Another super plant

When I grew up, this was known as elephant’s food. Now it is helping to save our Earth. Portulacaria afra is a carbon sponge, which can absorb between 4 to 10 tonnes of carbon per…

The Mighty Oak and Mitochondria

All my years of being a medical herbalist, I have looked for an English adaptogenic. This is a class of herbs which helps us to adapt to the stresses of life, and usually they provide…

The mighty Baobab tree

In Tanzania, I was held in rapturous awe at these magnificent trees. Not only do they look splendid against the sunrise, but bees seem to love making wild nests on their branches. Elephants eat the…

My new book:

I am delighted to tell you that my new book, Secrets from a Herbalist’s Garden (Watkins Publishing) will be out on the 10th of May, and although you can pre-order online, if you wait a…

Why we kiss under the Mistletoe

Also known as All Heal, Mistletoe is one of the sacred herbs of the druids, perhaps because it lives in that liminal space between the sky and the earth. Even the (Viking) gods of Asgard…

Hail the humble Dandelion

Through all my years of practice, I have only known Dandelion leaf as a diuretic, a mineraliser and supporting a kidney cleanse, but now it has been revealed as an anti-viral too! This amazing little…

Sloe gin, Covid and Histamine

What have Sloes, Covid and allergies got in common? It is becoming clear that there is a link between the spike protein, and increases of histamine levels in people who may never have had such…

Blackberries, 3 things you may not know

Our hedgerows are thick with blackberries now, but the berries are heavily guarded by spiders. Careful not to disturb them, I’ve just picked a few handfuls for my annual treat of spiced blackberry and scrumped…

Hawthorn Honey

Hawthorn berries are abundant in the hedgerows at the moment. This is a very safe herb to harvest and use, but please do be absolutely sure that you are harvesting hawthorn and not Yew berries…

Nettle for arthritis:

Well, finally the rain stopped and I was able to get out into the hedgerows to collect some nettles. My gardening gloves had got soaked the day before, and I had put them on a…