Lemon melissa – a calming herb in Summer
During the hot June week, I was sitting in my garden enjoying my lunch pondering on which herb to feature in this month’s blog. Starring me in the face was and still is the beautiful Lemon Melissa, a calming herb commonly known as Lemon Balm, or by Melissa officinalis, its Latin name. “Melissa” comes from […]
FENNEL – VEGETABLE AND HERB
Foeniculum vulgare is a member of the Apiaceae family. It is a warm, spicy sweet herb that has affinity to the liver, kidneys, spleen – the seat of the immune system as well as the stomach. The main actions are to regulate Qi or Chi (depending on your spelling). Qi is the seat of energy […]
ALERT – HERBS TO SUPPORT HAY FEVER SUFFERERS!
Walking around the Oxfordshire countryside last week, I couldn’t help notice the many fields of yellow at different stages of flowering. Of course, a very familiar sight at this time of year, not only in Oxfordshire, but across the country. Rape has many benefits to the farmer, firstly it controls blackgrass through stale seedbeds and […]
An honest friend – the stinging nettle
With the onset of spring comes one of our most common and prolific weeds, the stinging nettle. Many of us can relate to the nettle as mostly an unpleasant experience when inadvertently coming into contact and receiving a tingling, itching sensation to the skin for hours to come. Often the itching and tingling is joined […]
GIVE YOURSELF AND YOUR MARRIAGE THE GREATEST GIFT
Marriage is not just for one special day, your wedding day. It is for a lifetime. As Dr Joe Dispenza said, “In a marriage work on yourself instead of turning the relationship into work.” Why is it that so much planning and preparation go into one special day, with limited thought and preparation for making […]
NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS – SETTING YOURSELF UP TO SUCCEED
New year is a time of excitement for many as we embrace the new year coming in, letting go of the old year and whatever that encompassed. Let’s face it 2024 was a difficult year for most unless you happen to be a large corporation. Did you set some New Year resolutions, as you did last […]
Time to Spice up Your Christmas
Cinnamon* (Cinnamomum zeylanicum, cassia and several other species) is a well recognised spice, and one of the oldest spices. Cinnamon is one of the seasonings in “Five Spice Powder”, together with anise, star anise, cloves and fennel seeds. In the colder months, especially at Christmas, cinnamon is one of the many go-to herbs for bringing […]
Interoception – How we interpret and understand our body’s sensations
“Interoception” is not a new concept, it was already receiving attention over 10 years ago. However, with rising numbers of people suffering from mental health illnesses, often emotion and mood related is triggered by external factors that lead to internalising negative thoughts and feelings frequently to a point of “no control.” Consequently, “interoception” as a […]
Pumpkins – More Than a Lantern
Pumpkin belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family, genus Cucurbita and is grown primarily as a vegetable or ornamental plant. It is extensively grown throughout tropical and subtropical countries, with the most common types worldwide being Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata, and Cucurbita pepo. The name pumpkin comes from a Greek word ‘pepon’, meaning a large melon. Pumpkins come in different shapes […]
Elderberries – Nature’s Great Healers
Guest post by Naga Sanapally Elderberry or Sambucus nigra, the Latin name, is one of the most versatile herbs closely tied to human health and healing. The history of Elderberry dates all the way back to 400 BC, and Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine,” called the Elder tree his “medicine chest”, for it seemed to […]