May 24, 2026

Memorial Day in America has become the unofficial beginning of summer. It's the end of the school year, and families are planning grand vacations...or at least things to do with the family for the summer months.

There are gardens to tend, grills to light, family gatherings to enjoy, long weekends to rest into, outdoor projects to get done, and even a little extra time outside with bare feet in the grass. I love all of those things.

But Memorial Day is also a day of remembering.

It’s a day to pause and honor the men and women who gave their lives in service to this country. These were real people with families, real dreams, stories, and sacrifices. And when I stop and think about that, even for just a few minutes, it feels quite different from just “a long weekend.”

Military service is woven pretty deeply into my own family story. I'm a mother of three military men. All three of my sons have served in some way, and so did my father.

My middle son is a decorated Green Beret who has served in many, many hard places and saved lives. My youngest son graduated from West Point Military Academy. My oldest spent time in the National Guard. And my father served in the Army, where he led troops and eventually used that opportunity to go to college and build a wonderful career in education, rising to the highest levels of service there, too.

I am beyond grateful that nobody passed away in our family from wartimes, but I understand the sacrifice given by those who did. And I also honor and value the sacrifice and time it takes to go through the hard military things to serve our country in the ways my sons and father have. I can't imagine some of the things they've seen and experienced.

I think about mothers and wives, fathers and sons, daughters and brothers and sisters, and all the families who have carried sacrifices most of us can only imagine.

And I feel so very grateful. If you have served or are serving our country, thank you from the bottom of my heart.....

I feel grateful for my life, and I feel so very grateful to be able to live here in America. I know we have our many political issues and problems. BUT...we also have access to things others in the world don't have. And even if we're not wealthy, we enjoy many simple things in our freedoms here.

The freedom to walk outside and gather a handful of herbs is not a small thing. The freedom to care for our families in the ways we believe are right is not a small thing. Having health choices and options for how we want to care for ourselves is a wonderful freedom to enjoy.

The freedoms to learn, grow, worship, speak, teach, question, build, plant, preserve, and prepare are not small things. Even the freedom to make a cup of tea in our kitchens and sit quietly for a few minutes is a blessing.

These ordinary things are not really ordinary at all. They are part of the life we’ve been given, and I don’t want to waste or ignore them.

This weekend, maybe you’ll be outside working in the garden like I'm doing. I've been busy for the last two weeks planting hundreds of medicinal herbs...and a few vegetables.

More rosemary, thyme, and basil...the ordinary culinary and medicinals. And also what feels like a literal ton of more "hardcore" medicinal plants like valerian, hyssop (the official medicinal), poppies, hops, Oregon grape root, and many, many more; plus tending to the medicinal trees we planted last summer (over 100 of them).

My goal is to create a working apothecary and teaching garden for herbalism and aromatherapy. Most of these plants are perennials, so they'll become like family to me as I tend them over time.

Simple or not, these plants remind me that healing should begin practically, right where we are. And they can help us not only with our physical health, but also our emotional and mental wellness too.

A cup of tea, a warm bath, a salve rubbed into tired hands, a few drops of lavender in the diffuser after a long day, or a sprig of rosemary tucked into a jar on the windowsill won’t fix the sorrows of the world. They won’t erase grief or undo sacrifice or answer every hard question that pops into our head.

But they do help us tend what is right in front of us.

They help us care for the living.

We can steward our health and plant beauty. We can teach our children and....remember to remember.

This weekend, as you go about whatever this Memorial Day holds for you, I hope you take a little moment to remember. Step outside if you can. Put your hand on a plant you love. Breathe in the scent of rosemary, lavender, pine, mint, or whatever is growing near you (and this is a form of aromatherapy too!).

Say a prayer of thanks for all the families who gave more than most of us can imagine.

Simple Ideas for Memorial Day

🌿 Plant rosemary near your kitchen door if you have a place for it. Rosemary has long been associated with remembrance, and it’s also one of the most useful kitchen and wellness herbs we can grow.

🌿 Make the herbal tea blend I'm sharing with you below and just enjoy a moment.

🌿 Diffuse something grounding and peaceful, such as cedarwood, frankincense, lavender, pine, black spruce, sweet orange, or a combination. (All of these go well together.)

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Herbal Remembrance Tea Blend

The herbs in the blend below are simple and easy to find. Although these aren't heavily medicinal, they are all supportive of the nervous system and rosemary specifically, is helpful for cognitive health.

Ingredients:

2 parts lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)

1 part rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis syn. Salvia rosmarinus)

1 part spearmint or peppermint (Mentha spp)

1 part rose petals (Rosa spp)

1/2 part orange peel (Citrus sinensis)

Directions:

Mix the dried herbs together in a bowl.

To make your tea, use 2 tsp of the herbs and pour just boiled water over the top. I like using a 10 ounce mug, but you can adjust for what you have. If you like honey, sweeten to taste!

This blend tastes a little minty with the herbaceous and lemony tones of rosemary and lemon balm. It's a peaceful blend. Enjoy!

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​Be sure to save your seat if you haven't seen this herbal apothecary workshop training before! It comes with a 29 page guide about all the herbs too!

NOTE: This is a webinar event, and there will be a replay if you can't make it live. I like to let you know this because the only way you can see it is if you register. Please forward to a friend who might like to learn about these five amazing (and easy to find and grow) herbs and how to use them medicinally!

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Things You May Enjoy

Article: Is Wild Lettuce (Opium Lettuce) the Same as Opium Poppy (Breadseed Poppy)?​

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Video: Cooling (Life Saving) Spray for Menopause Hot Flashes or Other Times of Heat!​

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Ask the Herbal Answer Lady Public Q&A on YouTube ​

Join me this Wednesday, May 27 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific; 11 Mountain; noon Central; and 1:00 pm Eastern on my YouTube channel. I'll be live, answering questions! (It's free.)

If you have a question, just hit "reply" and I'll do my best to answer. If I can't answer or don't answer, the Confident Herbalist Tribe is a great place to be!

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🌸 Encouragement and Inspiration 🌸

"The only difference between a rut and a grave are the dimensions." --Ellen Glasgow

Change has to happen.

A student wrote in recently, and she was remembering back when Healing Harvest Homestead was smaller. She said she misses how it was back then. But then...students (tons of them who write in) tell us how much they love the community, the quirky medicine and gardening shares, and especially all the learning.

Here's something I used to tell my students when I taught upper elementary through middle school:

"If you're not growing, you're dying. If you're not helping, you're hurting." --Heidi Villegas

Change is never easy, and usually it's not welcomed either. But...it is necessary. And we can change for the good, or we can change for the better, at any time in our lives!

When we think back on our lives, most of us (I sure can) can think of times when changes were unplanned and terrible. And yet I survived AND I grew out of these times, too.

If we don't have change, and if we don't CHOOSE to make changes, then we easily settle into a rut. These ruts end up growing deeper and deeper and deeper until it literally feels impossible to dig our way out.

Personally, I don't want to settle into a rut that becomes my grave.

Here's my prayer for today:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Please help me to embrace change as You move me around and grow me into the person You want me to become. Especially as I age, and the time comes closer for us to meet in person, help me to stay steadfast, to embrace changing, to continue to improve my thinking, and to become the best I can be.

In Jesus' name,

Amen

No matter how old or young we are, let's embrace change!

"You are my strength, I watch for You; You, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely." --Psalm 59:9-10

Have the most beautiful day!

Hugs, Health, and Herbs,

Heidi

​P.S. Don't forget to register for the Five Best Herbs for Your Home Apothecary if you haven't seen it yet, or just want a review! It's free, and there will be a replay.

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