“Herbalism”

So I guess I haven’t been on here much lately.  I just realized that I missed Wordless Wednesday last week!  Wow!  But I’m back.  Here’s what I’ve been up to…I have a new “hobby!”  A while back there was a guest post on my friend Nicole’s blog about herbs.  I was astonished at the author’s claims to healthiness resulting from using herbal remedies.  I was intrigued enough to ask some questions and start researching.  I watched YouTube videos.  I read articles on BulkHerbStore.com.  I purchased a used book at Amazon.  I checked out books at the library.

Finally I decided that I wanted to give it a try myself.  I went to our local Farmer’s Market and purchased a few bundles of herbs to dry, still not exactly sure what I would do with them.  I also bought a mint plant.  I should tell you that I definitely do NOT have a green thumb, and I have killed every plant I ever owned except one hardy African Violet.  But my mint plant is still alive!

Then I found a recipe for homemade sunscreen and I ordered the raw materials from an Etsy shop.  The sunscreen was easy to make, and it actually turned out…and worked!  So I decided to try some more “recipes.”

After some more reading, mostly from Rosemary Gladstar’s book entitled Medicinal Herbs, A Beginner’s Guide, I finally selected a few basic “remedies” which I thought our family would use the most.  I purchased some herbs from both Bulk Herb Store and Mountain Rose Herbs.

I now drink tea in place of my coffee.  I discovered that my coffee pot is still very useful for brewing loose leaf tea.  I ordered a sampler kit of various herbal teas {because Ben wanted to be sure we would “like” all of these natural remedies}. 

I have made a Plantain Salve which serves as an all-around boo-boo cream.  {Now I just need my kids to trip on the sidewalk or something so I can try it out!}  I also have Echinacea and immune-booster tinctures extracting for warding off colds this winter.  I have the supplies to make an elderberry syrup this week which will also boost our immune system.  And I am infusing an oil with calendula flowers for making my own diaper rash cream. 

Little by little I purchased plants and/or seeds at the farmer’s market or nursery and I have several pots on the front steps, including peppermint, chocolate mint, lemon balm, basil, catnip {for cold remedies}, stevia {sweetener}, sage, and I’m trying to get a spearmint clipping to take root.  I’m trying to grow some chamomile too, but it may not make it before winter.

I’m having fun doing this – it’s a nice little diversion.  I feel better knowing exactly what is in our creams/medicines because I made them myself.  And I’ll let you know how we fare this winter once the germs start flying around!