Here is a wonderful blog from John Handley, a naturalist and friend whose website will soon be a must-see: I marvel at the synanthropic ability of Ground-elder, a plant that is well suited to live together with us. Often on the outskirts of inhabited areas, it has...

Thank Heavens for this prickly but cheery plant!  It provides welcome colour to the countryside in an otherwise bleak and drab January.  On a sunny day, its little flowers can briefly transport me to a warmer climate with their sweet exotic coconut scent. Medicinally...

October’s herb is a beautiful giant plant: sweet-smelling and standing like a guardian angel in gardens across the world. Native to Syria, this plant has spread and naturalized in cooler countries such as Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France and occasionally Britain. It...

Try as I may, this pretty thistle has eluded me! It is our only thistle which has the milk white veins running along its dark green leaves. It is native to southwest Europe and introduced to Belgium, Holland, Denmark and the lowlands of Britain but as hard as I have...

On a rainy summer’s day, when I was a child, I was always glad to come across this mighty plant whilst out on my adventures in the countryside, as I would pick the largest leaf I could find and use it as an umbrella. Its huge size would completely shelter my entire...

St John’s Wort has naturalized in the UK and is widely found throughout Britain, Europe and Asia. It can be found on roadsides, banks, and hedges, open, dry places and prefers chalky soil. It flowers in summer to early autumn. This is one of the Herbalist’s great...

Found in Northern Temperate Zone, especially the British Isles. The flowers from this lime tree, also known as Linden flowers are collected in June for use as herbal medicine. I love the tea made with the fresh flowers, they have a wonderful delicate taste of honey...

My first encounter with this queen of Lilies was also one of my first memories. My grandmother, Alice was a keen gardener, a skill that was kindled during the harsh days of the war, and one that remained with her for her whole life. Her house in Arundel had a garden...

It is because of plants such as the noble stinging nettle that I have great pride in my art as a Western Medical Herbalist! The nettle is so common that it is taken for granted and even regarded as a pest to be cleared, destroyed and controlled. At best it is put on...

This month herb is little known to most people in England; although still native to the UK, it is found in the Northern latitudes and high mountains of Europe, Asia and America. In the British isles it is common in Scotland, on heaths and barren places in hilly...

February is the month to collect the rhizomes for couch grass.  Being a gardener I know this plant can be a real pest, difficult to clear and doesn't have much of a place in anyone’s garden! Being a Herbalist, I love it! I have a special place my garden where I let it...

This winter has been unusually mild so far and nature is confused, I have seen fields of Daffodils, Primroses in hedges and many other spring plants popping up in December! The Periwinkle is one plant that I am never surprised to see, its cheeky little blue face...

It has been a year since my first herbal blog last December and my herbal year has come full circle, once again celebrating the festive season.  This December I have chosen the noble pine tree of which there are many species.  The Pines, being evergreen trees are...

While scrunching through the dry colourful tapestry of autumn leaves in November, there are treasures to be found under the horse chestnut tree. I like to prize them from their spiny pods while they are still new to the day. These beautiful, shiny, rich ruddy brown...

With its flat toped mass of creamy-white delicately fragrant flowers which are followed by large, drooping, purplish-red, shiny, juicy and generously abundant berries. Elder is a familiar plant which plays a large part in the make up of the typical British...

September is the month of fruition and with so many medicinal fruits, nuts, berries and seeds to choose from this month, I was at a loss as to which one to use. So there I was, sitting at my desk looking out onto my garden and the beautiful Devon countryside thinking...

Lemon balm is not one of our most beautiful herbs to look at, but what it lacks in appearance it certainly makes up for with its most wonderful sent. Its refreshing, light lemony fragrance encapsulates the warm summer days in which it flourishes, it makes a most...

Meadowsweet also known as ‘Queen of the Meadow’ to me it means summer, its rich, sweet, heady fragrance takes me to warm summer days walking along country lanes and footpaths with the air carrying the lazy sounds of buzzing bees and insects. This plant is easily...