Holistic Herbs

29/12/2025

I love the Latin names of plants, they sound like spell crafting to me. Take Parsley for example :
✨Petroselinum crispum✨💫💥🧙
Well maybe its just me, the Latin is describing the plant as a rock / stone celery with curly leaves.
It really is a useful herb to grow, I always munch on some if I am suffering with indigestion or for freshening the breath after strong flavoured foods.
Parsley is nutritous too; containing calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, Zinc, Vit A, C & K, B2, B3, folate.
In medicine, it is the leaf, seeds and root that are used and it's actions are felt in the digestive system, liver, gall bladder, urinary system, thyroid, adrenals and womb. It is a warming remedy and a mild brain tonic.
It is useful for fluid retention, bladder disorders, prostatitis, painful periods, flatulence, menopausal hot flushes and fatigue
The seed and root is avoided in pregnancy and kidney disease and blood thinning medication.

27/12/2025

Food is our medicine 💚
Two culinary herbs that enriched our festive feast & imparted their aromatic relish this year were: Wild Thyme and Rosemary.
Wild Thyme / Thymus serpyllum is also known as Mother of Thyme. I am lucky to know where a large area of it grows nearby. Apart from bestowing it's wonderful aroma to the food, it is a fabulous little medicinal herb.
Wonderful for this time (no pun intended) of year, when coughs, colds, chest infections, sore throats and ear infections are more prevalent as its actions are: antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, antitussive, antispasmodic, expectorant, diaphorectic, antiviral and a mild sedative. It is also anthelmintic, so useful for round worms in children.
Handfuls added to a hot bath ease muscle aches too.
Rosemary / Salvia rosmarinus is often found in most people's gardens. They say that if the rosemary bush grows big then it's a sign that a strong women lives there.
This is definitely a good herb to have during the festive season, when we probably over indulge in rich foods and alcohol as it aids the liver and the gall bladder. It's a wonderful warming remedy, lifts the spirits and improves the mind and memory.
It's actions are: antibacterial, antidepressant, antispasmodic, antiseptic, circulatory tonic, stimulant, diuretic, heart strengthener and allays arteriosclerosis.
It too can be added to baths and also used as a hair strengthening and stimulating rinse or an oil made of rosemary makes a great muscle rub.

19/12/2025

Well, today I close my door for Yule.
Thank you to all my lovely customers for trusting me and supporting me in my herbal, foraging and massage offers & business 🙏
Time to get cosy, stay snug, honor the ancestors and share special moments with those close to me.
Lots of happy memories and some sad ones over the last 12 months. But both I am grateful for all, as they all bring lessons and growth.
Solstice Blessings to you all. I wish you all a restful, peaceful and warm Yule and I look forward to welcoming you back in the New Year 🎉❤️🎄

17/12/2025

I feel saddened by the recent ban of Turkey Tail and Cordyceps fungi as supplements as they are now classed as Novel foods.
I know a lot of people will be effected by this decision.
I am thankful, that as a Medical Herbalist, I can still prescribed these medicinal mushrooms for my patients.
Under Clause 241 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, I can prescribe herbal medicines, which medicinal mushrooms are included, in my clinical practise following a consultation. So luckily for me, the FSA's regulations concerning Novel Foods, do not effect me.
Without a consultation, I would need a Novel Food license to sell them. But I never sell herbs without a consultation any way.

25/11/2025

I have 5 magical smudge sticks available at £3 each + p&p.
Burning smudge sticks before rituals and ceremonies is important for setting proactive and safe boundaries and each stick has its own magical virtues:
Mugwort ruled by Venus and of the Element Water offers protection against exhaustion, distress, I'll wishes and evil spirits. Used to purify the home and heart. It clears the mind, increases lucid dreaming, phophetic dreams and visionary opportunities.
White Horehound ruled by Mercury and of the element Air is used in magical rituals when working with Air elementals. It cleanses and lightens the energy, aids creativity & inspiration. Used to intensify concentration and focus in meditation, unifying the mind & body into a higher spiritual realm.
Sage (garden) ruled by Jupiter and of the element Air. Used for absorbing malevolent thoughts and feelings. An aid in meditation, offering purification and cleansing of negative energies.
Yarrow ruled by Venus and of the element Air. It gives spiritual and physical protection, cleanses the body and soul, removes negative energies and facilitates journey's to the spirit world. Mends broken hearts and enhances physic ability.
Mullein ruled by Saturn and of the element Water. Gives confidence and self assurance, purification, enhance dreamwork and aid in divination practices. For respiratory health it is antibacterial and helps clear out the lungs by improving coughing.

24/11/2025

If you are looking for Xmas gifts that are natural and free from nasty chemicals then I have just the gifts for you 🤩
This Soap is super soft and moisturising. Made with Babussa oil, Shea nut butter, Coconut fat, Olive oil & Almond oil. Petitigrain essential oil (from the Bitter Orange tree) tops it off with a wonderfully uplifting smell.
£5 + £4 p&p
Wild Flower Tea is made with foraged plants throughout the Seasons and has a calming and digestive action. Bringing Spring & Summer energy into the darker, colder months. It contains : Nettles, Hawthorn, Lime blossom, Elderflowers, Yarrow and Daisies.
30g £10 + £4 p&p

19/11/2025

I have been sorting through my jars of dried herbs that I have foraged over the Spring and Summer.
I shall be offering some mixed wild tea blends for seasonal gifts soon and thought I would make a blend up just for me 😊
This one is Lemon verbena, Lemon balm, Peppermint, Nettle and Hawthorn.

05/11/2025

Do you know that if you need a particular herb it will turn up, so always pay attention to any new plants that suddenly appear in your garden.
I have always found this to be true and after having Fennel on my mind for some time now, I am delighted to find out growing outside my front door.
Fennel / Foeniculum vulgar seeds are a rich source of phytoestrogens. Just perfect for a menopausal woman.
Plant phytoestrogens are beneficial for perimenopausal women too. Consuming plant oestrogens help to balance oestrogen levels by competing with endogenous oestrogen receptors, having a inhibiting effect. This competitive inhibition may help to reduce the incidence of oestrogen - dependant cancers and also can help to regulate the menstrual cycle.
Fennel seeds are great for aiding digestion, reducing wind and bloating in the digestive system and good for use in childhood colic.
Fennel seeds also help to lower blood sugar.
For red eye and blepharitis, the cold tea can be used as an eye wash

31/10/2025

https://youtu.be/Ljp6mrDZ7-c?si=tpDhiqgENc4Z40Yz

'Samhain, Wisdom' is Grace Wells’ fourth eco-poetry film celebrating the Celtic Year, and marking the festival of Samhain, our transition into winter.Often a...

30/10/2025

Today I spent a delightful morning roaming deep into the forest on a Hedgehog hunt. But not of the animal kind: hedgehog mushrooms / Hydnum repandum aren't always easy to find, so I was very happy to find some and just as I was about to give up too. They are delicious fried in garlic butter.
I also found this Birch Bolete but these aren't worth eating in my book.
Also I foraged some Sweet Chestnuts which are in abundance this mast year.
I love all the Seasons but I think Autumn in the woods is one of my favourite seasons 🍂

26/10/2025

I couple of weeks ago I was asked by Hill Farm Tintern if I could offer a forage for one of their Forest bathing clients. It turned out to be for Martin Hesp, Editor of Western Daily Press, who was staying at the Royal George in Tintern.
The heavens opened on us that morning but it meant that there was plenty of mushrooms to be found in the woods above Hill Farm.
There were lots of Penny Bun / Ceps and Porcelain fungus / Oudemansiella mucida which are both edible and the photo is of me holding a Blusher / Amanita rubescens.