Blog

The start of September 2025 brought our Anniversary Herb Walk. The first Cotswold Herb Centre herb walk took place on the first Saturday in September, 2024. Twelve months, and twelve herb walks on, we are… Read more: September Herb Walk

Gardens, fields and hedgerows always look a little straggly by late summer. Conditioned from an early age to start anew in September, we seek out freshness, bright sparks, inspiration. Among the yellowed grass and withered… Read more: Yarrow

Anyone who’s been on a herb walk with us will know how excited we get about worts! A ‘wort’ is simply an old term for a plant, typically a purposeful plant. At Cotswold Herb Centre… Read more: Wort of the Week

With the promise of fair weather and good views we headed to the top of Stinchcombe Hill for our August herb walk. A little stretch up from town, but people were able to join us… Read more: August Herb Walk

Lavender is one of the most quintessential plants in an english herb garden, and deployed way beyond the herb garden too for scented borders and in flower beds. Those with a lavender-lined path are lucky… Read more: Lavender

The limeflower season is so brief, no sooner have you sniffed the honey-sweet air and found your foraging bags, and the flowers have gone over. Lime flowers need to be gathered when newly open and… Read more: Linden Chocolate

Smell is critical to our appreciation of, and learning about, herbs. On initially encountering a new plant we may first look, but before we taste, we sniff. Nose blind The power of smell, and our… Read more: Who Smells Best?

Incredible sunshine and warmth this summer has brought everything on early. Blooms and fruits are racing ahead so we’re out of step with the old almanacs and typical timings for flowering, harvesting and seed collection.… Read more: July Herb Walk

Well, what a fun time that was! So lovely to see a constant stream of people popping into the Herbal Takeover throughout the day. There was a lovely buzz to the place as we pollinated… Read more: Herbs taken over

Our Herbal Takeover is just a couple of weeks away – Saturday 19th July. Whether you pop in for a few minutes, linger for a chat, stay longer for a workshop or join for the… Read more: Takeover Time

It’s time to choose which workshops you want to take part in. Herbs to help One of the reasons we get so excited by herbs is because there are so many things you can do… Read more: Herbal Workshops

Which herb best represents Dursley? It’s nearly time for the Herbal Takeover (Saturday 19th July), and as part of our full herbilicious day, we get to debate and decide on the best herb to represent… Read more: A Herb for Dursley

Limeflowers from the Linden Tree The name ‘lime’ evolved from Middle English word ‘lind’. Now commonly referred to as Lime trees, and valued for their limeflowers (actually the flower and bract gathered together), historical and… Read more: Limeflower

The recent fantastically sunny weather means plants are growing at pace, responding to the lengthier days, high sun and their own desire to flourish and reproduce. The lack of rain, however, has parched many places… Read more: June Herb Walk

A Herb Walk for Stroud District Council As part of the week long programme of events for Gloucestershire Biodiversity Week, Cotswold Herb Centre were invited to lead a Herb Walk at Ebley Mill, for Stroud… Read more: Gloucestershire Biodiversity Week

From guest blogger, Cllr Toby Stride Elderflowers are one of the culinary delights of the year. For a number of years I made elderflower champagne but there are lots of recipes for it. And it… Read more: Elderflower Recipes

We have been blessed with a fabulous start to May. While days of glorious sunshine are becoming a concern for water supplies, potentially stunting growth and yields from hay meadows, they have brought out the… Read more: May Herb Walk

One day only: Saturday July 19th 2025 Where? At ‘The Engine’, Silver Street, Dursley, GL11 4ND (opposite Wykes House) When? Open from 10am all day for drop in experiences, browsing and shopping. Workshops hourly, 11am,… Read more: Herbal Takeover

On May 8th we mark the anniversary of the day in 1945 when we celebrated the end of World War II. Eighty years on we cling to the peace this brought, hoping our homelands will… Read more: VE80

‘Cast not a clout, ‘til may is out’ is one of the best known country weather lore phrases, and one of the most contentious. A ‘clout’ is an item of clothing, so the recommendation is… Read more: Mayflower

It’s a while since we’ve had such a lovely start to April, the sun shone brightly on the old stone stile as we gathered to begin our monthly herb walk. This was to be a… Read more: April Herb Walk

It’s *that* season, our wake-up call from nature. Wind down the windows and take in the scent. Better still, put on your wellies and head out foraging. Here’s everything you need to know about Allium… Read more: Wild Garlic

“…it would be well if people knew how to make use of them. When the nettle is young, its leaf forms an excellent vegetable; when it matures, it has filaments and fibres like hemp and flax. Nettle fabric… Read more: Springing Nettle

Words by Dr Viv from Curiosity Research Spice up your life – research shows it is good for us. There is more and more research coming out showing that having herbs and spices in the… Read more: Spice up your life

In our little corner of the world we can be very in tune with the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes through watching the River Severn. The great swathe of water has a very ancient presence, it’s… Read more: Wave of interest

Our March herb walk took place on the first day of Meteorological Spring. Though the day started frosty, the sun soon made its presence known, so by the time we were sat having a post-walk… Read more: March Herb Walk

It seems a simple question: ‘What herbs should I grow?’ But, as with many things, the answer is ‘it depends’. A little more helpfully, we can give you a few pointers to decide which herbs… Read more: Herb growing beginners guide

As soon as you see the first fresh dandelion leaves, its time to start making your spring tonic. Having spent winter eating the heavier, fattier soups and stews that our body needs to keep warm,… Read more: Spring tonics

Words by Angela Jones I never have much luck growing Parsley from seed, out of a full packet only a few will take, so this year I have decided to try Chervil as well to… Read more: Chervil

Words by Dr Viv from Curiosity Research It is nearing the time of year when we start planning our gardens, and what better moment to consider creating a herb garden. Many of the well-known Mediterranean… Read more: Thyme for coughs – research and remedies

The clusters of tubular flowers that make up the egg-shaped globes of clover heads (sometimes up to 3cm long) are an eye catching feature of meadows and hedgerows. Although we often wander by without stopping… Read more: Clover story

Our herb walks take place on the first Saturday of each month, right through the year. Though the winter walks may require more imagination and willingness to search for treasures, arguably, they’re the most important… Read more: February herb walk

With Valentines fast approaching, its time to show a little love with the herbs. Whether you’re brewing for two, or warming your own heart, you can create your own blend of herbs to get the… Read more: Blend your own Love Tea

Whether you know it as cleavers, clivers, goosegrass, sticky willy, organic sellotape, or the botanical name of Galium aparine, you will have come across this delicate yet robust plant scrambling through gardens and hedgerows. Magic… Read more: Cleavers

You probably wouldn’t expect to find many herbs braving the wild outdoors in January – especially given the freezing temperatures and snow we’ve had this weekend. But sometimes heading out with the lowest expectation can… Read more: January herb walk

Words by Angela Jones Let’s start at the very basic level and assume you have no garden, that you buy herbs from the supermarket as and when you need them, and you have a windowsill.… Read more: Storing Herbs

If you’re thinking of starting a herb garden, bay is a strong recommendation for inclusion. Although as a tree, with the potential to grow up to seven metres high in the UK (taller in Mediterranean… Read more: Bay

O the weather outside is frightful, but chai is quite delightful. When you’re looking to cosy up indoors, it’s worth taking a bit of time to brew yourself a warming, spicy chai. Not only will… Read more: Cosy chai

“Pines are to the evergreens what oaks are to the broadleaves: the most widespread, most varied and most valuable trees of their order.” Hugh Johnson It’s often been noted how nature provides just what you… Read more: Feeling Pine

As inherent mood-boosters, a gift of herbs is sure to bring a smile, and there are so many guises to gift them in. Here’s a selection of ideas for herby gifts available from local producers.… Read more: Herby Gift Guide

Every Christmas I wonder why we don’t have bread sauce at other times of the year. If you’re a ‘forget-the-turkey-but-give-me-the-trimmings’ kind of person, then bread sauce should be in your top five, along with stuffing,… Read more: Herby bread sauce

It was summer when we sat together in the garden discussing plans to start a monthly herb walk. ‘Should we continue through winter?’ someone asked, clearly aware that many of the medicinal plants and flowers… Read more: November Herb Walk

Nature journalling has become a popular trend, perhaps one of the positives to arise from time in lock down, or perhaps a response to our realisation of the need to have tangible memories, personal reflections… Read more: The Frampton Flora

In this season of remembrance, we’re taking a look at a herb that has become renowned with enhancing memory and cognitive ability: Ginkgo biloba, which you may also know as the Maidenhair tree. Ginkgo autumn… Read more: Is Ginkgo your Go-to for memory?

The Tree Team from Tree Maintenance Ltd guide us through the wonderful world of fungi: what they are, how they help, how we can help them, and what to look out for when foraging. Mycorrhizal… Read more: Foray into Fungi

Baked Spiced Apple Pudding Inspired by a traditional recipe from Mrs Charles Darwin’s Cookbook By peeling the apples they will collapse as they cook allowing their juices and flavour to spread into the surrounding batter.… Read more: Apple recipes

Nature’s Vitamin C A summer hedgerow covered with rambling rose is a delightful sight in June, but come back a couple of months later and find its equally delightful hips ready for gathering, prepping and… Read more: Rosehips

words by Angela Jones I have a friend who believes in quality over quantity when it comes to fashionable clothes so she was mortified to find that her only cashmere sweater had been got at… Read more: Herbs against moths

With a very wet start to September here in our corner of Gloucestershire, we were glad to have clear skies for our first-Saturday-of-the-month herb walk. The meeting point was the post box at Cam Tesco,… Read more: September Herb Walk

words by Angela Jones Comfrey has been used for medicinal purposes since the middle ages. It was known as the knit-bone herb, and an ointment made from the leaves is still used today for bruises… Read more: Let’s get Comfrey!

Visitors to this year’s Cam & Dursley Flower and Produce Show were invited to take part in the Mint Tea Challenge. They were offered two different mint teas and asked to decide which they favoured.… Read more: Mint Tea Challenge

Elder (Sambucus nigra) is treasure in the hedgerow. It’s said that you are lucky indeed if an elder choses to grow in your garden, especially if it is self-sown.  An elder tree would often be included… Read more: Elder: medicine cabinet of the hedgerows

We’ve heard of book clubs before, but Thyme to Read is a little bit different. We caught up with Laura from Cotswold Herb Centre to find out more.  What is Thyme to Read? Thyme to… Read more: Thyme to Read

Herb walks are perhaps best approached without expectation, you never quite know what you might find, or where the discussion might lead. Who goes on a herb walk? Herb walks attract people who are interested… Read more: What to expect on a Herb Walk

Cotswold Herb Centre is a community-led enterprise to promote the recognition, use and enjoyment of herbs. Based in Cam & Dursley we’re shining a light on the wealth of plants that naturally live in and… Read more: What is Cotswold Herb Centre?