It's currently that weird in-between time when winter is turning to spring, and seasonal transitions are a time when we are especially vulnerable to colds and flus, as any of you who have had a dreaded spring cold can attest too! Here in New England, the weather famously goes back and forth much faster than our body's can keep-up with, and a week of warm weather in March can easily be follow-up by a blizzard.

Prefers moist, well-drained, acidic soils. Often grows in pure stands in moist cool valleys and ravines. Also found in rocky outcrops and north-facing bluffs. Along with white pine, definitely the most common evergreen found in our local woods. Grows to about 2,400 ft elevation.

Bone broth is a staple in our home, and I'm always looking for new ways to incorporate it into my family's diet and get my clients excited about it! Hence the origination of this recipe. This stuff is nourishing, versatile, and makes everything taste better. And an added bonus is that this recipe is also gluten and dairy-free!

If you have a garden in New England, you probably have Evening Primrose (Oneothera biennsis) volunteering itself as a weed! Since this plant loves recently disturbed soils, gardens are one of their primary habitats, although Evening Primrose is a plant I would say I "cultivate" only in the very loosest sense of the word!

Fall is for kimchi-making in my house. The late summer/early fall abundance of vegetables available this time of year provides the perfect diversity to make an amazing fall ferment! A nice big batch made now will last well into winter, so it's also a way to extend the window of eating local.

The Dandelion Greens are back! Late Summer and Fall are kind of like a "second spring" here in the northeast.....and often all the wonderful plants that thrive in the spring make a comeback in the fall!

Late summer is elderberry season here in the northeast. This time of year herbalists and wild food enthusiasts alike take to the wet meadows and marshes where this wonderful shrub can most commonly be found.

On May 25th the manager at Blue Dragon Apothecary in Greenfield, MA, where I see clients, got in touch asking if I wanted to speak with a reporter who was writing an article about local apothecaries and herbalism in the Valley.

Lately it's been all Nettles all the time....Nettles in my breakfast, Nettles in my lunch, Nettles for dinner!...I've been making a take on the classic Irish Nettles Soup (recipe below!), which has quickly become become a favorite springtime dish in our home, and it's kid-approved!

This is one of our first wild edibles to emerge in the spring and I just love it. These spicy and somewhat bitter greens (they get more bitter as they get older) are great raw in a wild salad or make a delicious pesto when blended with olive oil and sea salt- recipe below!

As we head into maple syrup season, I just can’t resist giving a shout-out to my beloved maple sap! Read on to learn more about this beloved spring tonic…

Let's face it- Bone Broth is officially "in"! I honestly couldn't be happier that such a healthful and healing panacea is moving from the world of holistic and folk medicine into the mainstream, getting the attention it deserves.

Looking to get crafty this holiday season? Making your own salt or sugar body scrubs is so easy and will be a guaranteed hit. Or choose to just pamper yourself. Or both.

Fall is here and it's time to dig your roots! One of my favorite roots to work with this time of year is Yellow Dock (Rumex spp). We have two very common species of Dock here in New England, Rumex crispus and Rumex obtusifolius.

Whether we like it or not, fall is upon us. While the crisp and beautiful technicolor hues of fall are undeniable, it is also a time of huge transition, a time of mourning and of loss.

Many of us think about the wheel of the year in 4 parts- the 4 seasons. But in Chinese 5-Element Theory there are 5 seasons, each corresponding to a specific element.

It's been a beautiful, busy summer- too busy to blog much in-fact! Its been full of travel, harvesting & medicine-making, time with my daughters and family, swim-dates, and teaching.

It's that special time of year again when the Valley is awash with the scent of Wild Rose (Rosa Multiflora). Have you been lucky enough to catch it wafting on the wind like thick perfume?

Violet Oil is one of the first herbal infused oils I ever made...my first apprenticeship was with Tonya Lemos at Blazing Star Herb School dove deep into this herb.

Medicinal mushrooms are so abundant here in the Northeast, and Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) is definitely one of my favorites. Last weekend we were out on an early spring walk and I was so thrilled to find Chaga so close to home!