|
This weekend I'm running an event near and dear to my heart, Herbstalk's Wintergreen Herbal Market. We are bringing together over 30 herbal and botanical-related vendors from across New England to kick off the holiday season and to celebrate "Shop Local Saturday." If you love plants, herbs, natural products, handmade items, good food and lovely people, this is the place to be! We'll also be hosting a handful of free educational herbal demos. Learn how to: make your own cocktail bitters, use plant-based dyes, choose herbs for times of stress, use essential oils, and make traditional herbal recipes for the winter months. Here are the details... The Wintergreen Herbal Market Saturday, November 28th from 11am to 5pm The Armory, 191 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA Learn more here I'll have several of my handmade products for sale, including the ever-popular root chai tea, comfrey salve, and rose empress elixir! Look for me at the Herbstalk table!  I hope you can join us for this wonderful, herb-filled event!   One of my favorite books is Judith Berger's Herbal Rituals. Her beautiful words take the reader through a full year of herbal collecting and concocting, and each chapter focuses on the seasonal aspects of each month. I love what she has to say about November...
"According to the Celtic calendar, November is the first lunar month and belongs to the birch tree, the tree of beginnings. I find it important that the beginning time is situated at a moment when nature has ceased any outward signs of growth and has plunged its vitality underground. From nature's rhythm I learn that beginnings extend their tethers from an invisible core or seed that germinates best in the ground of dormancy and otherworldly visions which accompanies this month. The dropping temperatures encourage our bodies to rest, to enter the realm of sleep, so that the unconscious can send us information for our growth through the messenger of our dreams...." - from Judith Berger's Herbal Rituals, November In honor of the birch tree of beginnings, and of this season of rest and dreaming, I created this tea blend. Drink it before bed and enter sleep with the intention of remembering your dreams the next day... 1/4 to 1/2 Tblsp. Birch twigs/bark (or birch leaves if you have them) 1/2 Tblsp. Valerian root 1 Tbsp. Mugwort leaves 1 Tblsp. Sage leaves 1 Tblsp. Rosemary leaves Blend together all the herbs. Steep one heaping spoonful of the tea in a cup of hot water, for at least 10 minutes. Strain out the herbs, light a candle, and sip quietly. This recipe will make enough for 4-5 servings. |
Flowerfolk Herbal Apothecary | Herbalist Steph Zabel | Boston, MA