Category: Living with herbs
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Herb in a Vase – August
Feverfew As a lifelong migraine sufferer, I have a special place in my heart for feverfew, which I’ve found to be helpful in managing the condition. But even if I’d never had a migraine in my life, I’d still be head over heels in love with this pretty little herb! Feverfew, Tansy, Cow bitter, Golden…
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Herb in a vase – July
Mint If you’ve bought flowers from me at any time from April to September, your bouquet will probably have contained mint. It’s one of my favourite foliages! Why do I love mint so much? I think it’s because I can’t get enough of the scent. Whether pepper, lemon or spear, a lovely whiff of mentha…
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Gloucester Roses
One of the signs you’re a herbalist is if you notice interesting plants wherever you go; if you think a traffic jam is a chance to examine what’s growing in the verges you normally whizz past; if town visits mean looking down to spot green growth in the pavement crevices as much as looking up…
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Herb in a Vase – June
Creative ideas crafted and shared by our local florist, Sophia Mason. This month we’re displaying: Borage Blue is a tricky colour for florists. Customers love it, and rightly so, it’s one of my favourite colours too! But nature rarely provides a true blue flower, instead tending towards violet-y or mauve-y shades, so we often have…
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Herbal trip to London
by Dr Viv Rolfe On Wednesday 22nd April I was invited to speak at an event in London about Arnica montana – the tiny yellow flower in the daisy family that is one of nature’s miracles and contains compounds that relieve bruising, swelling and pain when applied topically. Arnica grows in the Alps and in…
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Understanding Herbs and Singing their Songs
By Dr Viv Rolfe In Robin Wall Kimmerer’s beautiful and amazing book “Braiding Sweetgrass” she talks of her indigenous culture and the deep wisdom held by her people regarding their caring for the nature and the environment. People lived in harmony with nature and the seasons, taking just enough but no more, being thankful for…
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Aphrodisiac Herbs
History has many tales of herbs being deployed to stimulate connection between lovers. While the warmth of sharing a pot of carefully brewed herbal tea is charming enough, it’s fascinating to hear about some of the herbs that have been deployed for their stimulating properties. We turn to Hilda Leyel as our guide for curious…
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Wellness Wisdom from Dr Viv
As we have passed the Winter solstice and are peeping into the lovely lighter days of Imbolc, I wonder what herbs are resonating with you? Teas for renewal As many people tend to have rested, feasted and recuperated over thewinter, the New Year could be where we want to focus in on better habits. Pine…
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Wort of the Week
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 we define herbs as ‘purposeful plants’ so its worts and all for us! In particular, though, we love the plants…
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Who Smells Best?
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 olfactory systems, have been appreciated much more since covid. The ability to detect and identify smell is one of the…