The September 2010 issue of Herbal Roots is all about Wild Rose!

Herbal Roots is a beautiful monthly online zine created, written, illustrated and published by community herbalist Kristine Brown. Published on the last Monday of every month, this periodical is a wonderful ongoing inspiration and resource for anyone interested in medicinal plants.

Much more than a zine, Herbal Roots is really an ongoing herbal course for children and beyond. She features one herb per issue, highlighting medicinal potential, herbal lore, recipes, craft uses and beautiful hand drawn illustrations as well as lots of creative interaction focusing on the plant that’s fun for both parents and children. There’s even an ongoing herbal journal project to keep kids interacting and learning between issues! Kristine describes the zine in her own words:

If you are looking for a herbal course that is easy to understand and has the ability to teach children about herbs, look no further! Herbal Roots Zine is designed to raise the interest level of children and adults through hands-on learning and repetition. Homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers alike have found Herbal Roots Zine a valuable learning resource for a subject that does not have many opportunities available for children: herbal healing.

Every issue is dedicated to a single herb, and illustrated by Kristine's beautiful artwork.

The information included on each herb is simple and experiential enough to entertain even very young children and in-depth and insightful enough to engage teens and yes, even us old timers. Personally, I find Herbal Roots to be an invaluable treasure in the homeschooling of our 10 year old daughter, Rhiannon. Which gives me a great excuse to read it myself. Even beyond parents, Herbal Roots Zine provides a great resource to any educator or caregiver hoping to find effective and easy ways to facilitate connection between children, the earth and the healing herbs.

Herbalist Rosalee de la Foret of Methow Valley Herbs has this to say about Herbal Roots Zine:

If you haven’t checked out the Herbal Roots Zine then I highly recommend it. I use this monthly zine a lot with my young herbal apprentice Tova Rose. She loves the stories, songs and activities. I love being able to quickly create meaningful content for our weekly meetings.

Kristine’s mission is clearly one fueled by passion and love for working with both herbs and children. The work she puts into each and every issue is exceptional, especially considering that she’s also a mother (caring for 6 children), homesteader, business owner (with a full line of herbal products), student and practicing herbalist! She’s a busy and talented woman, investing herself fully in what she most cares about with a result that benefits us all.

Herbal Roots is only $6 per issue or $60 for a year long subscription, which means you get two issues for free. You can subscribe right here! You can also find information on her current issues, examples of past issues and her plans for future issues on her easily navigated Herbal Roots site.

Kristine Brown - Creator, Author, Illustrator & Publisher of the Herbal Roots Zine.

Kristine is also a Wild Rose level sponsor of the Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference, and a student in my advanced herbal program here at Anima Lifeways and Herbal School.

You can sign up for the Herbal Roots Newsletter AND subscribe to Herbal Roots Zine here: http://www.herbalrootszine.com

Learn more about Kristine’s herbal business, Luna Herb Co. here: http://lunaherbco.com/

And read her blog, Dancing in a Field of Tansy, right here: http://fieldoftansy.blogspot.com/

Traditions In Western Herbalism Conference
Final Updates

The TWHC is only a little over 2 weeks away now, and it’s great how much excitement we’re hearing expressed from people coming!  There’s some important news below for those of you already coming to this unique event, as well for anyone still considering it.
Time Running [...]

Our Traditions In Western Herbalism Conference, Sept. 17-19, is blessed to have not only 20 of the most respected and cutting-edge teachers of herbal medicine… but also two nights of live music featuring bands we know our registrants will love.  Perhaps the most energetic of these acts, Rising Appalachia, will be [...]

This is for the July Blog Party on Adventures in Herbalism, hosted by Darcey Blue of Gaia’s Gifts.

I’m all about the up close and personal.  I learn best through my senses and direct experience. This is perhaps more true in the way I practice herbalism and relationship with the plants than almost anything else. While [...]

Common Name: Virgin’s Bower, Traveler’s Joy, Love Vine, Lady’s Bower, Sugar Bowls, Devil’s Darning Needles, Pepper Vine, Leather Flower, Vasevine
Botanical Name: C. neomexican, C. chinensis, C. virginiana  and other related species.
Botanical Family: Ranunculaceae
Botanical Description: Generally semi-woody climbing vines with opposite leaves, trifoliate. Dioecious flowers with four sepals, no petals and numerous stamen. Achene fruits that [...]

Herbal Conformism and the Illusion of Normalcy:
A Response to Charles W. Kane
from the ‘Freak-Show Field’
by Jesse Wolf Hardin

Intro:
Charles W. Kane is an experienced clinical herbalist and self described “veteran of the war against terrorism.”  Unlike the majority of modern day herbalists, he would not be likely to describe our field as “alternative medicine”, and brings [...]

Friends and clients joined in celebrating the launch of herbalist Kiva Rose’s mobile Village-Herbalist Clinic at her office in Catron County, New Mexico, in a formalizing of her years of providing herbal health consultations to the residents of this singularly remote region of the American Southwest.
The Medicine Woman [...]

Summer’s Spice: Beebalm Flower Infused Honey

It won’t be long now until the first brilliant purple flowers of Beebalm explode into bloom here in the Canyon. Locals call this gorgeous wildflower either Oregano de la Sierra or just Wild Oregano. Because yep, it tastes spicy and rather Oregano-like. The botanical name of this particular species is [...]

Grassroots Herbalism: The Weeds & Wildlings of Folk Medicine
by Kiva Rose
Any of ya’ll who’ve been reading The Medicine Woman’s Roots for very long are likely familiar with my penchant for all things weedy and wild. Garden flowers are pretty enough, but I prefer the bad attitude of rebellious weeds and fierce insistence of wild plants [...]

I’ve recently opened an office, one day a week, at the new Frisco Wellness Center here in the local village of Reserve. I call my herbal and nutrition consulting The Medicine Woman Herbal Clinic, and share the space with Kristen Ehrlich, who is a massage therapist. While I’m already seeing folks there, we’re celebrating the [...]

Hello folks, here in the Canyon, the Wild Roses (Rosa woodsii) are just beginning to bloom, the Blisswort (Scutellaria potosina) is flowering beautifully (more on those very soon) and the land is green and lush with such an abundantly rainy Spring! I’ve been on a bit of a writing hiatus, and my time’s been consumed [...]

For those who don’t regularly read the Anima Lifeways and Herbal School blog, you might be interested in my newest series of posts over there called The Forager’s Basket. Mostly made up of concise profiles of common wild foods, this series aims to give people an ongoing look at the wide array of easily available [...]

There’s nothing quite like the sound of a warm spring wind rustling through a vibrantly green patch of Oats. Bowed with the weight of their ripening fruit, they nod and toss their heads with each breeze. Their sweet smell and long smooth leaves certainly invite us to sit down and get acquainted with them. In [...]

At long last! –– the release of the greatly anticipated
COURSE 1
of a 5 course program for the village herbalist:
From the Ground Up: Grassroots Training in Traditional Western Herbalism
FOUNDATIONS IN TRADITIONAL WESTERN HERBALISM
Written & Taught by Kiva Rose Hardin

After years of preparation, the essential first course in Kiva Rose’s comprehensive 5 course program has [...]

Spring has come a little late to the Gila but is now emerging full force, right in step with the tumultuous pace of the San Francisco River flooding its muddy banks. Thanks to snowmelt and significant rains, southwest New Mexico is remarkably well watered at the moment which most likely means a wildflower rich Spring! [...]