by Helen
8 February 2012 21:31
These buckthorn bars have a fruity, tangy taste. It's thanks to the apples, raisin and apricots in them. Plus, of course, powdered sea buckthorn berries. Great when you need an extra hit of Vitamin C. And making them is easy – simply assemble the ingredients then blitz in a blender. Then add h... [More]
Tags: buckthorn, sea buckthorn, apple, raisin, apricots, organic, coeliac-friendly, wheat flour, pumpkin seeds, honey, recipe, fruit, herb, herbal, vitamin C, herbal remedy, herbs, herbology, seeds
by Helen
13 January 2012 22:57
After drinking coltsfoot tea to help a cough, I could have guessed it would be on the list of herbs used to make cough mixture. About the only one I could have predicted. The rest came as a surprise.
Fellow student Jill hard at work on a herbal cough mixture
We started by inspecting what looke... [More]
Tags: elecampane, herbal remedy, herb, herbal, mallow, balm of gilead, cough mixture, herbal cough mixture, pleurisy oot, marshmallow, mullein, candlewort, verbascum thapsus, asclepias tuberosa, lobelia, lobelia inflata, schedule three, liquorice, Glycyrrhiza glabra, anti-tussive, respiratory tract ailments, Iceland Moss, Cetraria islandica, lichen, Hyssop, Hyssopus officinalis, white horehound, Marrubium vulgare, Potters' cough remedies, elecampanse, Inula helenium
by Helen
24 November 2011 12:19
Finished product: naturally dyed yarns
The first indication that we were in for extreme plant use came with an email from our tutor Catherine instructing us to bring onion skins into this week’s Herbology class. Onion skins? Yes, really. Onion skins. Let’s just say that Lab Room Two had a pungent whiff of Allium cepa by early... [More]
by Helen
13 November 2011 21:44
We have each of us now got a plot where we will grow (or, in my case, attempt to grow) our own healing herbs. The space is roughly the size of a double bed. Mine is a corner plot that I helped clear a couple of weeks ago. Next to an organic compost heap - could be good, could be bad, I'm not yet sur... [More]
Tags: physic garden, herbology, herb, spice, herbal, herbarium, infusion, elecampane, dill, mallow, yarrow, milk thistle, sweet pea, seeds, seedlings, medicinal, compost, organic, diploma, herbal remedy, fruit, vegetable, elderflower
by Helen
30 October 2011 10:09
Up until three days ago, I didn't even know of the existence of the 17th century physic garden on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile known as Dunbar's Close. Shame on me! But then, on Thursday, I made what Winne the Pooh might call an 'expotition' to explore Edinburgh's best-kept horticultural secret.
... [More]
Tags: herbs, herbology, Dunbar's Close, rue, parterre, physic garden, hedge, plants, tulip tree, plane tree, butcher's broom, yew tree, honeysuckle, fig, winter jasmine, medlar, Holyrood Palace, elderflower, hawthorn, quince, liverwort, doctrine of signatures, southernwood, old lavender
by Helen
13 October 2011 22:16
As part of our Diploma in Herbology, we go out on forays wild-gathering herbs. On Tuesday afternoon, Catherine Conway-Payne, our tutor, escorted the seven of us students to the beaches of East Lothian, outside Edinburgh. Our mission: identify and retrieve buckthorn berries. [More]