Sometimes, I have a pretty good idea what guests on the podcast are going to talk about. But going in to this conversation with Carin Fortin, I wasn’t sure what to expect - I knew very little about Carin and even less about her chosen herb, ashitaba (Angelica keiskei)! At first I thought this plant would be similar to angelica (Angelica archangelica) or even dong quai (Angelica sinensis).

But no! Ashitaba is an amazing herb with its own unique gifts.

It was fascinating to hear all that Carin had to say about this versatile, strengthening herb, and the connections she made among ashitaba, the different systems of the human body, and the workings of the earth. Carin also shared why it’s so important to build personal relationships with plants, along with some intriguing perspectives from biodynamic farming.

You’ll love Carin’s recipe for Ashitaba Honey with Rose, Burdock, and Light Root - a delicious example of how food can be our medicine! To download your beautifully illustrated recipe card for this herbal honey, check out the resource section below.

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► How ashitaba can be seen as a mirror of the human body, as well as the body of the earth

► Seven medicinal benefits of ashitaba - and why Carin sees it as a knight in shining armor!

► Why getting to know herbs is a lot like like getting to know people

► Five tips for growing ashitaba

► How biodynamics influences Carin’s approach to farming and herbalism

► and so much more…

For those of you who don’t know her, Carin Fortin—herb farmer, herbalist, and teacher— grew up in Switzerland and has been living in America for 25 years. She is a member of national and international Biodynamic Agriculture committees and is active in the Santa Cruz Anthroposophical Society branch. Together with her partner, Delmar McComb, she started and runs Blossom’s Biodynamic Farm in Aromas, California, where she grows and value-adds medicinal herbs from all over the world. She distills hydrosols, and makes skincare products as well as other health products. Blossom’s first line of California-grown remedy was a range of digestive bitters, picking up Carin’s family’s Swiss tradition.

I can’t wait to share our conversation with you today!

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

The secret to using herbs successfully begins with knowing who YOU are. Get started by taking my free Herbal Jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book

Where do your herbs really come from? What happens before they land in your tea cup, tincture bottle, or spice jar?

The journey from seed to shelf is full of twists and turns, and the choices we make as herbalists and consumers can shape that journey in meaningful ways.

In this episode, I’m talking with Ann Armbrecht, the author of Following the Herbal Harvest. Ann has spent years exploring the global herbal supply chain, and she’s sharing four essential questions to ask before buying herbs—questions that can help you make more informed, ethical, and high-quality choices.

And because Ann is wonderful, she’s also offering listeners a free excerpt of her book! You can find it in the resource section below. Honestly, I think this book should be required reading for everyone who loves herbs!

By the end of our conversation, you’ll know:

🌿 Why an organic certification isn’t a golden ticket—but why it still matters

🌿 How the choices of farmers, suppliers, and consumers are all connected in a web of well-being

🌿 A simple but powerful question to ask yourself before purchasing any herb

🌿 …and plenty more thoughtful insights that might just change the way you see your herbal allies.

For those of you who don’t know her, Ann Armbrecht, PhD, an anthropologist, is the director of the Sustainable Herbs Initiative. She is the author of Following the Herbal Harvest: A Search for the Healing Promise of Plant Medicines (previously published under the title, The Business of Botanicals: Exploring the Healing Promise of Plant Medicines in a Global Industry) that documents her journey following herbs from seed to shelf. She is also the co-producer of the documentary Numen: The Healing Power of Plants and the author of the award-winning ethnographic memoir Thin Places: A Pilgrimage Home, based on her research in Nepal. Ann was a 2017 Fulbright-Nehru Scholar documenting the supply chain of medicinal plants in India and she now lives with her family in central Vermont.

Grab a cozy cup of tea, settle in, and join us for this fascinating conversation!

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

The secret to using herbs successfully begins with knowing who YOU are. Get started by taking my free Herbal Jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients Into Foods & Remedies That Heal and co-author of the bestselling book

When Tim Scott’s book, Invasive Plant Medicine, came out in 2010, it was an instant favorite of mine. In fact, it still influences the way I view plants and the natural world! I was so delighted to finally have the chance to interview Tim, and our conversation touched on many important threads from the book – from the question “what is native” to some of the actual benefits of invasive plants, and so much more.

Tim also discussed a plant that inspires anger in many of the places it has taken hold: Japanese knotweed. Yet there is much to love about this much-maligned plant! Tim shared all about how he works with Japanese knotweed for both food and medicine – including his delicious recipe for Japanese Knotweed Pickles. You can download your beautifully illustrated recipe card from the resource section below.

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► Why labeling plants as “native” or “invasive” can be problematic

► Three ways that so-called invasive plants can actually often help to revitalize the land

► A surprising way that Japanese knotweed can be worked with to process stored anger

► What makes Japanese knotweed such a helpful ally for people with Lyme disease

► and so much more…

For those of you who don’t know him, Timothy Lee Scott is an herbalist, business owner, and author of Invasive Plant Medicine, which was the first book to outline the healing benefits of invasive plants and their ecological functions in the environment. He is owner of Green Dragon Botanicals, which provides herbal remedies for Lyme disease and other infectious and chronic illnesses, and has specialized in treating Lyme disease for over 20 years, after first apprenticing with the late Stephen Buhner. Tim is a tireless advocate for the plant world and using herbs as medicine, and constantly questions the status quo of the technologically-based, corporate health care system. He currently lives in southern Vermont.

I’m so excited to share our conversation with you today!

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

The secret to using herbs successfully begins with knowing who YOU are. Get started by taking my free Herbal Jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients Into Foods & Remedies That Heal and co-author of the bestselling book Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal...

I’m a big fan of behind-the-scenes stories – apparently, even, when it comes to my own podcast and school! While I might be the face of Herbs with Rosalee, it’s important to me that you know about the amazing team that works to support everything we do here.

In today’s episode, I had a delightful conversation with Emilie Thomas-Anderson, who serves as the project manager for this podcast. Emilie not only shared all about what goes into the podcast production from start to finish, but also discussed her love of black walnut and her family’s annual traditions around this amazing tree.

If you’ve ever worked with black walnuts right off the tree, you’ll know that their fresh hulls will stain everything they touch! Emilie turns that mess into magic with her Black Walnut Hull Watercolor Paint recipe. You can download the beautifully illustrated recipe card here: https://bit.ly/3CpweRt

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► What surprised Emilie when she went from being a student to being part of the team at Herbs with Rosalee

► The complex dance that goes into creating the podcast from start to finish

► Six tips for harvesting and processing black walnuts

► Three medicinal benefits of black walnut hull

► How building connections with the plants you work with makes all the effort of growing, harvesting, and making your own medicine so worthwhile

► and so much more…

For those of you who don’t know her, Emilie Thomas-Anderson has worked with plants and people in retail nurseries for over two decades. She is a former high school chemistry teacher with a lifelong passion for teaching. As a team member here at Herbs with Rosalee she enjoys answering student questions and supporting our broader herbal community. Emilie also manages the podcast production and nerds out on proofreading anything she can get her hands on.

Emilie lives in a small town nestled in a valley of the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. She is a home herbalist, a homeschooling mom, and a total plant nerd! If you ever need to find her, look in the garden for the barefoot woman with a hori hori sticking out of her back pocket and plant matter in her hair.

I’m thrilled to share our conversation with you today!

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We’re in the final hours of open enrollment for Rooted Medicine Circle! If you’re ready to cultivate a life rooted in nature connection, medicine making, and community, you can join us here.

Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

The secret to using herbs successfully begins with knowing who YOU are. Get started by taking my free Herbal Jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an...

Register for our free webinar, “Avoid Common Herbal Pitfalls So You Can Make Remedies That Heal,” by visiting http://www.herbalminicourse.com/.

In this webinar, my co-teacher Emily Han and I will be diving into the most common mistakes people make when working with herbs (as well as how to avoid them). You’ll also get access to our free Rooted Medicine Circle mini course when you register. But don’t delay, the webinar and mini course are only open for a short time!

For all the details about the free webinar and mini course, be sure to tune in to the whole episode!

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

The secret to using herbs successfully begins with knowing who YOU are. Get started by taking my free Herbal Jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients Into Foods & Remedies That Heal and co-author of the bestselling book Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine. She's a registered herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild and teaches many popular online courses. Read about how Rosalee went from having a terminal illness to being a bestselling author in her full story here.

Where are you in your herbal learning journey? Where would you like to go? What steps will you take to get there? These are all questions I’ve asked myself many times over the years, and reflecting upon the answers has helped to guide me to where I am today.

Last year, one of the answers that jumped out at me was: go back to herbal school! This may seem a little silly or strange – after all, I already have years of study behind me and even have my own herbal school. So why would I go back to school? Well, there are several reasons, and you’ll hear all about it in this week’s episode.

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► How I began my herbal learning journey, and some of the many teachers I’ve had along the way

► Why relying on just one source of learning is one of the worst things you can do as an herbalist

► How it can be helpful to “go back to the basics” on things you already know well

► How being a student can help you joyfully see things in new ways

► Why the real magic of herbalism lies in the connections we make and relationships we form

► and so much more…

I’m so excited to share about my continuing herbal journey with you today! I hope it sparks inspiration for your own path.

What steps will you take on your herbal path this year?

Are you ready to cultivate a life rooted in nature connection, medicine making, and community? Our course, Rooted Medicine Circle, enrolls soon. Click here to join the waitlist now!

Access the transcript for this episode:

https://www.herbalremediesadvice.org/podcast169.html

Connect With Us:

• On Instagram | @rosaleedelaforet
• On Facebook | Herbs with Rosalee
• On YouTube | Herbs with Rosalee
• Website | herbswithrosalee.com

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

The secret to using herbs successfully begins with knowing who YOU are. Get started by taking my free Herbal Jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book

Ashwagandha is one of the most revered herbs in the Ayurvedic tradition, and it’s easy to see why! This amazing herb can be a wonderful ally if you’re struggling with sleep issues, anxiety, and stress – and even if you’re not. It’s a wonderfully grounding and rejuvenative herb that, when taken at the right dose, can support your health in so many ways. (However, it is worth noting that ashwagandha can have some side effects and isn’t for everyone - so be sure to tune in to learn about whether it’s the right herb for you!)

I love to work with ashwagandha, and one of my favorite recipes for it is my Ashwagandha Date Treats. You can download a beautifully illustrated recipe card for these delicious treats here: https://bit.ly/4g2zIY9

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► How ashwagandha works to help improve your sleep and reduce anxiety

► Who can benefit from ashwagandha – and who should avoid taking this herb

► Why you can’t always rely on the recommended dosage on herbal products you buy at the store

► Five tips for growing and harvesting ashwagandha

► and so much more…

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

The secret to using herbs successfully begins with knowing who YOU are. Get started by taking my free Herbal Jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients Into Foods & Remedies That Heal and co-author of the bestselling book Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine. She's a registered herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild and teaches many popular online courses. Read about how Rosalee went from having a terminal illness to being a bestselling author in her full story here.

A few months ago, a listener emailed me to suggest I bring herbalist Lucy Jones on the podcast - and I’m so glad she did! I bought one of Lucy’s books and almost immediately filled it with notes and highlights, and I was delighted when she agreed to come on the show and talk about one of my favorite plants, marshmallow.

In this conversation, Lucy shared all about an amazing, often-overlooked way that she works with marshmallow – including how she literally used it to save someone’s leg! You can find a beautifully illustrated recipe card for Lucy’s Marshmallow Leaf Fomentation here: https://bit.ly/4izVc0S

Marshmallow is a lovely plant with so many gifts! Here are just a few ways you can work with it to benefit your health:

► As a soothing tea to cool inflammation in the gut

► Applied as a poultice to rashy, irritated skin

► As a cold infusion to ease dry coughs

Check out the entire episode to learn even more about marshmallow, including a fascinating historic use that can still be helpful in modern times!

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► Why it’s important to consider emotional factors to support physical healing

► How developing personal relationships with plants can help you be a better herbalist

► Six health issues that can benefit from marshmallow’s gifts

► Why Lucy often reaches for marshmallow leaf instead of its root

► Important considerations for taking marshmallow alongside pharmaceuticals

► and so much more…

For those of you who don’t know her, Lucy Jones is a medical herbalist with a busy high street practice, Myrobalan Clinic, in Somerset, UK. She grows or gathers the majority of the herbs that she works with and is a passionate proponent of self-sufficient herbalism. Prior to qualifying in western herbalism, she studied Tibetan Medicine with the great master Khenpo Troru Tsenam. This experience deeply influences her approach to therapeutic practice, as well as her relationship with the herbs that she works with. She originally trained in agriculture and forestry and has two degrees from the University of Oxford. Her books Self Sufficient Herbalism and A Working Herbal Dispensary are published by Aeon Books.

I’m excited to share our conversation with you today!

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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram!

The secret to using herbs successfully begins with knowing who YOU are. Get started by taking my free Herbal Jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter.

If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it!

On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book