pollen -- it is technically considered to be a form of seed. It isn’t packed with flavor but it has a light nutty taste.
Mulching is an essential but oft underrated gardening tool. Let’s discuss some mulching recipes that are born of nothing but trash that even an amateur gardener can easily get to.
What does mulching do, and why should you do it? Mulching retains moisture so it’s a great tool for the dry season. It helps to maintain a warmer soil temperature and insulates plant roots, so it’s a great growing tool for the cold season. And finally, if you use appealing enough mulch, it adds great visual appeal to your garden.