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Now is the time to start a gentle spring cleanse as the ambient temperature rises and the spring energy is bursting forth. Harness this energy to get your body back into shape after the long winter. It's important to understand that our bodies detox quite happily...

At last, Spring is here - but what does it mean for us and how can it affect our bodies? More light! Longer days - time to emerge from the cave! Enjoy the outdoors as much as you can NOW is the time for a spring cleanse Time to look to the year ahead as it unfolds and...

Now that you've met all the elements (if you've missed any, look back over the weekly blogs since the start of the year!) and maybe you have an idea of the elements that you have a lot of, or that you might be a bit deficient in. Once you've got that worked out,...

Ether is the fifth element and in many traditions was thought to be too sacred to be spoken of. And now you know a deeper meaning to the film title 'The Fifth Element'! These days we probably know Ether best as being something like Chi or Qi. It is the spirit, the...

In the world around us, the element of Air is of course found in the air that we breathe, the atmosphere. The qualities of Air are that it is drying and moving. Each element changes in relationship to those around it. Air can be hot or cold depending on how active the...

In the world around us, the element of Fire is of course the sun. The qualities of Fire are that it brings warmth and light, and that it is transformative. Think of wood being turned to ash, or heat turning a pile of raw food into a hot plate of stew. Each element...

In the world around us, the element of Water is of course found in the rivers, the seas, the rain, and the dew on the grass. The qualities of Water are that it is fluid, cleansing, changing, and diluting. Each element changes in relationship to those around it. Water...

In the world around us, the Earth element is what we stand on! It manifests in all the structures around us - the planet itself, the structure of the trees, and the landscape around us. The qualities of Earth are that it is strong and stable, consistent, and...

One size does not fit all! We are complex beings and our bodies are not textbook replicas. We all have that one friend swears by black cohosh for flushes, but it does nothing for you. Or you swear by Rennies for heartburn but it does nothing for your colleague. Once...

It's true - going for changes in spring when the sap is rising, the nights are lighter, the temperature is warmer and the whole energy of nature is about movement and newness and change means that it is absolutely the best time to address big health changes, and...

It's around this time that I often start to feel a bit jaded with all the treats, the heavy food, and the endless sweets! So if you're anything like me, I'm popping up to help you put back a wee bit of balance. I'm not particularly sweet-toothed, though don't get me...

Boxing day is here and with it come the in-between days - where we're never quite sure what day it is and appropriate eating goes out of the window. I hope that you are deeply relaxing at this time. For those of us who are lucky enough to be able to take time off,...

It's Winter Solstice - the darkest time of the year. A bit like the arrival of the longest day in what feels like still early summer, the Winter Solstice often takes me by surprise at how early it seems to arrive. From this point on, the days, in the Northern...

One of the most iconic herbs of the festive season, mistletoe is as infamous as the holly that it often accompanies in decorations at this time of year. Herbalists use the leaves and twigs both as a tincture and as a tea to relax the nerves and reduce blood pressure....

In the winter there is less light - less time in the day, less time outdoors. Cave time is here! Here are some of the things you can do: Get as much light as possible - outdoors when you can Vitamin D - sunshine vitamin Vitamin C - especially in case of less fresh...

What type are you? Knowing your constitutional type is the key to understanding why some situations affect you but not others, why some seasons are more difficult for you, and the ways in which your body is likely to get ill. Knowing how you tick means you can be...

Now that winter is edging closer and the harvest season is done, it's finally coming to cave time. This is a time of year when we spend more time indoors, probably seeing our neighbours less as we run from house to car and back again (in the dark!). So, this is a time...

Familiar to all of us as a culinary herb, thyme is an extremely useful herb to have around for your kitchen medicine cabinet. High in essential oils, it is strongly antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic, and even antibacterial so it can help kill germs both in our...

Turmeric Turmeric has been written about so often recently in the media that I think we're losing sight of what a great job this culinary herb actually does. Curcumin, the key active ingredient in turmeric, inhibits the compounds involved in the inflammatory response....

Stress, night shifts, and aging all take their toll on our body clock - particularly in relation to sleep. But of course, there are things we can do to help ourselves. Go outside immediately upon waking. Sunlight signals to your body that it’s time to start the day...

Cardamom is in the ginger family and is widely used in Asian and Arabic cultures to flavour meals and drinks.  It is traditionally used in herbal medicine as a warming digestive for people who struggle to break down their food due to low stomach acid, but conversely,...

An apple a day keeps the doctor away - so goes the old saying and it's not far wrong! We all know that food is our medicine and the basis for good health is always a good diet with a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs before we even get to using herbs as...

Not only do roses provide us with some of the most important flower medicine in the pharmacopoeia, come autumn they are also waiting to support our immune systems too. In my school, these rose hips, formed after the petals of the flower have fallen, were known as...

Lycopus - not a herb you are likely to be familiar with but one that I really can't do without in my herbal dispensary. Used to treat hyperthyroidism alongside other herbs (and under supervision) this herb is excellent at keeping thyroid function balanced and stopping...

This is my current favourite view in the garden. This late, dark pink and yellow honeysuckle with those dark, juicy elderberries intertwined. These are some of the last colours that we'll see in the garden before it's all about the autumn leaves and on one hand, I'm...

Lawn daisies - summer days, daisy chains, and childhood. I'm not sure there's any flower more associated with the British summertime. Most people don't realise that the humble daisy is a herbal medicine too. While the nation spends a fortune on an array of arnica...

Red clover, Trifolium pratense, is a really common side in meadows and grasslands in the summertime in the nothern hemisphere. The bees love it and can often be seen buzzing around, feeding on the delicious nectar. My son and I love to stop and pick out the petals,...

Catmint - that beautiful purply blue that I love so much, here shown in my garden against a background of Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris) that I spoke about in an earlier post. Catmint's Latin name is Nepeta cataria and it is, indeed, beloved of cats, proven by my...

Meet Motherwort - Leonurus cardiaca, or Heart of the Lion. She is a tenacious plant, often a bit thuggish in the herb garden and she can easily take over an area with little regard for what else wants to grow there. She stands incredibly erect and tall, she has stems...

Is there anything more glorious than seeing Angelica archangelica in full bloom? Globes within globes, standing tall and proud against a blue summer sky. It takes my breath away every time. It also takes her two years to get to this point, only flowering in her second...

This little beauty is feverfew - Tanacetum parthenium which has long been used by herbalists to help people with migraines. It may look pretty and dainty, but this little flower packs a bitter punch! And that, in truth, is where a lot of its medicine lies. We often...

Skullcap herb - I love its pretty blue and white flowers and I use literally gallons of this herb in practice. It is such a wonderful nervine for people who have been under stress for some time but, here is the secret power of this plant, it is particularly good for...

This beauty is Alchemilla Vulgaris or Lady's Mantle and many people have it growing in their gardens (or the useable Alchemilla Mollis variety) without knowing its amazing reputation as a medicinal herb, or its fame with the alchemists of old. If you look closely on a...

Have you ever thought about medicine being beautiful? I think about it all the time when I'm making medicine from these gorgeous plants. From the moment of planting out either a small plant, sometimes bought, often gifted, or checking daily in my seed tray, I'm...

Wild roses - what's not to love? My heart always lifts when I see their pale pinkness swaying gently in the summer breeze. They are almost too beautiful and delicate to be true. But don't be fooled by the daintiness of the plant - this is no flimsy botanical! Instead,...

Goose grass, cleavers, or sticky willy, however, you know this plant, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere you're likely to have played with it as a child and stuck it on an unsuspecting friend's (teacher's?) 😊back. Beloved by herbalists and children, this wonderful...

Muffin tops - we all hate them. Many of us have them. But why?! It’s all down to our adrenal glands. These two pyramid-shaped glands sit above your kidneys and pump out adrenaline, cortisol and other hormones that set the rhythm of your nervous system. Adrenaline...

It’s not just grass! If you’re a parent you’re likely looking ahead to the long summer holidays and wondering how to keep your kids amused. Being outside definitely helps and there are a huge number of benefits to getting involved with nature while you’re at it. With...

Hayfever season is in full swing and if you’re anything like the 13 million other UK sufferers, it will blight the long days of summer. From the tree pollen in the spring, to grass and flower pollen through the hottest days, the warmer weather is anything but welcome...

There is that saying that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. But as a herbalist, here’s my own version of how to improve your life with the use of herbs. 😊 Make your elevenses work for you! Instead of reaching for the same old tea or coffee try one of the herbal...

We all know it’s going to come eventually – but how come some friends sail through menopause without an issue, while others seem to suffer a myriad of symptoms? And what can we do if we’re one of the unlucky ones?  Well, plant medicine can go a long way to helping...

We may not always realise it but food and drink have an enormous impact on our sleeping patterns. Drinks containing caffeine should definitely be avoided late in the day because the energising effects can last for several hours. Remember that there is caffeine in some...

Recently a lot of women in my clinic have been feeling anxious about how quickly their diaries are filling back up again as life returns to normal. I wrote about this a few weeks ago and one woman contacted me to say – you keep talking about taking time out but I...

It may SEEM like the rest of the country is rushing to book a table in a beer garden, or can’t wait to have dinner in their favourite restaurant… but that’s still not what I’m hearing from a lot of my patients.  For many, the final lifting of restrictions, while...

Our skin is the biggest organ in our body and it is just right that we make sure to take care of it as much as possible. With the changing seasons, it is understandable that we experience different skin conditions like dryness. The pandemic also made us wash our hands...

Stress is something that we should not take for granted. There are many people who experience stress and they don’t even know it! A UK-wide stress survey found that almost three-quarters of adults felt so stressed they were overwhelmed or felt unable to cope in the...

How do you get enough energy to sustain yourself all day?  A huge number of my patients have low energy as part of their list of presenting complaints when they first see me. There are several ways to improve the situation, often they are trying to get more energy by...

Essentially, we have two nervous systems – fight, flight, freeze and rest, relax, digest, sleep, and have sex. We were built to live only 20% of the time in fight, flight, freeze, and the rest of the time enjoying other things. I don’t know ANYONE living that life...

Our immune systems have taken on whole new importance since the pandemic and herbs to boost immunity are now the most common question I get asked. It’s a good time to make sure your defences are still in tip-top condition particularly as we move away from covid...

For as long as there have been people on the planet they have been turning to herbs for help. There are records as far back as the ancient kingdoms of Mesopotamia and Babylon and as pain is one of the key symptoms we feel, a lot of our time has been spent trying to...

Do you know that you can do more with your fruit and veg? It may seem strange to us in these days of chemical power cleaners, but cleaning with fruit and veg has been a thing for a long time – and it’s making a come-back as we all look for more planet-friendly ways of...

Embracing Spring! There may still be rude interruptions from showers while I’m preparing my veg beds, but it doesn’t detract from the fact that spring has indeed sprung. And while the songbirds are merrily chirping in the early mornings and the lambs are gambolling...

Did you know that according to NHS data, over 20% of UK residents suffer from hay fever symptoms every year? That’s a whole lot of hankies. Hayfever can bring misery with a runny nose and streaming eyes, sneezing, coughing, itching, and generally feeling rubbish. Many...

Spring is almost upon us! Time to start thinking about easing ourselves into gently detoxing the winter stodge away. Your body will thank you for taking some time now to start feeding it vitamin and mineral-packed greens and moving it a bit more. At this time of year,...

One of our most familiar kitchen herbs, often associated with the evocative smell of a Sunday roast. Rosemary is often overlooked medicinally but it is a very important herbal remedy and has had official status in the pharmacopoeias of Europe for hundreds of years -...

It may not feel like it some days but the first spring buds are well on their way and greens are poking out under the trees on our local walk. Spring is coming. It is also this time of year that people struggle with most. That last gasp, when your resilience is worn...

Sleep is a big deal. It’s when our body repairs, rests, and recuperates. It’s how we rest (obviously) and deprived of sleep humans will survive less than if we are deprived of food. So it’s really concerning to know that around 16 million adults in the UK alone suffer...

It’s cold. Beautifully sunny outside, but cold. When I’m this cold all I can think about is my next cuppa. And therein lies the danger – one cuppa after another …

As I was taking this photograph of my autumn harvest, I suddenly realised just how much it sums up the way I strive for life to be and highlights a …

Autumn has very definitely set in, I know that because I now have cold ankles and am starting to wear boots. They will come off again sometime in spring… Also, …

I can’t really pretend that Fennel is a favourite of mine. I’m not all that keen on the aniseed taste – but once in a while, it’s a very handy …

Well, I’m not sure how it turned out where you are but on the West Coast of Scotland it was a wet summer for sure! So I was very pleasantly …

My roses all are crumblin’ My Passiflora’s junk My Marshmallow has lost it’s glow I feel like giving up… It was a good start, but summer has been a relative …

I just had to share this beautiful photograph of Angelica archangelica that I took recently. The structure of this plant never ceases to amaze and inspire me. Strong and sturdy, …

Yep, I get it. I have the same fight with it year in year out. Ground Elder… it sneaks in under the wall, entwines in the neighbour’s fence, strangles the …

For most of us, it’s just an ordinary Tuesday. For our ancestors this was one of the most anticipated festivals of the year. Beltane or May Day as it was …

Preparing the veg beds may well have been rudely interrupted by a shower of hail, yes, HAIL at the weekend. But that still doesn’t detract from the fact that spring …