February 8, 2024
Maria Noel Groves
When you’re trying to choose from a long list of herbs for “x” condition, how do you pick the best one? How do you put together a formula with extra panache? One way to do this is to apply the concepts of herbal energetics. Energetics look beyond the basic actions of plants and apply their…
September 14, 2023
Maria Noel Groves
Survey your peri- and post-menopausal friends and relatives, and you might discover a surprising trend: almost all of them have a thyroid issue and/or are on levothyroxine (brand name Synthroid). Well, not all of them, but probably an awful lot. They may have been put on medications based solely on lab results after routine screening,…
August 25, 2023
Maria Noel Groves
With age and many diseases, our ability to maintain healthy circulation and inflammatory response can become compromised. Poor circulation and increased inflammation can then decrease our quality of life and increase the risk of various diseases as well as death from stroke, heart attack, or pulmonary embolism. These conditions can be complicated, multifactorial, and individual…
March 10, 2023
Maria Noel Groves
It’s (just about) springtime! One of the first signs that the days are getting longer is that chickens – who naturally take a winter laying hiatus – resume egg production. This farm and homestead reality makes a natural segue into our springtime ritual of dyeing eggs. Regardless of your spiritual beliefs and traditions, dyeing eggs…
February 3, 2023
Maria Noel Groves
As the heat of summer begins to break and transition into early autumn, mushroom foragers go giddy, gathering their harvesting baskets and knives, heading out in search of delicious edibles and powerful medicine. We herbalists lovingly welcome our fungal friends in as honorary “herbs” but they’re closer animals than plants, genetically speaking. Mushrooms make vitamin…
December 29, 2022
Maria Noel Groves
It took me a while to learn the ropes – I am a “cold person” who is “circulation challenged” and not one for over-exertion – but now that I know how to dress and have the right gear, I LOVE getting outdoors in wintertime to hike, walk, and xc ski. Moving outdoors and enjoying the winter sun…
September 14, 2022
Maria Noel Groves
Regular ol’ garden sage (Salvia officinalis) is a mind-blowing apothecary in and unto itself. And right now, she’s taking center stage in the late summer garden with lush, frost-tolerant silvery foliage and potent, aromatics. WISE: Much like its close relative rosemary, sage has been shown benefits both inhaled and ingested for supporting cognition, mental clarity,…
September 14, 2022
Maria Noel Groves
If you’ve attended a class or watched a video of me during the colder months, you may have noticed large pots of gotu kola on the sill behind my teaching table, taking refuge from the chill. Gotu kola would much prefer its native lands in India where it grows as a creeping vine in dappled…
June 28, 2022
Guest
Everyone has an herb story. That first time an herb spoke loud and clear and when we patiently listened. My ancestors have stories too, ones that were passed down orally through songs and chants, and are seen visually etched into stone and text. Their story starts way back, before standardized extracts, plant constituents, and herb…
April 5, 2022
Student Author
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus, formerly Rosmarinus officinalis) This Materia Medica assignment (new, more in-depth style) was written by Liz Kelly with additional input from Maria Noel Groves (MNG) and Ruth Droescher (RD). Family: Mint (Lamiaceae) (2,5,6,7) Part(s) Used: leaf/needle/aerial parts (1,2,3) Key Actions: carminative (1,2), antimicrobial (1,2), antioxidant (1,2), antispasmodic (1), rubefacient (1), aromatic (2), stimulating/nervine…