Nettlesome Life Blog

fennel seeds in a bowl: why fennel anise and licorice smell similar
Fennel, Anise, and Licorice Walk Into a Soap Market…
It was a busy market day and I was standing behind my table quietly watching two customers indulge their senses by smelling all of my soaps. They picked up the... Read more...
history of lavender use by humans
The Long, Strange Journey of Lavender (From Mediterranean Hillsides to My Utah Garden)
The Long, Strange Journey of Lavender (From Mediterranean Hillsides to My Utah Garden) When you visit my market booth and smell one of my soaps with lavender essential oil in... Read more...
Plant Allies: Focus on St. John's Wort
Plant Allies: Focus on St. John's Wort
St. John’s Wort: The Midsummer Herb Hiding in Plain Sight When you grow your own herb garden you are kind of signing up for something wild. With herbs, if you... Read more...
arrow leaf balsam root with text overlay
Wasatch Front Spring Plant Walk
As a fellow plant lover, I doubt you need much convincing to take a plant walk. This weekend I went for a walk in between rain/snow storms to see what... Read more...
Plant Allies: Focus on Plantain
Plant Allies: Focus on Plantain
Healing Salve from Backyard Weeds I had just pulled the the dutch oven out of the oven. It was screaming hot and ready for baking bread. I arranged the parchment... Read more...
herbal plant book on a table with text overlay
Herbal Book Review: Medicinal Plants of the Intermountain West
With spring time just around the corner I thought it would be a perfect time to talk about one of my absolute favorite advanced herbal books by Micheal Moore. If... Read more...
Rosa rugosa: Mini Herbal Monograph
Rosa rugosa: Mini Herbal Monograph
Of all the flowers in the world I think the rose might be the most identifiable to everyone. From the scent, to the thorns, to the delicate petals. Roses are... Read more...
fresh herbs on a wooden table
“From Cooking Pot to Healing Cup: The Overlap Between Culinary and Medicinal Herbs”
Long ago, when I first started studying herbal medicine, the first thing I wondered was how different medicinal herbs must be from the ones I used in my cooking everyday.... Read more...
Plant Allies: Focus on Cloves
Plant Allies: Focus on Cloves
Syzygium aromaticum or more commonly known as cloves. Cloves are ubiquitous in most kitchens around the world from India and Southeast Asia to Northern Europe and North America. Cuisines all... Read more...
Plant Allies: Focus on Juniper
Plant Allies: Focus on Juniper
Note: I am not a medical professional. The information below is for educational purposes only. Juniper Monograph Growing up in the Southwest juniper trees have always been apart of my... Read more...
10 Great Advanced Herbalism Books
10 Great Advanced Herbalism Books
When you study something long enough you eventually reach a point when you need more in depth information. The tips and tricks on the internet won’t get you where you... Read more...
Plant Allies: Focus on Echinacea
Plant Allies: Focus on Echinacea
Echinacea Monograph Have you ever smelled an echinacea plant in full bloom? It’s one of the sweetest most intoxicating summer smells. Pollinating insects swarm echinacea plants as if they were... Read more...
honey in a jar on a table
Making Remedies: Garlic Honey
Garlic (Allium sativum) a home herbalists best friend! If you like cooking you likely already have garlic in you kitchen. You might say to yourself, “Sure garlic is tasty, but... Read more...
5 Self Care Tips for Winter and a DIY Sore Throat Tea
5 Self Care Tips for Winter and a DIY Sore Throat Tea
Note: I wrote this back in October and preparing for two festivals took up all my time. So please excuse the back to school talk as it’s almost Christmas break... Read more...
stream with mint growing in it
When Plants Talk, Listen
When Plants Talk Hehe, did that title make you think I’ve had a little too much of the herbal liquor? There comes a time as an herbalist, and plant enthusiast,... Read more...
herbs in a basket with text that says Ten herbs to know right now
Ten Herbs To Know Right Now
If you are reading this you are probably already familiar with many of the plants I’ve put on this list. If you cook from scratch simply opening up your spice... Read more...
Some Women Buy Shoes Others Buy Plants
Herbalists have plant buying addictions… I love shoes as much as the next gal. There’s nothing like finding a cute pair of new shoes and wearing them all over the place. However, would I buy new shoes every spring and spend two hours looking for them at the store and spend hundreds of dollars? No. Would I do that for plants? Absolutely. (Note: I only spend $50 on these herbs but had I bought trees I would have!) There’s a great whole sale nursery a few towns away from me.... Read more...
Plant Allies: Focus on Hawthorn
Plant Allies: Focus on Hawthorn
February is here, and often times is can be one of the hardest months of the year for people in the northern hemisphere, especially above the 45° latitude. Often the... Read more...
DIY Spice Tea Blend
DIY Spice Tea Blend
October is here and that means it’s time for warming spices. Think the ubiquitous pumpkin spice mix cinnamon, cloves, ginger. I love pumpkin spice as much as the next gal,... Read more...
Plant Allies: Focus on Sage
Plant Allies: Focus on Sage
My very first encounter with culinary sage was in the 10th grade. My Italian teacher invited our class to a cooking workshop at her home and had us walk through... Read more...
From the BookShelf_ Wild Remedies
From the BookShelf_ Wild Remedies
Let’s just start with the conclusion, Wild Remedies is a gem of a book written by Roselee De la Forêt and Emily Han. This is definitely one to add to... Read more...
My Review of the Herbal Medic
My Review of the Herbal Medic
So I have a little secret to tell you, I’m a survival herbalist. You might be thinking what the heck is that? Well, when I look at plants, I don’t... Read more...
The Art of Formulating Herbal Teas and a Recipe for Women's Everyday Tea
The Art of Formulating Herbal Teas and a Recipe for Women's Everyday Tea
Formulating Herbal Teas is an Art Form The thing that really brought me into the herbal world is my love of tea. Cup of tea, be it hot or cold... Read more...
Nettles, My Favorite Wild Green
Nettles, My Favorite Wild Green
This blog would not be complete without an ode to the most wondrous of wild edible and medicinal plants Urtica dioica or more commonly known as stinging nettles. Spring is... Read more...
Plant Allies: Focus on Lavender
Plant Allies: Focus on Lavender
Recently my youngest daughter has become very interested in making plant potions. She’s been asking me everyday about different flowers and herbs. Of course I have them all! This got... Read more...

Plant Lore & Herbalism

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