The Crafty Herbalist

The Crafty Herbalist Medical Herbalist, Teacher & Founder of The Crafty Herbalist Academy. Welcome to the Crafty Herbalist Academy! Join us on a journey to holistic wellbeing.

Sharing accredited herbal learning, foraging guidance & community support - online & in person - based in Chesham, UK - All welcome ☺️💕 Founded by Kristine, a university-trained medical herbalist and mother, we empower women to explore the world of herbal medicine and natural health. Discover affordable and enriching community learning, deeply rooted in ancestral wisdom. Our approach is friendly, approachable, and designed for all ages.

09/12/2025

Whenever I’m teaching about soothing herbs, I always seem to end up back at marshmallow. There’s something about the way this plant softens the edges - irritated tissues, dry coughs, unsettled digestion. It’s one of those herbs that gently restores, working with the body rather than pushing it.

I’m sharing more of these kinds of plant stories and practical lessons inside The Crafty Herbalist Academy, and doors are opening again very soon. If you’d like to learn alongside me, pop your name on the email list so you don’t miss the announcement ☺️💕

www.craftyherbalistacademy.com

06/12/2025

I’m seeing this plant everywhere at the moment, here in the UK in December.

This is winter heliotrope, Petasites pyrenaicus. It’s closely related to butterbur (Petasites hybridus), and like other plants in the Petasites genus, it contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs).

That matters.

PAs are potentially toxic compounds, particularly with internal use or repeated exposure. This is why modern herbal practice treats this genus with care and why plants that look similar should never be assumed to be interchangeable.

This isn’t about fear. It’s about respect.

One of the most important herbal skills isn’t knowing what to use, but knowing what not to use, and why. Season, species, chemistry, and tradition all inform that decision.

This kind of grounded plant literacy is at the heart of how I teach herbal medicine 💕

If you are interested in learning with me, the doors to the academy will reopen soon ☺️💕

05/12/2025

Two tiny updates while I wrestle with labels and bottles.

First, dispensing for existing patients pauses in two weeks. If you’ve been meaning to order your blend, take this as a friendly nudge before I switch off the apothecary lights.

Second, the Academy doors are opening again soon… just as soon as I fix a few tech gremlins. Turns out I’m better at macerations than website settings. Who knew! 😂💕 Bear with me. I promise herbs are easier!

www.craftyherbalistacademy.com

On the school run home this afternoon, I looked up and noticed the moon already showing. Full at 11.14pm tonight. It lin...
04/12/2025

On the school run home this afternoon, I looked up and noticed the moon already showing. Full at 11.14pm tonight. It lined up with what I’ve been hearing in clinic, and feeling myself...

December’s full moon is also called the Cold Moon. It’s the point where winter beds in properly. Long, dark evenings, sharper air, everything stripped back to essentials. Our bodies often follow. Energy dips, thoughts feel heavier, sleep gets a bit patchy, emotions sit closer to the surface. I’ve heard so many people say they don’t quite feel like themselves since the clocks changed. I recognise that too.

At this time of year, I tend to lean on a few familiar herbs. Hawthorn when the heart feels stretched. Linden when everything sits too close. Chamomile when the mind won’t switch off. Oats for the worn nerves and the sense of being frayed around the edges. And rosemary when the brain fog creeps in and I want to feel more present in myself. Nothing complicated. Just simple plants that meet us where we are.

If you’re awake later, you might take a warm cup outside for a moment and look up. Feel the cold air, breathe, notice what shifts. That’s enough.

One of the photos I’ve shared here is from a Christmas wreath workshop I went to today at Where Inspiration Blooms. Hands busy, pine and ivy on the table, chatting with friends as we made something together. It did me the world of good. A reminder that gathering and creating can soften the harder edges of this season.

I don’t think herbs or the full moon solve everything winter throws at us. But the Cold Moon has always marked a slowing, a place to pause before the light begins to return. Sometimes that small pause helps more than we expect.

If you spot the moon tonight, I hope it brings a moment that feels a little easier to carry 💞

Kristine x
Medical Herbalist & Educator
Crafty Herbalist Academy

04/12/2025

I spent a morning at Where Inspiration Blooms making a wreath with ivy, eucalyptus, and winter evergreens.

There was something so grounding about sitting together, snipping branches, swapping stories, and learning little tips from the people around the table ☺️

It brought a bit of cheer into December for me. The mix of plants, company, and making something by hand gave a sense of connection and hope that I didn’t realise I was missing.

Now it hangs on my door, and every time I look at it, I remember that an hour or two with nature and wonderful people around you can brighten the season more than any shop window ever could 😉💕

Where Inspiration Blooms

02/12/2025

As the year turns and the light dips, I always notice a shift in clinic…

More winter irritability, more low mood, more tightness across the chest and shoulders.

It makes sense if you think about it... Our biology follows the sun whether we admit it or not 😏

Holly mirrors that winter pattern so clearly. Toxic if taken as a herb, but used in Bach remedy work for the sharp emotions that surface when the days grow short: resentment, jealousy, bitterness, and the inner defensiveness that can creep in when we’re stretched too thin.

I don’t use Holly in practice as a physical remedy, but I do value what its symbolism reveals when someone is struggling in the darker weeks.
Sometimes the medicine is in recognising the pattern, not dosing the plant ☺️

Inside the Crafty Herbalist Academy, this kind of learning sits alongside the materia medica, folk tradition, clinical safety, and the real science behind our herbs.

And next year I’ll be releasing a full module on Bach flower remedies too 💕.

Doors will reopen soon if you’d like to join the waiting list.

30/11/2025

Nettle leaf is one of my favourite herbs when someone has been tired for too long 💕

It’s rich in iron, magnesium and trace minerals, and helps steady energy levels when you’ve been running on empty. It’s not a quick fix, but a steady rebuild.

Do watch out if you have a tendency towards dryness, you may want to blend it with a few other herbs ☺️

Inside The Crafty Herbalist Academy I teach how to match herbs to real patterns behind fatigue, so you’re not guessing. Doors reopen soon if you’d like to join the mailing list 💕☺️

nettleleaf

29/11/2025

I’ve learned over the years that real herbal skill doesn’t come from collecting more books or chasing the next shiny remedy 😏

It comes from paying attention to the land right in front of me. The evergreens holding their shape in winter. The last bright berries. The plants that stay faithful through the cold months 💕

When I slow down and really notice what’s growing around me, everything in my practice sharpens. My blends improve. My intuition steadies. My confidence grows.

If you’re hoping to deepen your herbal learning in 2026, start here. Step outside. Look closely. Let the hedgerows teach you.

And if you’d like guidance, I’ll be reopening the Academy very soon. You can join my mailing list through the link in my bio to hear first ☺️💕

29/11/2025

Some plants find you when you’re holding more than you can name 💕

And hawthorn is one of them for me every year. By late November the berries have softened but the medicine deepens, working in that strange place where hurt and protection sit side by side.

Hawthorn doesn’t rush anything. It steadies the heart, strengthens the boundaries we’ve thinned, and reminds us we don’t have to carry everything alone. If you’re drawn to this tree, trust that. It usually means something in you is ready to ease 🥰

28/11/2025

Cleavers turning up in November do make me pause. They’re a reminder that the land doesn’t move in straight lines or neat calendars. When they appear this late, it often means the soil is holding more moisture than usual, and that shows up in people too. I’ve been seeing heavier limbs, slower lymph, that sense of everything feeling a bit waterlogged.

What’s interesting is that cleavers themselves aren’t the herb I’d reach for now. They’re cooling and moistening, and most bodies at this point in the year need warming, drying support instead. But their presence still teaches me something about the season, and how to match herbs to the real patterns underneath.

If you want to learn herbal medicine in this deeper, seasonal way, the Crafty Herbalist Academy reopens soon. You can join my mailing list to hear first.

27/11/2025

Out for a wander with the rosehips today. If they’re still firm but a little squishy, they’re usually good for harvesting. I always leave plenty on the bushes though – the birds and other wildlife need these wild fruits far more than we do.

Rich in vitamin C and other compounds, rosehips are beautiful allies for immunity and can be helpful for joints and general musculoskeletal support too. A simple syrup, tea or vinegar is a lovely place to start.

If you’d like to learn more about working with herbs in this practical, down to earth way, my Crafty Herbalist Academy will reopen in a few weeks. Join my mailing list to hear when doors open again 💕🍃

26/11/2025

When I spot sweet violet leaves this late, I always stop to admire them ☺️

They’re small, but they tell me the soil is still warm, the rain has settled in, and the plants haven’t fully settled into winter yet. These tiny clues help me read the season in a way the calendar never can 😉💕

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Chesham

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 2pm
Tuesday 10am - 3pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm

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+447821774286

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http://craftyherbalistacademy.com/

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Our Story

I grew up in rural Flanders and from a young age I was taught about botany, wildflowers and traditional herbal medicine by the women in my family. Every autumn I would collect elderberries with my grandmother, and elderberry syrup was a firm favourite every winter! This heritage led me to investigate the benefits of herbal medicine at university level in the UK and I have enjoyed this return to my ancestral roots. I obtained an honours degree in Herbal Medicine from the University of Westminster in 2008 and am a fully insured member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (NIMH). Western Herbal medicine uses the therapeutic properties contained within plant seeds, berries, roots, bark, leaves and flowers for medicinal purposes. Selected herbs are used to treat a variety of ailments and disease as well as to promote vitality, healing and balance within the body. I believe it is important to treat the person as a whole rather than the symptoms, so herbal treatment plans are always highly individual. My approach draws on traditional herbal practice, informed by current scientific research and incorporating an energetic perspective. I enjoy the versatility of herbs, which enables me to approach each person individually and with a sensitivity to their particular needs.