Catnip, Nepeta cataria, is a perennial herb, a member of the mint family, and one of the friendliest plants around. Its soft, aromatic leaves give you an idea of its gentle, calming effect on the mind and body. The square stems are a dusky purple color and grow quickly and abundantly with lots of water and…
In the words of herbalist David Hoffman, “Skullcap is perhaps the most widely relevant nervine available to us in the materia medica.” This beautiful member of the mint family is native to North America and has a long history of use in this area. Herbalists today favor it as a powerful nervine, sedative, painkiller, and…
One of the first medicinal herbs many people encounter is German Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla syn. or Matricaria recutita). It is a ubiquitous tea herb with a history of use going back thousands of years, found on shelves of supermarkets and referenced in both Peter Rabbit and pop music. For such a well-known herb, however, in…
Passion Flower Passion Flower has been shown in small scale studies to Compare very well to Drug Therapy for Anxiety without gross side effects. By Tom Wolfe R.H (AHG) Tom is a Smile Herbalist and gardener for “PassionFlower Farms”, Smile Herb Shop’s Small Farm Business. ♦Note: R.H. means Tom is a Registered Herbalist with the…
Anxiety is a word that we hear quite a lot these days, and with good reason: there is plenty of it to go around! We use “anxious” to describe a whole range of feelings, from nervousness to paralyzing panic attacks, from back-to-school to global events. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines anxiety this way: Anxiety…
by Susan Wolfe and Tom Wolfe R.H. (AHG) are both Smile Herb Shop Herbalists What a 2024 world we live in … I cannot speak for you, but I certainly appreciate any herbal help in safely reducing anxiety and helping sleep. Let us begin with an Ashwagandha story from the history of Smile Herb Shop. Back…
In the words of herbalist David Hoffman, “Skullcap is perhaps the most widely relevant nervine available to us in the materia medica.” This beautiful member of the mint family is native to North America and has a long history of use in this area. Herbalists today favor it as a powerful nervine, sedative, painkiller, and…
Passion Flower’s fantastic beauty is a medicine in itself, but this lovely vine has much more to offer than its stunning, dramatic blooms. This time of year in the garden, Passion Flower vines are 4-5 inches tall with a few tiny leaves. But given time, sunlight, and water, they will climb as high as any…
Fall is traditionally a season of grief. It’s why we spend this time gathering with one another, enjoying good food and celebrating light as the days grow short. Lately, we’ve had many folks reaching out to us feeling more troubled than usual. And we’ve been discussing among ourselves some of our most comforting herbal remedies.…
Sleep. It’s such a basic and important part of life, we could fill volumes with all there is to say about it. The whys and wherefores behind sleep disorders are often highly individual and tied in to one’s own personal history. But for today, let’s keep it basic. This list of do’s and don’t’s applies…
