While attending San Diego State College in the early seventies, my work-study job was in the vivarium, a room for keeping and raising animals for observation and research. We called it the animal room. I fed them and cleaned their enclosures daily, getting to know some of them intimately. One behavior I learned from the […]
Although I had been vaccinated, I recently tested positive for Covid. One of the herbal remedies I took was an amazing desert evergreen shrub, chaparral herb, Larrea tridentata which I ground up and put in 00 capsules and took internally till I was well, a few days later. I have been employing this herb for […]
š±Herbal Allies for the Holly Dazeš± Starting with Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis Lemon Balm is my first favorite herb that everyone should have on hand for the Holidays. Sweet Melissa has a lovely delicate lemony taste and is good for everyone from babies to Great Grandmas and is a definite calming mood uplifting gift […]
A Summer Miracle We usually offer a workshop in the Summer, Summer Herbal Home Spa, in which I demonstrate making a waterproof natural sun block incorporating zinc oxide. One year, as I was pouring it into silicon tubes, it was too hot and it melted the tube and flowed down to burn my leg. It […]
As the opioid epidemic worsens, people are desperate for natural pain relief options.Ā A local herb, wild lettuce has been used for millennia as a natural herbal pain reliever, and now survivalists are touting it as a form of morphine that grows in your backyard. A house up the street from us has been being […]
Lemonade berries,Ā Rhus integrifolia, are the fruits of a native Southern California species belonging to the Anacardiaceae family. They have been growing wild since ancient times. The shrubs are primarily found from Santa Barbara County south to Baja California and thrive in coastal sage scrub and chaparral regions. We are blessed wit h several in […]
Thereās Something About Comfrey A tour of an herb garden to meet the plants and do some collecting is always an adventure. If the borage and comfrey are flowering, thereās a real treat for the senses- sweet and tasty flowers possessing a vibrant, yet simple, beauty. Knitbone Comfrey’s traditional namesā are knitbone, boneset and the derivation of […]
Benefits of Maca The benefits of Maca are enjoyed by men and women alike. Maca is a cruciferous vegetable related to broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and kale. Known scientifically as Lepidium meyenii, maca grows in the high mountains of Peru. It is rich in nutritional content (potassium, and higher levels of calcium than in milk). Benefits […]
The health benefits of basil pesto, a common food with an uncommon flavor has brought an ancient and mysterious herb to the forefront of our modern culture. Basil (sweet or common basil), Ocymum basilium, is an annual growing to 3 feet. The stem, like other mints, is quadrangular (square). White flowers appear in whorls in […]
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