Lesley’s Blog

Like many other herbalists, I like to drink herbal tea with or after my meals. However, it’s not always easy ...
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I love discussing my favorite herbs as they tend to have many diverse, not to mention effective, uses. The topic ...
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Since a young child I’ve been a traveler, and one of my favorite places to visit are gardens. There are ...
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The shift from summer to fall is perhaps the most difficult adjustment for most folks healthwise; colds, flu and viruses ...
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When I was recently (and accidentally) bitten by a cat, I immediately reached for my echinacea tincture. Does that choice ...
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Many of you may already know about the traditional dandelion and chicory “coffee” combination, but are you aware of rosemary ...
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Magnolia bark (Magnolia officinalis, hou po) is a bit of a magical herb because it not only comes from a ...
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I know spring is here to stay when our honeysuckle blooms. I remember in my early childhood plucking the flowers ...
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The other day I saw a woman with complaints of burping and belching all day long that was worse when ...
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How do you know if you’re taking enough of your herbs or herbal formula? Or what if you’re taking the ...
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In addition to the usual herbal gifts of herbal wreaths, vinegars, soaps, candles, spices, potted plants, flowers, beauty products and ...
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Teasel is a beautiful herb with a tall bristly head that grows in many places around the world. I once ...
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Turmeric has become increasingly popular over the last decade, first for blood purification and then for joint pain. As it’s ...
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In the West we tend to think of heat as inflammation; yet, it can take many other forms as we’ve ...
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September is the time of year that “Summer Heat” often arises because it’s either extra hot this time of year ...
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Continuing our discussion about herbs that clear heat, the next category is a very commonly seen one: herbs that clear ...
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The herbal category, Herbs that Cool the Blood, is not known in Western herbalism but is one of the five ...
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This blog series that began last month considers how Western herbalism treats heat as inflammation with little differentiation in herbal ...
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Like Western medicine, Western herbalism today considers heat as inflammation with little differentiation in herbal treatment. Yet, heat is not ...
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To finish up the flavors for the year, we have one left – salty. Most herbs that are salty are ...
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I often receive letters from children about my Kids Herb Book expressing their joy in making things and learning about ...
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Finally, we’re reaching the end of 2020! I can’t tell you how many people have yearned to see this year ...
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The spicy flavor has many understandings and an interesting function. When most people think of “spicy,” they think of spicy ...
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Sweet is the flavor of the Spleen time of year, including this month of August. In July, I discussed the ...
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From July through about mid-September, we are in the “Earth time of year” with its organs, the Spleen and Stomach ...
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Since we are in the “season” of the Heart, we’ve been covering bitter herbs. The bitter flavor cleanses the blood ...
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According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), we are in the Heart “time of year,” early summer, meaning that the heart’s ...
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The flavor of an herb is different than its taste. Taste is subjective while flavor is a major indicator of ...
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We are in cold and flu season, which especially hits during the summer-to-fall and winter-to-spring months. How do you prevent ...
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Anyone who’s heard tales from grandparents or great-grandparents who lived during the 1918 flu pandemic will understand the world’s great ...
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Whether you live in balmy, tropical Hawaii, or sub-zero, frosty Minnesota, the energy of winter is the same: storage. At ...
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