Carly's Herbal Adventures

​There are roughly 33 to 37% of U.S. households with at least one cat as a household member. Which makes it a good bet you either have a cat yourself, or you have someone on your gift list with cats. Making your own toys is very rewarding and a lovely gesture for family and friends who are feline lovers.  If you have fresh catnip growing in your garden, crafting a custom catnip toy is a wonderful, rewarding project. Not only does it allow you to bypass the synthetic fillers found in many commercial pet store toys, but it also gives your feline companion the purest, most potent herbal experience possible.

While I'm on the subject of honey this week, I thought I would talk a bit about adding honey to your favorite recipes and experimenting with how you can elevate your cooking.  For most of us, honey is a cozy pantry remedy reserved for soothing a scratchy throat or sweetening a morning cup of tea. But once you start experimenting with it as a primary cooking and baking ingredient, a whole new world of flavor, texture, and culinary chemistry opens up.

As the seasons shift and the air fills with the unmistakable tickle of seasonal sniffles, many of us turn to pantry staples in search of relief. For generations, a spoonful of local honey has been heralded as the ultimate folk remedy for hay fever.

Imagine unfolding a page that not only bears thoughtful words but also carries a subtle, calming aroma of lavender or crisp eucalyptus. Scent is our most direct sense linked to memory and emotion. By infusing paper with essential oils, you elevate ordinary writing and crafting into a multi-sensory experience.

​Grief is one of the most profound, universal experiences of the human condition. Whether following the loss of a beloved partner, a family member, a cherished pet, or through major life transitions, grief touches every part of our physical and emotional being. Yet, in a culture that often rushes healing, navigating the heavy waves of grief and situational depression can feel isolating and exhausting.

​Welcome back to another edition of Carly's Herbal Adventures! Today, we are shining the spotlight on one of the most potent, aromatic spices sitting right in your kitchen pantry: the humble clove.

​When most gardeners survey their lawns and flowerbeds, they are looking for a pristine, green expanse free of intruders. Among the most common targets of this botanical housekeeping is a sprawling, fleshy plant with succulent leaves and reddish stems that seems to thrive almost exclusively in the most neglected patches of soil. Often dismissed as a stubborn weed, Portulaca oleracea—commonly known as common purslane, pursley, or little hogweed—has earned a frustrating reputation for its resilience. Try to pull it up, and you will likely find it snapping back or surviving days of neglect left sitting atop dry earth.

​For centuries, human beings have looked to the natural world for connection, finding deep solace in the rustle of leaves and the quiet presence of greenery. In recent years, a fascinating technological and artistic trend has captured the imagination of plant lovers everywhere: plant music. Devices that clip onto leaves and translate bio-signals into audible melodies have led many to wonder whether our leafy companions are actually singing to us.

​Think about this…the magic in taking the bounty of the garden—or the wild edges of a meadow—and capturing its essence in a bottle. It is exciting and creative. As an aromatherapist and someone who has spent years exploring the healing and aesthetic power of plants, I have found that few things are as deeply satisfying as crafting herbal liqueurs. They are more than just a drink; they are bottled memories, liquid sunshine, and a testament to the patient art of slow living.

​ I am often asked about the best ways to incorporate nature’s bounty into a daily wellness routine. It is a wonderful question, yet it frequently brings up a common point of confusion: the distinction between herbal medicine and aromatherapy.

​There is nothing quite like the experience of walking out into the garden on a warm July morning, the air still crisp and smelling of damp earth and greenery, and finding that perfect, sun-warmed tomato. You know the one—it’s heavy in your hand, vibrant red or perhaps a deep, sunset-hued orange, and it carries the unmistakable, intoxicating scent of summer.

The dog days of summer are upon us. As the temperature climbs and the afternoon humidity sets in, there is nothing quite as restorative as a cold, bubbling beverage. While store-bought sodas and pre-mixed mixers are convenient, they are often loaded with artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and high-fructose corn syrup that can leave you feeling more lethargic than refreshed.