plants

Mother Earth's Medicine Cabinet: Prickly Pear Cactus

The Ancient Aztecs used the Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia spp.) as food and medicine. I know it doesn’t look like something you’d want to grab – or even eat – but it’s packed full of powerful properties.

Mother Earth's Medicine Cabinet: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme

When cold and flu season strikes Chicken Noodle Soup is usually on the menu. If you look at some of the good old-fashioned, and even more modern versions, you will see these 4 herbs. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme are all very well-known herbs used for holistic and ancient healing. Each of the herbs contains healing benefits on top of great taste. If you don’t already have these 4 herbs in your arsenal – whether it is the kitchen cabinet or the medicine cabinet – I suggest you add them! These aromatic herbs are wonderful for aromatherapy too.

Mother Earth's Medicine Cabinet: Tis The Season For Herbal Tonics

If you don’t know what herbal tonics are, winter is a really great time to learn about them. They are easy to make and simple to store, but the benefits are incredible.

What Are Tonics?

Herbal tonics consist of an infusion of herbs mixed with water, consumable alcohol, vinegar, or oil. Tonics are used to restore and refresh our bodies, as well aspromote our general health and well-being. There are various ‘tonic herbs’ that will increase your overall vitality, improve longevity, invigorate the internal systems, and even strengthen the spirit.

Organic Home Garden Series: 8 Revivable Plants

You don’t always have to go out and get seeds to grow new organic plants in your garden. In fact, you may want to reconsider getting new seeds to grow because some plants can successfully attempt to regrow themselves. Yep, that’s right! Some plants can regrow themselves from merely a piece of the plant from which they came. And the neat thing is that these can be regrown repeatedly the same way. Curious to know which plants can do this? Here are 8!

Mother Earth’s Medicine Cabinet: Healing In The Great Outdoors

There is just something about the great outdoors that makes us feel alive. The fresh air, flowing water, and life everywhere.

There is so much more to Mother Earth’s medicine than just the plants provided. If I were a doctor I would fill out prescriptions for camping trips and outdoor events. Two of the most important things doctors will tell you is to get a lot of fresh air and to drink plenty of water, but that’s simply the beginning of it. The healing goes as deep as a tree’s roots travel and flows much like a steady river.

10 Fragrant Plants To Grow In Your Home & Garden

Want your home to smell awesome without using perfumed aerosols and gels? Try a fragrant garden instead; sweet-smelling house and garden plants will give out a lovely fragrance and help you make a greener environment too.

Strongly Scented Blooms

Think of fragrance and nature has a bounty to offer you. Other than the very fragrant and very obvious roses, here are some more flowers that can fill your garden with sweet scents and obvious prettiness.

New Pl@ntNet App Lets You Identify Plants with Your Phone

Many people, myself included, cannot recognize and understand much of the flora around us with much expertise. It is often said that American children recognize more logos than local species, and the Go Wild Education Company in the UK offers a quiz, in which you can test your own logo vs. leaf identification skills.

Organic Home Garden Series: 7 Tips for Storing Seeds Effectively

Knowing how to save seeds will help you garden more effectively and sustainably. Seeds that have been stored appropriately not only germinate better, they also last longer, too. Whether you are saving your seeds for short- or long-term use, it is always a good idea to know a few things about storing and maximizing your seed storage life. With this in mind, I’ve provided 7 tips that will help you store seeds effectively. 

5 Smudging Plants & Their Spiritual Purposes

The sacred action of smudging has been used for centuries by  various cultures, and today it is still being used for clearing, purifying, and adjusting surrounding energies. A great way to look at smudging is like a kind of spiritual bath, with the smoke cleansing away undesired dirty-spiritual vibrations.

To smudge, most people tie certain herbs and plants together with a thread, and burn them. Nowadays, there are many different kinds of plants that can be used for smudging. Here are 5 plants used for smudging as well as some of their spiritual purposes.  

Growing Happy Plants for the Fall: Why Companion Growing is the Best Trick You Haven’t Tried

Planting a vegetable garden that remains free of aphids and bothersome bugs may seem difficult, but not with an age-old trick: companion planting. By planting certain vegetables with their companion plants, herbs or flowers, some form of cultural benefit is created. Planting cucumbers underneath sunflowers, for example, helps both plants; the cucumbers take up the otherwise unused space underneath the sunflowers, while the sunflowers provide shade for the cucumbers.