I woke early this morning to set out and harvest nettle root from my small but healthy patch of nettles (urtica dioica)

The peak time to harvest roots is early spring while the vitality still resides in the root pushing upwards for new growth, or autumn while the vital energies are...

May is by far my most favourite month of the year. The season is bustling with all the colour and vigour of new life; flowers opening to show their sunny faces and the green of the grass so intense it’s hard to believe it’s real. In just one week my lawn  has suddenly ...

I’ve just returned from a luxurious week-long break of camping out  & teaching natural medicine at the California Women’s Herbal Symposium.

I’ve never been to the symposium before, and wow, what a treat! It was completely different from what I expected. I met...

I’ve just returned home after spending nearly 2 months in California. Oh how I love that state! The people, the mountains, the sunshine, and of course the bright and bountiful flowers found everywhere.

There are many things...

Making a herbal tincture is the process of soaking plant material in a menstruum (that is, a solvent) to extract the medicinal components into the said menstruum to use for medicine.  A menstruum can be...

As the strength of the hot sun coaxes flowers to open, it signals  ’tis the season to get busy making herbal oils.

For those new to making herbal medicines, making an herbal oil may seem an intimidating task, but rest assured, once you’ve done it, it soon...

As we move towards autumn I notice the smell in the air, the light cast by the sun, and colour of leaves take on a distinct change. I can’t believe the Autumn Equinox is just a week away— a sure sign of deepening into the the fall, which will certainly draw me more internal....

With so many cases of Hand, Foot & Mouth (HFMD) Disease causing a stir in my home community I’m compelled to write about this common infection – namely to let folks know that it is not as dreadful as it’s name.

First, this illness is not related to...

Here, in the depths of December after a fresh snowfall, the Holly Tree calls from outside my bedroom window.

I’m preparing my alter for Solstice tomorrow, I'll be hosting a ritual for 50 people. But first, tonight, a solo cermony for myself to ready my soul for the turning of the Wheel.

I LOVE homeopathy. While sometimes our profession stands as a role that we fill in order to serve our community, for me, being a homeopath is who I am – not just what I do. I came into homeopathy by accident. In fact, I was a skeptic at first. Interestingly, I later learned that...

Happy Equinox!

What an exciting time of year! I’m breathing a sigh of relief – finally, the first fresh baby greens in the garden ready to harvest for the daily salad. And the nettle! This is the perfect time of year to be harvesting nettle tops to steam like spinach (and drink the...

I haven’t had much time to blog lately as I’ve been so busy putting in the garden and harvesting spring herbs. Here’s what I’ve been up to this week

As most Salt Spring Islanders know, nettle can be used as any other tender green one would...