Rosemary is a beautiful plant! It helps protect mind, body, and spirit. This herb is both an ancient remedy and a culinary delight, and there are so many ways to work with it.
In the All About Rosemary booklet, which accompanies the autumn issue of Botanical Anthology, I shared my longevity tea recipe which combines this delightfully pungent and tasty herb with other plants valued for their neuroprotective properties. Here is the recipe portion of my article – you can find the full article in the booklet!
Materials
2 tsp rosemary, dried
1 tsp ginkgo leaves, dried
1 tsp goji berries, dried
½ tsp ginger, dried
Method
Mix the ingredients in a bowl to make a single cuppa, but you’ll probably want to scale up the
recipe and make a larger batch to sip often!
To brew one cup of tea, place a tablespoon of the blend in a tea strainer or disposable eco-
friendly paper tea bag. Pour just-boiled water over the tea and allow to steep for 10 minutes.
If you’d like, you can sweeten your tea with a bit of honey, maple syrup, or sugar.
————
Aside from my tea, the All About Rosemary booklet contains so many jewels worth reading and recipes worth trying:
And all this accompanies the full Botanical Anthology magazine issue. I am sharing about it because this independent magazine, a labor of love by creative folks, is near and dear to me as I help edit and compile this publication and write articles for it.
With 40 articles from 38 contributors, there is something in this magazine for every budding herbalist, natural health enthusiast, (urban) homesteader, kitchen witch, and nature lover.
TODAY is the last day to download our digital version at a discounted price of $15 and receive the free All About Rosemary booklet. I hope you’ll consider treating yourself to a copy and enjoying the autumn plant goodness!
Botanical Anthology is an indie magazine made by and for plant lovers, which I am lucky to write articles for, edit, and help produce. It is very much a labor of love and is full of herbal and seasonal magic! Apothecary knowledge, tasty recipes, gardening tips, creative crafts, folklore, seasonal celebrations, interviews, and more!
Now through 6/26, you can pick up the digital (ebook) edition for only $15 and it comes with the All About Chamomile bonus booklet free!
Or purchase the print edition via Amazon or Lulu, and email your proof of purchase to plantwondercollective@gmail.com to get your free digital All About Chamomile booklet!
May is such a special month where I live. The “merry merry month of May” lyric comes to mind. It is generally a time of unabashed sunshine, warming breezes, flourishing blossoms, and frenetic energy. The joy of May is infectious and refreshing! Spring is fully awake, and we are energized and full of her spark.
While the weather from one year to the next varies, and so, too, does the timing of May’s blooms, there are certainly favorite plant allies that I always find myself drawn to during this month. These are a few of them!
Yarrow: white, pinkish, or more yellow—these blossoms that flourish in mid-spring are magical no matter the color. A harmonizing herb that can both cool and warm, staunch and aid flow, it can be used medicinally for a wide variety of things including styptic powder, teas, salves, steams, incense, and more. In folklore, yarrow has quite the long tradition of use in love spells, protective charms, sachets, cleansing and divination preparations, among other uses. Yarrow is on my planting list this year. Plant some near your home for a bit of beauty and protection, and harvest some for a host of beneficial applications!
Lilac: fleeting May magic! Lilac blooms where I live for a short time in early May, so I have to enjoy it quickly! That’s all part of the fun. Lilac sugar, tea, honey, syrup or jelly, skin recipes, and baked-good adornments are some favorite ways to harness its powerful sweetness. I love the longstanding tradition of planting this shrubby plant near doorways—then when it is in bloom, you can access it easily and quickly. Lilac is also said to be a protector of the home.
Hawthorn: ubiquitous with May, whether they’re blooming on Beltane where you live or not. Hawthorn guards the gates to faerie realms, protects, gladdens the heart, and calms the nerves. I adore a strong cup of hawthorn leaf & flower tea! Just be sure to show the hawthorn tree her due respect: Mother Hawthorn expects to be approached with care, asked permission before you harvest from her branches, and left with an offering near her roots. Also, it is said that you shouldn’t bring hawthorn branches indoors, as it is bad luck.
Red Clover: this springtime beauty is equal parts medicinal and magical. Wonderfully nutritive, beneficial to the skin and female system, for balance and movement, and more…and also so lovely in salads, honey, sweets, fritters, teas, lemonade, and other special treats. It is also a wonderful ally in soothing skin applications including bath teas, salves, and more! Red clover tends to grow wild and free in many areas, especially meadows, fields, and pastures—so much plenty for the taking! Just be careful to ensure that the place you’re harvesting from is safe—not too near roads or where chemicals are sprayed.
Honeysuckle: yes, I know it is an invasive non-native species here in the U.S. But it is so very prolific where I live, and it’s not honeysuckle’s fault it was brought here! It has always been a special plant to me, since I was a kid when we had a magical honeysuckle that grew entwined with a blackberry bush at my childhood home. The great thing about honeysuckle is you don’t have to feel bad about foraging it, and don’t have to worry about taking too much! It smells so nice tucked into vases, twisted and twined into wreaths, or enjoyed in teas, cordials, and jellies.
Catnip: I adore catnip, and it seems to adore me! It reseeds itself in more of my herb pots each year and springs up in late April and May. This rampant herb in my little container garden is not just for cats. A member of the mint family, it is wonderful for calming frazzled nerves and stress in humans and is gentle enough for children. I like to think of catnip as bringing both a dash of calm and a dose of courage, all in one go. It imparts a strong yet gentle resilience. When my plants are ready to begin harvesting, I plan to incorporate catnip into sun teas, lemonade, and popsicles to share with my kiddos!
We are firmly in the heart of Aries season, so I am sharing my simple tea recipe meant to help you ground into this energy! My daughter is a very fiery Aries herself so I am all too familiar with the spirit of this sign.
Associated with the Emperor in tarot; the root and solar plexus chakras; yang energy; red, pink, yellow, and white; and diamond, carnelian, citrine, and fire opal.
To make a single cup of tea, add 1 tablespoon to a tea strainer, eco- friendly tea bag, or French press. Pour 1 to 1 1⁄2 cups hot water over the tea and steep for 3-4 minutes. Add honey or other sweetener, if desired.
———
For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.
*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.
Blessed Imbolc! This sabbat marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox, so it is also called midwinter. And it is Candlemas, when candles were brought to be blessed for the year.
It’s also a time that is traditionally dedicated to St. Brigid and/or the goddess Brigid. This Celtic goddess is a fire deity who embodies the light and warmth of spring. She is sometimes represented as a triple-goddess or as presiding over three flames: the flame of inspiration and creativity, the flame of the hearth, and the flame of the forge and smithing. Brigid is also associated with healing, wisdom, poetry, livestock, and protection.
As Celtic legend tells, the Cailleach–the crone goddess of winter–and Brigid split the year between them. When the Cailleach’s fire goes out, she cedes rule to Brigid, who presides over her half of the year until Samhain when her counterpart returns.
This tea to welcome Brigid’s return contains blackberry leaf and fruit along with chamomile, which are all sacred to the goddess, in combination with calendula, ginger, and cinnamon to represent her three flames.
If using fresh blackberries, muddle 2-3 in the bottom of a cup (you’ll strain the tea after brewing); if using dried berries, simply add them to the tea herbs. Add 1 tablespoon to a tea strainer, eco-friendly tea bag, or French press. Pour 1 to 1 ½ cups hot water over the tea and steep for 5 minutes. Strain out the muddled blackberries now if using this method. Add honey or other sweetener, if desired.
For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.
*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.
Today I’m sharing two herbal tea blends to enjoy for Yule // the Winter Solstice!
The Yule Tea blend is a sweet and festive spiced sip, full of immune-boosting ingredients that taste lovely. The combo of orange and spices is traditional for the season, in part because of those properties and in part because of associations with protection, divination, prosperity, and luck derived from them.
The Winter Solstice Tea tastes decadent like a holiday cake, but without the heartburn or feeling of overindulgence! With soothing herbs that promote digestion, relieve pain, and aid in circulation, it’s like a sweet, warm hug. And chamomile represents the sun that returns brighter each day after the solstice; juniper is a powerful talisman of winter protection, cleansing, and luck; and the other botanicals have ties to healing, love, and luck, too.
To make a single cup of tea, add 1 tablespoon to a tea strainer, eco- friendly tea bag, or French press. Pour 1 to 1 ½ cups hot water over the tea and steep for 3-5 minutes. Add honey or maple syrup to taste, if desired.
For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.
*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.
I wanted to share a fun winter craft with you today: simple, sweet pine needle impression clay ornaments!
I know these are not a new idea, but I’ve been meaning to make some for a while, and I am excited with how they turned out. They are a lovely activity for kids to make, or perhaps a gathering of friends on a wine or tea night!
And if you live in an apartment where you can’t have a live Christmas tree, or perhaps another reason prevents you, you can forage for pine branches at a local park to take home and make this craft and then apply some drops of pine essential oil to the backs to bring fresh pine scent to your home. (Orange, clove, and cinnamon essential oils would also be fitting and traditional midwinter scents to add!) It’s an accessible way to bring the goodness of pine indoors!
To make the ornaments, roll air-dry clay into 1-inch balls and then press flat into discs with a book or container lid. Or, if you’re fancier than me, you can roll out the clay and use cookie cutters for neater and more uniform ornaments. (Mine are “rustic,” ha!) Then press sprigs of pine needles into the clay to form an impression and poke a hole for ribbon or string. Make sure the ornaments aren’t stuck onto your work surface (waxed paper might help here). Leave them to dry overnight, then the next day paint with watercolor to emphasize the look of the pine sprigs. I used watercolor brush pens and water with a small paintbrush to thin and spread out the paint pigment.
Once dry, string ribbon or twine through so they can be hung on a tree, drawer knobs, stocking hooks, or even used as gift tags. They can also be used as drawer or car fresheners!
These simple little ornaments aren’t fancy, but they are cheery and fun to make, give you a chance to do some fun winter foraging with kids or friends, and bring a bit of natural pine into your holiday decorating.
*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.
A plant lover’s dream, it is a seasonal, plant centered quarterly digital + print magazine bringing you 50+ articles from 45+ contributors to incorporate herbs into your winter apothecary, kitchen, foraging and gardening, crafts, rituals, celebrations, and more.
* Blend vitamin C powder, steep cough elixirs + whip up oatmeal lotion
* Roast hyssop chicken, bake friendship bread + ferment pine needle soda
* Forage juniper, care for houseplants + consider windfall herbs
From November 25th – December 10th, receive the Botanical Anthology Winter edition digital download, plus our All About Turmeric + Herbal Cookie Tray Volume 2 + Herbal Advent Calendars booklets, for just $16.
As a thank you for being here with us, enjoy $1 off the publication with this code:
Take$1BAWinter24
Or head to Amazon to order the print version for $26 then email plantwondercollective@gmail.com with proof of purchase so we know to send you the booklets! We also offer bulk pricing on print orders through our website to save you a bit of moolah.
Give the gift of plants this holiday season. Botanical Anthology is perfect for the budding herbalist, natural health enthusiast, (urban) homesteader, and nature lover in your life. Feel good knowing you are directly supporting a small business and each contributor of this independently published magazine.
Come mid December, the booklets will no longer be included, and the price will increase.
Let us be your guide to work with plants as you journey through the winter season!
Samhain is one of the most widely-known sabbats, as it is so closely tied up in Halloween. However, the roots of this celebration run a bit deeper. The last harvest festival, Samhain marks a time when the veil between worlds thins and spirits are closer at hand, so death and remembrance are at the forefront. The death of the earth as winter approaches is also represented with this day. Shadow work, ancestor remembrance and communion, and protection are all important at this time.
A really special way I love to celebrate Samhain is to brew up a batch of Samhain Tea to take along trick-or-treating in thermoses. It’s such a simple but special ritual! If you don’t go trick-or-treating, you could take the tea along on a spooky hike, sip while you cozy up around a fire telling scary stories, or while you spend this day / night in some other way: a warm cup of Samhain Tea can bolster your courage and help ground you.
This Samhain tea blend features seasonally appropriate and healthy rose hips, mugwort for dreams, rosemary for remembrance, calendula to honor the departed, cacao for sacredness and offering, and allspice for luck and prosperity.
To make a single cup of tea, add 1-2 tablespoons to a tea strainer, eco-friendly tea bag, or French press. Pour 1 to 1 1⁄2 cups hot water over the tea and steep for 4-5 minutes. Add honey or other sweetener, if desired.
For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.
*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books by J.R.R. Tolkien have been my very favorite books since I first read them as a teenager, and I have always felt a very strong connection to hobbits: simple folk who prefer the comforts of home, well-stocked larders and bookshelves, and the joy of silly fun with family and friends, yet who can be prevailed upon to draw deeply from a well of courage and wit to save the world on occasion. If any fictional folk represents me, it’s the hobbit-folk.
So the publication anniversary of The Hobbit (my birthday, 9/21) and the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins (9/22) alongside the beginning of fall are all something I like to mark wrapped up into one special span of a couple days. I might read bits of The Hobbit to my own halflings, or we might watch the 1970s Rankin Bass animated film of The Hobbit (wonderfully nostalgic and kid friendly).
We may enjoy a hobbit-y teatime, too, with fresh baked goods and hobbit-inspired tea from the recipe I created. It combines smoky lapsang souchong tea for that famous pipe-leaf all hobbits love, hops to represent the tankards of ale they heartily imbibe, reishi mushrooms foraged right from the woods surrounding the shire, and other flavorful herbs and spices.
To make a single cup of tea, add 1 tablespoon to a tea strainer, eco- friendly tea bag, or French press. Pour 1 to 1 1⁄2 cups hot water over the tea and steep for 5 minutes. Add honey or other sweetener, if desired.
For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.
*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.
The Herbology Faerie 