Learn how to easily harvest & dry flowers and herbs from the garden. Also included is a list of common flowers and herbs along with ideas for using them! I often get questions about how to best harvest and dry flowers and herbs from the garden, so today I thought I’d write up a little…
When I was first learning about herbs, I would excitedly read a new recipe or tutorial only to find out it needed some exotic-sounding special ingredient that required an internet order to obtain. Remembering that frustration, I thought I’d share with you fourteen ways to use ground ginger, which is easily obtained from the baking or…
These bath bombs capture the sunshiny happiness of a field full of spring dandelions! Dandelion flower infused oil is often used in preparations designed to soothe and heal chapped or cracked skin. It’s also useful for sore muscles and other aches and pains. A few drops of sea buckthorn oil gives these bath bombs a…
Recently I had the good fortune to view the inside of Rosalee de la Forêt’s upcoming book, Alchemy of Herbs. As expected, it’s absolutely wonderful, filled with all sorts of helpful herbal information and beautiful photos. This is definitely a volume for your home library that you’ll refer to time and time again! I’m so excited to be able…
This simple herbal syrup recipe combines calming herbs with raw honey, creating a tasty and effective dose of natural stress relief. It features: * St. John’s Wort is contraindicated for some people. Please read this Mayo Clinic article before taking. As a milder substitute, you may want to investigate using chamomile instead. Recipe Variations There are two…
Only two simple ingredients are required to make these natural skin soothing aloe plantain cubes. Stash them in your freezer and pull out as needed for sunburn, minor scrapes, rashes and other skin irritations. Some links on this site are affiliate links; I only recommend products I personally use and enjoy. As an Amazon Associate, I…
Chamomile is a lovely herbal flower, famous for calming upset tummies and gently inducing a sleepy state at bedtime. Something lesser known about it, is that it’s also a great ingredient choice to include in soothing skincare products. Today, we’re going to talk about how to include chamomile flowers in these super easy to make bath salts. (For…
Few things are more uplifting than getting a surprise package in the mail, letting you know that someone out there cares for you! I’ve always loved the idea of sending care packages and when my kids were younger, we’d ship them to shut-ins we knew of. Somehow though, I let myself get too busy-feeling to do…
This DIY Rose & Chamomile Gift Set would make the perfect handmade gift for the rose-lover in your life! It’s made up of: Rose & Chamomile Bath Salts Whipped Rose & Chamomile Hand Cream Rose & Chamomile Lip Balm The steps listed below are given in the most efficient order so that all three projects should only…
Goldenrod is an edible and medicinal plant with many benefits! Learn how to turn it into salve, tincture, tea, and more! It blooms right around the time ragweed pollen starts causing trouble, so is often unjustly blamed for causing allergies. The fact though is that goldenrod pollen is heavy and spread by insects, instead of the…
Considered by some to be nothing more than a weed, the common violet actually has many health benefits to offer us. The edible flowers and leaves are: When I think of ways to use violets, I try to remember that they are primarily cooling, soothing and moisturizing. So, if you have a dry, itchy throat…
I’ve tried a lot of homemade bug spray recipes. Some were just terrible. I remember taking one concoction camping and I’m pretty sure that I was attracting every mosquito in the county with that particular formula! On a weekly basis, readers write in to ask about homemade insect repellents, but until now, I hadn’t developed…
Lately, I’ve been working on a new ebook about some of my favorite edible flowers and fun ways to use them. It’s a pretty time consuming project, so I’m still a ways from having it done, but this colored sugar idea has been so fun and so well received by family and friends – I…
Many, though not all, of the plant-based herbal remedies that we use for humans can also be safely used to treat dogs and cats. The tricky part is getting them to take them! To encourage compliance, I make my pets an herbal tea of sorts, using broth instead of water. Before I detail how and…
This Ginger Lemon Honey Tonic is one of the easiest, tastiest cold and flu remedies around! Raw honey helps fight infection and soothes inflamed tissue; fresh lemons are full of healthful vitamin C and antioxidants (plus, they taste great!); and fresh ginger root helps fight the sore throat, cough, lung congestion, chills and stomach-ache that…
This tasty ginger honey syrup is made with just a few easy-to-find ingredients and is a snap to mix together! It’s superb for treating: It’s anti-viral so also great for taking as a preemptive measure if you’ve been exposed to a stomach flu or other particularly nasty bug. Some links on this site may be…
A ginger tincture is easy to make and is wonderful for treating: Because it’s concentrated, you only need a few drops at a time to be effective, making it much easier to dose to a person reluctant to swallow anything. I find that mixing a few drops into a glass of ginger ale, or a…
This delicious way to use dandelions was sent to me by a reader in Denmark! She was kind enough to translate and share a few traditional Scandinavian foraging recipes with me, including this one for Dandelion Syrup that she makes each summer. Thank you Tina! Below, you’ll find the recipe as translated. The only thing…
Roses are not only edible, but are traditionally used for the following health benefits as well. They are: In the past, I’ve written about how you can make Rose Glycerite and Whiskey Rose Cough Remedy, but today I want to talk about how you can use your roses plus two more simple ingredients to make…
I recently went to a foraging class and learned a lot of new things! Near the end of the class, we were served dandelion cupcakes with little violets on top. They were so cute, I duplicated them at home. It’s not really a recipe per se, but just general directions. Pick a handful or two…
