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 motions 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

And it's a wrap! Thank you all so much for all the support over the years and especially this year! I'll be just hanging...
12/22/2025

And it's a wrap! Thank you all so much for all the support over the years and especially this year! I'll be just hanging with family and friends until I'm back at work on Jan 5th.

Anything ordered through the website will not go out until Jan but gift cards are sent to your email address so you print off.

Wishing you all the best of everything this season. May it be exactly what you need and I hope to share herbs and hugs with you in the New Year.

Closing for the holidays! It’s almost family time 😍😍😍
12/19/2025

Closing for the holidays! It’s almost family time 😍😍😍

Such a fun conference with so many wonderful people! It was a pleasure to get to teach and meet everyone!
12/18/2025

Such a fun conference with so many wonderful people! It was a pleasure to get to teach and meet everyone!

The SENC Herbal Conference wouldn’t be possible without the dedication to teaching that our fabulous presenters shared wtih our attendees! Thank you all so much for traveling from near and far and sharing your gifts with our community!

12/18/2025

Drawing for Winter Wellness Giveaway!
Thank you to everyone who entered and Congrats to our winner! ♥️♥️♥️

The Sale Tab is a great chance for you to grab some last minute presents for loved ones or yourself.
12/18/2025

The Sale Tab is a great chance for you to grab some last minute presents for loved ones or yourself.

I love getting to teach about plants. I have a few classes coming up in Jan at a very special price to celebrate my half...
12/15/2025

I love getting to teach about plants. I have a few classes coming up in Jan at a very special price to celebrate my half century of living.

Jan 10th- IN person or Online- We'll be looking at Invasive plants both as a whole and on individually. Everyone will come away with lots of ideas on just how to use these powerful plants. Birthday Price is just 25.00! Grab your spot in person or online.
There are 3 scholarships available also- simply email me- theempiricalherbalist@gmail.com-

Jan 15th- In Person or Online- The Dandiest Plant- we'll take a deep look at my most favorite plant- we'll cover myth, history, medicine and culinary. COme fall in love with the BEST plant. Cost is 25.00 and there are 3 scholarships available for these as well! Send me an email!

12/12/2025

Heads up that all custom orders must be in by 12/15 @ Noon in order to get them before I close for the holidays 💚

Let's do a Give Away for a Winter Wellness Kit- Simply comment on this photo and you're in. I will draw a winning name n...
12/11/2025

Let's do a Give Away for a Winter Wellness Kit- Simply comment on this photo and you're in. I will draw a winning name next Thursday and will ship directly to you!

Gift Certificates are available online in increments ranging from 10.00- 500.00 and can be used to purchase anything fro...
12/09/2025

Gift Certificates are available online in increments ranging from 10.00- 500.00 and can be used to purchase anything from the website including classes, products and consults. They are delivered straight to the email you include in the order so they can go to you to print out or directly to the person recieving it so no worries about shipping or late delivery. Link in the comments.

I'm so excited to announce this-  The Empirical Herbalist Book Club- abreviated to "TEH Book Club." If you know me for a...
12/08/2025

I'm so excited to announce this- The Empirical Herbalist Book Club- abreviated to "TEH Book Club." If you know me for any amount of time, you’ll hear me talking about books. They are my first truly favorite things. I have been an avid reader my whole life and talk about the books that touch me ALL. THE. TIME! So at a recent conference a few people and I were talking books and I had lots to share- 2 of them suggested a book club and I had to agree. Then when I mentioned it to people in town, they wanted one too so let’s do both.

This book club will feature fictional books- literature, fantasy, myth, romantasy, maybe a little horror- they just all will have plants or herbs as part of the book.

The first meeting will be Jan 29th and our first book is one of my favorites- Circe by Madeline Miller. This is a retelling of one of the most villified witches in Greek Mythology. In Miller’s version we learn of Circe’s story from her point of view and maybe change some of our perceptions as well. Book Club costs one cent to reserve your spot- that’s just because the website won’t let me list free and allow people to check out. We’ll meet in The Classroom and discuss and enjoy. Feel free to bring a goodie to share if you want- no pressure if you don’t- I will have some light snacks to share. I’m hoping that this can help connect people to each other and new plants as well. The plant world thrives through community and people do too, it just seems harder for some of us to connect to ours so I will also be offering this as an online group too. In the first few we will combine them and if we need to seperate out at a later event we can certainly do that.

The in person group is booking up fast so grab a spot if you are interested or try out the online version.

Jan 29th
6:30 in The Classroom or online

If you read the Dec Newsletter, you know that I turn 50 in January and I plan on celebrating the whole month. I am offer...
12/08/2025

If you read the Dec Newsletter, you know that I turn 50 in January and I plan on celebrating the whole month. I am offering 2 classes at a discounted price and launching a book club in celebration PLUS there will be pop up day sales and offers throughout the month.

The Class offerings are nvasives: Unwanted guests and their medicines- Jan 10th @ 10:00 am
This class has been a long time coming and I recently got to teach a shorter version at an herbal conference and thought it would be wonderful to teach it locally.

We’ve all been there- working in our yards or green spaces and we come across a plant that shouldn’t be there. Mumbling or even ranting may ensue, but what if there was a lesson, food or medicine we could use from the plant.

We'll cover all the "notorious" plants - mimosa, japanese knotw**d, kudzu, english ivy, bindw**d and more. Come learn about the most eager behaving plants and just what we can use them for. Space in person is limited.
This is offered as a live in person class and an online zoom option as well. Since it’s my BDAY month- this class is being offered for 25.00

There are 3 scholarships available- please reach out if interested.

The Dandiest Plant of All- Dandelion- Jan 15th @ 6:00 pm
You all know this is my most favorite plant ever so it’s a no brainer to share all that Dandies have to offer and teach as part of my Bday month. We'll explore all aspects- history, travel, plant spirit medicine, culinary, physical medicine and of course myth. There will be snacks in person and lots of appreciation for this most lovely w**d.
This is offered as a live in person class and zoom option as well.

There are 3 Scholarships available, reach out if interested.

I'll post links in the comments. Hope to see some of you there-

12/07/2025

So grateful to everyone who came out to Ijams. This has been a wonderful weekend and I felt so supported and loved. ♥️

Address

Powell, TN
37849

Opening Hours

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

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