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People everywhere are hungry for clear, practical, scientifically-validated information about how to make safe and simple use of herbs in their day to day lives. I too was once hungry for this kind of information. I discovered that working (and playing) with herbs did not need to be complex and confusing. It could be sheer pleasure. For me it was like walking down a path where a wonderful surprise is revealed at every turn. |
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Some of the most powerful message carriers are the essential oils of plants the distilled essences of leaves, fruits, flowers, bark and roots. They are brimming with structural information the complex energies of life itself.
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BOWLS OF SUMMER I fill my home with bowls of potpourri in winter. It is an offering I make to my house to remind it of the colors and smells of the summer and a promise that it will come again. Many shop-bought potpourris smell sickly. Many are highly unnatural full of artificially colored petals, leaves and shavings and unpleasant phony smells. I much prefer the homemade variety full of herbs, leaves and flowers picked fresh and dried naturally. These summer gleanings make wonderful potpourri gifts given in glass jars tied with ribbon, placed in a bowl you buy for pennies at a jumble sale, or wrapped in a simple piece of muslin. |
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BOWLS OF SCENT If I don’t have any potpourri and want to make a scented bowl for a room, perhaps for an unexpected guest, I tend to use whatever comes to hand. One of my favorites is to fill a small white bowl with dried white beans which are so beautiful to look at. Then I simply add a few drops of essential oil and mix it in. You can use dried beans, grains, lentils, even pebbles or small wooden balls, to change the look and smell of your bowl quickly and inexpensively as often as you like. |
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The classic definition of a herb is a non-woody plant which dies down to its roots each winter. This definition is far too limiting. It was probably made up by 19th Century European botanists who had never seen the rainforest in which, of course there is no winter to die back in. Neither had they ever heard of woody trees and shrubs such as hawthorn and ginko and elder which are some of the best selling herbs on the market these days. I define a herb as a medicinal plant. It can come from any climate and be a leaf, a bark, a flower or a root. It can be home-grown or wild, a weed, a spice, a plant which is used for its healing or culinary or beautifying properties. Once you discover the power of herbs it is easy to become so enthusiastic about them you go overboard trying to use them for everything. It is not wise to take lots of different plants all at the same time. Or you might start to think that since a small amount of something is good for you, taking twice or three times that amount will be even better. It isn’t. If you want safe and sane herbal help here are a few guidelines to follow:
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