Holistic Herbs

26/03/2026

Ah, loving the Spring vibes, perfect for foraging tea time snacks: Flowering currant flowers and Hairy bitter cress leaves

26/03/2026

Never need to go far to forage!
Popped out into the garden to collect some Hairy bitter cress leaves and flowering currant flowers to garnish my feta and spinach on cranberry jelly rice cakes.
Wild food is the best food 😋

20/03/2026

Spring Equinox & Ostara Blessings ✨
The Sun has entered Aries, the first House of the Zodiac and so it is a New Year/New turn of the Wheel and also with the new Moon it represents new beginnings.
The Dandelions are for me, the plant medicines that aid this renewal and gives us fresh starts, clearing the body of toxins, siding the function of the liver and kidneys and the colours of verdant green and sunshine yellow add healing frequencies too 💪

13/03/2026

The Spring plants are really beginning to blossom now.
I found this lovely patch of Sweet Violets / Viola odorata recently, great for soothing coughs and cleansing the lymphatic system.
Not long now until my first herb medicine workshop : Saturday 21st March, but if you would like to attend and find out more about the wonderful medicine growing all around us, then book your place ASAP 🙏

05/03/2026

My new face cushion came today and I can't wait for the feedback from my clients 🙏
I don't know about you, but I've always found the face hole, with its various cushions or towel supports, to be uncomfortable after a while.
I'm hoping this one will be ultra comfy so that clients can happily lay face down, which is really important for getting to and relaxing the neck and shoulder muscles 👌

02/03/2026

Coltsfoot / Tussilago farfara which translates as: take cough away is out in flower now.
It flowers before the leaves appear and often gets overlooked.
It's a good remedy for dry, unproductive coughs. It has a relaxing, antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory effect and boosts the immune system.
As it contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, like comfrey, it's best used externally or in small doses but speak to a medical herbalist for advice

01/03/2026

A bunch of Chickweed / Stellaria media grabbed whilst out walking in the meadows by the river for my itchy friend 😊
Cooling, anti-inflammatory and anti-itch but also veru nutritious to eat raw

27/02/2026

24/02/2026

Spring feels like you could almost touch it today 😀
I spotted a bumblebee and a ladybird, the birds were singing away in the sunshine and the wild garlic is poking its way through the cold earth as well as Dandelions in flower, perfect for the emerging bees. The Scarlet Elfcups are doted about through the forest too and the larch is showing green buds.
I reckon I may be tapping the silver birch tree early this year ready for my first workshop on the 21st March 🤩
Places still available, now £60 so message me to book your place.
Will you be starting off the year in your best form? Detox and fasting is the way the go and I shall be showing you what springtime wild plants you can utilise to aid you on your healthy journey 🙏

19/02/2026

Just found a card from WI's talk last night, thanking me and had to share it 😍

19/02/2026

Spent a lovely evening at the WI's meeting in St Briavels last night, despite the sleety drive there and back.
I presented a talk on traditional western herbal medicine and staying healthy in the seasons.
We had fun nibbling some early Spring greens, like Sorrel, Ground Ivy, Hairy bittercress and Jack by the hedge garlic and I also brought some examples of possible lookalikes to avoid: Lords&ladies and Lesser Celendine leaves.
It's interesting the different tastes that these 4 plants had: bitter, sharp, garlicky and aromatic and I talked about how these tastes stimulate body functions such as digestion and their benefits.
I touched upon the importance of different foods and medicines available through the seasons and how our lifestyles can adapt for the season changes.

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