June 7, 2026

Happy Sunday!

When I first began learning herbalism nearly two decades ago, I was a "second-guesser." It was REALLY hard because I was never sure exactly what herb to use and then....how to go about choosing the right method of use. Would a steam be best? Or an herbal tea? Or should I make a tincture? And...how can I make a tincture FAST?

This is the place where many people get stuck.

You might already have quite a lot of herbs on hand. Perhaps you have jars of elderflower, yarrow, peppermint, oregano, calendula and others....

But do you wonder what to actually make? And which of your herbs would be best to use? Or to combine?

Perhaps you've read books. Or...maybe like so many others, you've tried to crowd-source help on social media (BAD idea by the way, for so many reasons I won't go into here). Perhaps you've watched videos on YouTube, and pinned the recipes from Pinterest.

But when someone wakes up with a fever or has an upset stomach or nausea, or you're asked by a friend if you can help with a complaint...Well, that's when the situation turns real.

This is the place where the head-spinning starts!

I know this because I went through it, and I see my new herbalism students go through this too. Which herb to use? What should I make with it/them? How much to use? Is it really safe? Should I just try to ask someone? And who on earth do I ask?

YIKES! 😳

Many people give up right here. This is when that choice, "I'll just go to the drugstore," happens. For those of us who truly prefer plant medicine, this can make us feel bad.

I think this is because we all know by now that God's medicinal plants that He in all His glory created for our food and medicine really do work. It's so frustrating because as a people, for thousands of years, we knew what to do. And then over the last few centuries with the rise of various political entities, that knowledge was either scared out of us, or it was forcibly removed.

So, just remember: It's not your fault. Or mine, or any of ours.

Still, there's a better way.

It's to seriously re-learn the skills that we used to collectively have! A skill is an investment, and best of all, it's an investment that can't be taken away. Herbalism is a skill, one that so many are now enjoying. But it does take time to learn....luckily, it's FUN!

🌿 I made two free gifts for you to help you begin.

1) I created a three-part video series called Becoming a Trusted Family Herbalist.

In these short videos, I'll walk you through the kind of thinking, questions, and confidence-building processes that help you move from "I have herbs and oils" to "I know the right questions to ask so I can make wise choices."

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2) Second, I'm inviting you to my updated apothecary training on the Five Best Herbs to Start Your Home Apothecary. I love this training because in it I share with you about five herbs that have MULTIPLE uses, and best of all, are easy to find (even in the grocery store), and also are easy to grow, even inside and/or on your balcony.

I'm doing three live sessions this week! Choose the one that's best for you. In fact, the FIRST ONE is this afternoon, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific time (5:00 p.m. Eastern time).

​I'd love to see you there. If you can't make it, YES, there's a replay for a few days, but you need to be registered to get the replay. AND...there's a FREE 29 page guide with all the information plus a whole lot more, including remedies to make.

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Lemon Balm Garden Tea

Here's a beautiful and easy herbal tea blend that's perfect for this early summer (if you're in the Northern hemisphere) or early fall day if you're down under! It's fresh, simple, and inspires joy as it invites you to sit outside and relax for a moment.

Ingredients:

2 parts dried lemon balm (freshly dried as possible is best)

1 part dried spearmint or peppermint

1 part dried oatstraw (or if you have them, milky oat tops, fresh)

1 part rose petals (organic or wild and unsprayed)

Directions:

Combine the dried herbs in a bowl. For a cup of herbal tea, use about a tablespoon of the blend in 8 to 12 ounces of just boiled water. Steep for about 20 minutes, and enjoy!

For a pitcher, use about 1/4 to a third of a cup per quart of water. Steep. Strain if using the loose herbs without an infuser.

Sweeten as desired and enjoy!

NOTE: For these herbs a longer steep will result in more bitterness, so a shorter one is best for flavor.

This is one of those uncomplicated yet delicious and still good-for-you blends! It's perfect for these days when our gardens are waking up, and so are we. It's nourishing, beautiful, and tasty.

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Encouragement and Inspiration

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." --- Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is how I felt when I started learning herbalism around 20 years ago. There was nothing online. The internet, as a matter of fact, was brand spanking new. But something, something inside of me kept whispering (for years), "There's a better way. There's a natural way. There's a God-given way."

You see, I was desperate to fix my health issues. I was very, very sick at my young age of mid- to late-thirties. I felt horrible, and I didn't like it. But I had recently learned of "herbalists" and "herbalism."

There were no herbalists in Las Vegas. I searched the Yellow Pages for herbalists and came up with absolutely nothing. I searched on the new "Google" online....nothing, except for "witchy" places. No thanks.

But then I was presented with one book in a feed store of all places. And then I finally found a snail mail course (homework by correspondence through USPS---yep it was that long ago).

The key is to pay attention to those mysterious nudges. I know mine are from the Holy Spirit. And I've learned to pay attention. These are going to be different for all of us.

These days, no matter the nudge, it's pretty easy to just follow a trail "already created" because of all the information we're blasted with constantly.

But do you know the nice thing about herbalism? Or really any other creative (or "nudged") endeavor?

It's that you can still follow a well-worn path and make your own forays off to the side. And then come back to the trail.

If you're bored walking the same old path, and if God has placed a yearning in your heart to do something different or to do some already established thing in a different way, then you just may become a trail-blazer for others!

Be willing to follow the murmurings of the Holy Spirit, and to perhaps jog off the beaten path. See where He leads you and be open to what He wants you to do, whatever that thing is.

Blazing your own trail can be scary, but it could also be filled with enormous rewards for yourself and for others that you never, ever could have imagined. That's what happened to me, with herbalism.

Be open to the unknown, and be enormously blessed!

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." --Joshua 1:9

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Well, have an absolutely lovely day! If you can make it to our first webinar training this afternoon or this week, that would be amazing!

And...if you'd rather watch a practical herbalism video series that's simple and easy and has three free downloads for you, then please do!

Hugs, Health, and Herbs,

Heidi

P.S. In full transparency, we're getting ready to open enrollment for the next group of family herbalist students into our programs this coming week. You'll be receiving a few extra notes this week so people don't miss out on the information. If you're not interested, please just ignore these. Or, if you're terribly annoyed, feel free to unsubscribe and you won't receive any more notes from me at all, ever.

P.P.S. If you have a friend who you think would benefit from learning herbalism, please forward this along!