#herboftheyear

[herbanwytch]

The first of the spring violets ! A few beautiful things seen on this mornings walk through my neighborhood. Outrageous! So happy that spring seems to finally be here! #violets #herboftheyear #spring #springflowers #aprilshowers #flowers #april (at The Herban Inn) https://www.instagram.com/p/CcDM6zXrZzk/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[herbanwytch]

The #brambles are rambling ....there will be a great crop of berries this year! #herboftheyear #blackberries #orchard #homeorchard #growyourown #blessed #thankyou #gratitude #rubus #brambles (at The Herban Inn) https://www.instagram.com/p/CB4RUu0par_/?igshid=1quhbf0mhio33

[essentialherbal]

Messy gardens are fun and unpredictable. Last year there was a single anise hyssop standing against the rogue monarda. Realizing she was Herb of the Year, she pulled out all the stops and reseeded like a maniac. #herbal #herboftheyear #anisehyssop #monarda #herbs #healingherbs #thepowerofherbs #gardens #herbgarden https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw9z3nUl3aO/?igshid=ksciv6xhpcx4

[herbanwytch]

So tonight at dinner my “ dad” , who grows everything that goes on his table handed me this little bowl. “Guess what these are”. I bit into them and knew immediately that they were green coriander, the unripened seeds of the cilantro plant! 🌿🌱🌿He said that a local chef had called them “ cilantro berries”! To make a long story short... they were absolutely delicious sprinkled on the chili that I enjoyed tonight. Cilantro is this years Herb of the year, but I never knew about this use of the seeds. Try them.. you’ll love them! #herbsocietyofamerica #herbalism #herbalacademy #cilantro #coriander #cilantroberries #herboftheyear (at Damariscotta, Maine)

[bluecalendularoom]

herbalists are coming out of the woodwork all over the place proclaiming that ARTEMISIA is the herb of 2014. Artemisia, is a genus that contains MANY species, including the celebrated wormwood, sagebrush & mugwort. when i saw the big news, i was surprised and excited because mugwort was one of my first real herbal loves. a farmer friend brought me a sprig at the coffee shop where i was working and told me i could eat, smoke or put the herb under my pillow for a more vivid experience dreaming. until then, i had seen mugwort only as a weed that grew in masses in many of the vacant lots around my house in kensington. i became well aquatinted with mugwort after that day and have allowed a patch to flourish in my garden every year since, always keeping a few branches hanging close to my bed. +++ i was filling in a few, mildly interested, friends on the surprising herb of the year this past weekend on the way to a party. one friend stopped me and was like, "why don't you choose your own herb of the day?"  TOTAL EPIPHANY (thank you kate illes)

so, from now until the trees buds begin to burst open with fragrant flowers and the hellebores push out of the still-cold-earth -- i will be posting an herb of the day, everyday. i will be drawing from my apothecary, alphabetically through the dried herbs and essentials oils and then more randomly through extracting mediums and experiments. this endeavor should keep me and whoever is reading my HOTD excited about plants and their healing abilities through the last gray coughs of winter until the earth warms up and becomes tangibly healing and comforting once again.