The Empirical Herbalist

The Empirical Herbalist Master Herbalist working for 20 + years with people of all ages and plants from all around the globe In the checkout I picked up a magazine that I often read.

I wish I could say that I was bitten by a radioactive dandelion or had a massive dose of chlorophyll and BAM I was on my way to being part of the “Herbvengers” but truth is NOT stranger than fiction. I had my lightbulb moment about a career change way back in the year 2000 doing something incredibly mundane. I was driving to a job that while it was fun and easy, it was just me going through the mo

tions and didn’t spark any passion in my life. While stuck in traffic, I was staring at these giant mounds of upturned soil, and remembered all the fun I had as a kid playing in my great grandmother’s garden when it struck me that I should be working in the dirt. An odd thought, since I lived with my hubby in a one bedroom apartment located in the heart of the the city, but it definitely struck a nostalgic chord. Later that day for lunch, I stopped into a health food store to grab a meal. The first thing I saw when I opened it was a full page spread about an herbalist school, I felt the bulb get brighter. By the end of the day, I had a plan and I just needed to convince people I knew what I was doing. By the end of the week I was enrolled and as the cliche says- The rest is history. Over the next few decades, I’ve worked at an herb farm, taught classes on almost every herbal subject, and opened up a clinical business. Oh and yeah, there has been so much time spent in the dirt growing around 33% of the organic and biodynamic herbs I use to make products. I never knew that I would find my life’s passion on that day but every bit of me is so grateful that I did. I bring over 20 years of study and experience into every case but what I also work with a tenacity and I’m not afraid to try new approaches and get creative with herbal formulations. I often combine herbs from around the globe that belong to different modalities to get a formula or plan that most matches your situation not just the Western mindset of this issue gets treated with this herb. Both your health condition and the herbs that will help are multi layered. The benefit of working with an herbalist is the expert knowledge of the plants being used and how they work best in a treatment. Ruth (she/her) is happily married with 2 teenage children. Her passions include all things plants, great food and drink. She’s an avid reader and loves the challenge of a good board game. Her ideal day involves some time outside, several cups of tea, at least an hour reading and spending time with her family and friends, not in any particular order. Oh, Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain sounds pretty groovy too. My motto- “ A Better Life Through Herbs” extends to all aspects of life so working with me extends to all of them too. Whether you are looking to improve your culinary choices to be healthier and more tasty, you need some help with a flu bug or you are looking for help managing your chronic condition, there are herbs for it all. Communities Served

Clients of all ages- from birth through all stages of life

LGBTQ+


Specialties

Detoxes and Cleanses
Inflammation
Infertility
Unusual and rare cases
Sleep issues
Lactation Herbs
Utilizing Cell Salts
Hormonal issues such as Menopause, fertility, balancing hormones whether it’s Estrogen, Progesterone or Testosterone
Restoring Gut Health



History working with
Parasite Cleanses
Auto Immune Issues
Rebuilding the immune response
Cancer and Pre Cancerous conditions
Anxiety and Depression
ADHD
Typical health and wellness issues such as colds, flus, stress, insomnia, etc

04/23/2026

The apothecary is closed until May 4th- I’ll be traveling for work and enjoying a little personal time too!

We had a great time over in Dunlap at Natural Affinity exploring the vibrant healing world of flowers!
04/23/2026

We had a great time over in Dunlap at Natural Affinity exploring the vibrant healing world of flowers!

This class is going to be the most complete culinary class I've ever taught. We'll be  spending the first part of class ...
04/23/2026

This class is going to be the most complete culinary class I've ever taught. We'll be spending the first part of class looking at specific herbs in a broad way- going over their health attributes and growing, storing etc and then we will focus on specific recipes to make with them or ways to add them to your current recipes. If you've ever wanted to expand your cooking or knowledge of herbs to use in the kitchen- this is well worth the drive and time. Hope to see you there!

Join the Empirical Herbalist for this educational workshop! Participants will learn about culinary herbs, how to grow or where to purchase them, and how to cook with them. Get your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kitchen-herbalism-learning-to-utilize-herbs-for-health-and-flavor-tickets-1982804835639?aff=oddtdtcreator

Everyday is Earth Day because everyday we live as part of this glorious planet and we should honor her as her health is ...
04/22/2026

Everyday is Earth Day because everyday we live as part of this glorious planet and we should honor her as her health is our health.

Earth Day
BY JANE YOLEN
I am the Earth
And the Earth is me.
Each blade of grass,
Each honey tree,
Each bit of mud,
And stick and stone
Is blood and muscle,
Skin and bone.

And just as I
Need every bit
Of me to make
My body fit,
So Earth needs
Grass and stone and tree
And things that grow here
Naturally.

That’s why we
Celebrate this day.
That’s why across
The world we say:
As long as life,
As dear, as free,
I am the Earth
And the Earth is me.

Her-story needs to be heard!
04/22/2026

Her-story needs to be heard!

In 1910, the U.S. Forest Service hired its first female scientist. Eloise Gerry rode a train to the southern pine forests.

The trees were bleeding out.

The turpentine industry was a brutal business. For decades, companies used the "deep chipping" method. Men swung heavy broadaxes, hacking massive, jagged holes into the trunks of longleaf pines to drain their resin. The deeper the cut, the faster the sap flowed.

It killed the tree in three years.

Millions of acres of timber across Florida and Mississippi were left behind as rotting deadwood. The companies didn't care. When one forest died, they bought another.

Gerry arrived with a theory. She told the timber bosses that if they cut smaller, shallower streaks, the trees would live longer and produce more resin. They looked at her. She was a microscopist from Wisconsin. They were men who owned the swamps. They told her the heavy axe was the only way.

At the time, the naval stores industry was the largest employer in the rural South. Turpentine was used for waterproofing ships, thinning paint, and treating rope. The extraction methods had not changed since the 1800s. The industry operated on a model of absolute exhaustion—extracting maximum capital until the physical resource collapsed.

Gerry didn't argue. She put on high leather boots and walked into the turpentine camps. She waded through snake-infested swamps in the Florida panhandle. She brought her microscope into the woods, setting it up on tree stumps to examine the vascular tissue of living pines.

She ruined her equipment in the humidity. The raw resin glued her microscope slides together. Her hands were permanently stained. The workers called her the woodpecker.

But she convinced a few skeptical foremen to let her test a quarter-inch cut instead of the standard deep hack. She measured the sap drop by drop.

In 1922, the numbers came back. Her shallow-chipping method didn't just save the trees. It increased the turpentine yield by forty percent.

They assumed violence was the only way to extract value. She proved it was just bad math.

The timber companies adopted her method. The heavy broadaxes were replaced by specialized, shallow blades. Millions of acres of southern pine were saved from total eradication. Gerry stayed at the Forest Products Laboratory for forty-four years. She died in 1970.

Today, the synthetic chemical industry has largely replaced natural turpentine. The massive extraction camps are gone. But if you walk through the longleaf pine savannas of the Gulf Coast, you will occasionally find trees over a hundred years old.

They have faint, shallow scars near the base. The bark has grown over them.

Eloise Gerry: the scientist who taught an industry to leave the trees alive.

Source: Eloise Gerry.
Verified via: U.S. Forest Service Archives, Forest History Society.
(Some details summarized for brevity.)

We always have so much fun shopping for our gardens here! I can't even remember how many years we've done it but it's a ...
04/20/2026

We always have so much fun shopping for our gardens here! I can't even remember how many years we've done it but it's a yearly tradition!

The May Book Club selection The Overstory by Richard Powers. I read this book around the time it came out about 8 years ...
04/20/2026

The May Book Club selection The Overstory by Richard Powers. I read this book around the time it came out about 8 years ago. I had it from the library and after I finished the very first page- I closed it and declared it my favorite book and went to order it online.
At its heart, it's a love story to trees and Powers really understands them on a level that I'd not read in a work of "fiction" before or since. This is a CHONK of book and it's our first Pulitzer Prize winning novel, we've read for book club so there is a bit more time to digest it. We will be back to our last Thursday of the Month meeting time in The Classroom. It's available in persona and on Zoom. Sign up in the comments. It's just a penny but helps me know who is coming and how much food to plan.

Thank you to everyone who came out to Ijams Nature Center and Schulz Brau this weekend. We had a blast, bought from some...
04/19/2026

Thank you to everyone who came out to Ijams Nature Center and Schulz Brau this weekend. We had a blast, bought from some of our favorite artists and I'm going to rest my feet in my anti inflammatory soak and eat all the sourdough from kibodeauxbreadco.

We are so honored to be apart of this beautiful market. Come by and say HI!
04/19/2026

We are so honored to be apart of this beautiful market. Come by and say HI!

04/19/2026

Thank you to everyone who came out to Ritterfest! We met loads of new people and caught up with old friends♥️

We had a great time at our first day at Schulz Brau’s Ritterfest- met some wonderful people, reconnected with old friend...
04/18/2026

We had a great time at our first day at Schulz Brau’s Ritterfest- met some wonderful people, reconnected with old friends and clients I’d only met through zoom during the pandemic and I learned how to throw a spear! We’ll be there today from noon until 8:00! As my favorite podcaster says” Come say hi, I like it when people say Hi”

If you're around Knoxville this weekend there are some great events happening and we'll be at a few! Love to see you the...
04/16/2026

If you're around Knoxville this weekend there are some great events happening and we'll be at a few! Love to see you there.

Address

Powell, TN
37849

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 12pm

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Empirical Herbalist posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to The Empirical Herbalist:

Share