so what is Herbal Energetics ? In many of the individual medicinal plant profiles on this blog I often include a small section on the plant energetics. So exactly what …

so what is Herbal Energetics ? Warm Cold Moist Dry ?

Four Robbers Vinegar and Secret Ingredients
Four Robbers Vinegar and Secret Ingredients I have previously written about my visit to the wonderful ancient pharmacy of St Lizier. The guide for the apothecary had many tales to …

Artemisia or Salvia smudge sticks to cleanse and purify
Artemisia or Salvia smudge sticks to cleanse and purify … Smudging and Smudge Sticks Many sources consider smudging an ancient tradition of indigenous American Indians. Some believe smudging was just …

The Surgery of Davie Beaton the Outlander Castle Leoch Healer
The Surgery of Davie Beaton the Outlander Castle Leoch Healer In the first Outlander book, and the first TV series, Claire is taken by Colum MacKenzie to Davie Beaton’s dank …

Botanical members of the Fagaceae family
Botanical members of the Fagaceae family Often, on herb walks, people are surprised to discover beech and oak trees are related. Both the beech and oak are botanical members of …

St Lizier Apothecary in the Ariege Department
St Lizier Apothecary in the Ariege Department The History of the St Lizier Apothecary Recently on a visit to a neighbouring department Ariege, I visited an 18th century apothecary in …

Natural Remedies to Help with Menopausal Itching
Natural Remedies to Help with Menopausal Itching This post is the fourth in the menopause series of articles. While the advice is predominately natural remedies to help with menopausal itching …
Some medicinal plant photographs from the garden …
Some medicinal plant photographs from the garden …

It has been an extremely dry summer so far. Very little rain. My poor garden has been struggling this year and I fear I shall have some losses…
The beautiful icy pink of Althea officinalis (marshmallow) flowers were quite beautiful but they are now fading fast in the hot summer sun. A fabulous cooling herb. Both leaf and root have medicinal virtues.
Atropa belladonna better known as deadly nightshade has now changed from her flowers, initially to the green berry, and now covered in those shiny black berries.
Last year Artemisia absinthium (wormwood) succumbed to black fly. With the help of some ladybirds, lady Artemisia survived. This year she has not grown so tall and bushy. Next year I hope she will strengthen for harvesting. I do love her silvery foliage. An excellent digestive remedy, and not just for worms! Talking of lady Artemisia, I have both southernwood and mugwort growing in the garden too.
My golden Solidago canadensis initially coped admirably with the hot sun and glowed just as bright. Solidago virgurea looks a little different. Both commonly known as goldenrod and medicinal uses are interchangeable. A wonderful ally for the urinary tract.
Stacys betonica was quite stunning in June. Such beauty inspired me to post a plant profile. I often return to plant profiles to add some more thoughts or findings. I’m sure this is one I shall frequently return to update.
and so on to the images …
All images taken over June and July. Some medicinal plant photographs from the garden …

Elizabeth Blackwell, Botanical Illustrator: A Curious Herbal
Elizabeth Blackwell, Botanical Illustrator: A Curious Herbal Elizabeth Blackwell may seem a fairly ordinary sort of name. However, historically, not one but two dynamic women carried this name. Both were …

Death by Gold Ring – Pretty Poisonous Potion!
Death by Gold Ring On a brief trip to Scotland last week, I visited Inverary Castle. A cousin was visiting from Australia and he was keen to visit the ancestral …