Discovering Herbalism

Herbalism is not something I grew up with. When it came time to make me feel better, my mother’s cure-all’s came mostly from the grocery store; Bactine for wounds, Gatorade & Campbell’s soup for stomach flu, hot honey with lemon, peppermint candies, or salt water gargles for sore throats. Herbs, even in the culinary sense, were simply not a part of my childhood.

In my early teens we moved from the deep South to the Rocky Mountains. New surroundings presented me with several life changing discoveries, the first being simple ole

herbal tea.

Now I was raised Mormon and taught to avoid caffeinated drinks at all cost. Sweet tea is easily the most popular beverage throughout the South, and as a child i’d been teased quite often for not partaking in something as common as Kool Aid (the 2nd most popular beverage), so I had no fondness for anything with the name tea attached. The word it’s self was taboo in my home.

One day a new friend (a Mormon friend) offered me a cup of chamomile tea. I was nervous as first, this was treading on dangerous ground after all, but I was curious & I didn’t want to seem uptight, and she was Mormon after all, so gave it a go.

Holli meets her first herb ~ laaahhh!

It was like heaven in my mouth, warm & sweet & floral all at once. Maybe it was partially my rebellious streak, but I was hooked on tea from that first moment & haven’t stop drinking it since.

It was many moons before I had to courage to tell my mother about my new found love for herbal teas, but I’m proud to say that she now grows peppermint & keeps chamomile & ginger on hand for making her own teas. 😊

Gathering herbs has become a favorite pastime of mine. Lavender from my yard.

Next came essential oils. At the age of nineteen I rented a room from a Turkish woman. She introduced me to middle eastern cuisine, taught me a bit of belly dancing, and when i dreaded my hair she gave me lavender & patchouli for my dry itchy scalp. I also found that eucalyptus reminded me of Vick’s rub from my childhood. I didn’t understand it at the time, but a little more life changing herbal knowledge had been added to my belt.

My twenties were a time of learning & growth. I moved to Alaska, got married, had two babies, & we built a little home in the boreal forest. Having little ones & being far away from most amenities (ie grocery store remedies & hospitals) creates self reliance. I learned that peppermint tea took care of fevers & tummy aches & lavender oil soothed burns (lots of those when you heat with a wood stove). I bought a book on local plants which taught me how to make a liqueur from the high-bush cranberries & rosehips growing in my yard. This was packed with vitamin C and used to prevent & treat colds. I fell in love with learning how to use natural remedies to care for my babies.

My kids have inherited my love for tea 😊

Despite all I had learned, I lacked the herbal knowledge & confidence to fight my own illnesses. I’ve always had a shitty immune system, so anything that goes around catches me. I’d suffered from chronic ear infections as a child & it was somewhat of a tradition for me to come down with the flu for Thanksgiving. And New Years.

Then there’s strep throat; if anyone in town had it, I caught it too. Unfortunately my teas didn’t cut it & antibiotics didn’t work so well for me.  A ZPac + a 10 day supply of amoxicillin we’re standard issue every time I went to the doctor. Double antibiotics. My body was ravaged & I was sick more often than not.

Just after my 30th birthday I was diagnosed with uterine cancer. As strange as it may sound, I am incredibly grateful for the experience. Having to stare your own mortality in the face is like nothing else on Earth. It was time to say ‘Fuck this’. I was done with being sick.

My 30’s became my herbal awakening.

These days I spend most of my free time researching herbs, esp local ones, and I’ve turned my kitchen into a miniature apothecary. I’m always collecting plants & essential oils* for concocting some kind of salve or tincture for my family or friends, and when they work really well I sell them at markets.

My kids tease me because I swear soup, teas, & essential oils* can cure just about anything, but they know I’ve got the goods to take care of what ales them.

Fire Cider to cure what ales ya!

Excluding that first year, my 30’s have been amazing. I haven’t taken antibiotics in 8 years, opting for natural remedies instead & I feel healthier & have more energy than i’ve had since high school. I really need to hike more & get back into yoga, but no matter, I’m doing great.

One thing is for certain, the more I learn the more I realize I have yet to learn. There is simply so much amazing information available about using herbs to care for our bodies & souls. With my 40’s just around the corner I finally know what I want to be when I grow up, and you better believe that herbalism is a huge part of it.

*Ingesting essential oils is a highly controversial topic among American herbalist, but for me it was how I took control of my health. It was my beginning. I don’t recommend taking EO’s internally without doing research, and I recommend only using a brand you really trust to be pure. If the bottle doesn’t say it’s for internal use, it’s because it’s not.