The Crafty Herbalist

01/02/2026

Happy Imbolc! We’re finally done with January (gosh it felt like the longest month ever!) and now midway to spring 💕

Imbolc isn’t just a quaint little festival about snowdrops and candles, it’s a wake-up call. The old ways knew this time wasn’t about waiting for spring to arrive; it was about choosing to ignite your own fire 💕🔥

Winter can make us sluggish, stuck in patterns that don’t serve us. But stagnation isn’t rest - it’s resistance to growth….

Imbolc asks: Are you lighting the fire, or are you letting the embers go cold?

This is the season to gently shake off the inertia, set intentions with real conviction, and start moving towards the life you actually want. Not just thinking about it. Doing it too 😏

Light a candle. Brew a strong infusion of ginger, rosemary and nettle - herbs that awaken, stimulate, and move energy.
And ask yourself: What needs to burn away? What are you ready to bring to life?

I have a few spaces opened up in the academy, if herbal learning is your goal just drop me a message ☺️💕

Or if you are looking for something more light touch, consider the amazing membership for only £40 a year 🍃

24/01/2026

So looking forward to hosting this talk at Amersham Museum - I hope to see you there ☺️💕

There are a few tickets left for our special talk 'Valentine’s Day & the herbal heart: History, folklore & tasting evening' on February 11 @ 7:00 - 8:30 pm at the Museum. Ever wondered what Valentine’s Day looked like before supermarket roses and pink cards? Local medical herbalist Kristine De Block invites you to an evening of tasting and storytelling that follows Valentine’s Day back to saints, secret notes, midwinter rituals about health, luck, and getting people safely through the dark of the year. To book go to Events on the Museum website https://amershammuseum.org/event/valentines-day-the-herbal-heart-history-folklore-tasting-evening/ -tickets

20/01/2026

You’ve probably walked past this strange, rubbery fungus before – growing on elder trees, especially in damp corners of the hedgerow.

It’s called jelly ear – and yes, it really does look like an ear. The Latin name Auricularia auricula-judae is a mouthful, but it tells a story: “the ear of Judas,” referring to the legend that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from an elder tree. Whether or not that tale is true, this mushroom has a long history of traditional use in Europe and Asia.

It was once brewed into teas for sore throats and fevers, and eaten to cool and soothe the body. Today, researchers are exploring its links to immune support, cholesterol balance, and blood health.

Not bad for something that looks like it belongs in a Halloween film, right? 😏💕

19/01/2026

Here is the link with more info: https://amershammuseum.org/event/valentines-day-the-herbal-heart-history-folklore-tasting-evening/

I hope to see you there ☺️💕

18/01/2026

Who knew herbs had a love story? 💚😏

Join me for a Valentine’s Talk at Amersham Museum - an evening of history, folklore and a few lovely tastes inspired by medicinal plants that stir the heart and warm the spirit 🌿✨

We’ll explore ancient ideas about love, medicinal plants that carried meaning in the past and a few interesting remedies that might just make you smile. No roses only here - we’re talking roots, flowers for the various aspects of heart wellness - and the ancient wisdom that connects us to them 🍀

Where? Amersham Museum, Old Amersham
When? Wednesday 11th February, 7pm to 8.30pm

More details + tickets: https://amershammuseum.org/event/valentines-day-the-herbal-heart-history-folklore-tasting-evening/

12/01/2026

VALENTINE’S DAY & THE HERBAL HEART
Tasting evening • 11 Feb • 7–8.30pm • £13 (includes a drink)

Before the pink cards and heart-shaped everything, Valentine’s Day was something else entirely. A mix of saints, midwinter magic, secret notes, and folk traditions to help people stay well – in body and spirit – through the darker months.

Join me for an evening of herbal tasting and storytelling, where we’ll explore some of the plants people have long turned to when the heart needs support – whether it’s heavy with grief, fluttery with nerves, or just a bit worn out. We’ll talk through a few of the classic “heart herbs,” their folklore, and how to use them at home in simple, nourishing ways.

You’ll leave with a handful of ideas, a deeper sense of the season, and maybe a fresh perspective on what this day could mean ☺️

No background in herbs needed – just curiosity and a love of natural things.

Tickets £13 – includes a glass of wine or soft drink 💕☺️

Link: https://amershammuseum.org/event/valentines-day-the-herbal-heart-history-folklore-tasting-evening/

12/01/2026

Herbal medicine isn’t aesthetic. It’s ancestral survival knowledge we’ve forgotten how to live by…

Most of what I teach isn’t new. It’s ancient knowledge. Passed down through kitchens, gardens, and hedgerows. Real plant medicine shaped by seasons, not trends. That’s the kind of herbal knowledge I care about sharing - grounded, practical, and rooted in everyday life.

The Crafty Herbalist Academy opens seasonally, on purpose, not in a rush. In the meantime, I’ll keep sharing herbal education here for anyone who wants to learn, grow, and reconnect with plants in a real way.

Follow along for more herbal medicine, plant wisdom, and slow learning while the doors are closed.

10/01/2026

Earlier this month, outside the Science Museum, I walked past something more interesting to me than half the exhibits inside: a large stand of horsetail pushing up through the concrete 🥰

Horsetail is one of those plants that feels like a time slip. Its ancestors grew taller than houses in prehistoric swamps, and yet here it is now, hugging the edges of car parks, canals and museum walls. Most people don’t give it a second glance…

Folklore is full of it. In some places it was called “pewter wort” or “scouring rush” because people used its rough, silica-rich stems to polish metal pots and pans. In others, it was tucked around broken bones and used as a kind of herbal splint, as if the plant’s own segmented structure could somehow remind the body how to knit itself back together. You’ll also find little threads of superstition – horsetail swept across thresholds to clear bad luck or stagnant energy from a home 🥰

Modern science, slowly and carefully, is catching up with some of that old instinct. Horsetail is naturally rich in silica and minerals, and there’s emerging interest in its effect on bone density, connective tissue and even hair and nails. It’s not a magic wand, and it’s not a herb to throw around recklessly (especially if you’re pregnant, on certain medications, or have kidney issues), but it’s a beautiful example of where folk practice and lab work start to nod at one another.

For me, spotting it outside the Science Museum felt like a lovely little reminder : so much of our “new” knowledge is really a remembering. The textbooks and the peer reviewed papers matter, of course they do, but so do the scruffy little plants in the cracks, and the stories our great-grandparents carried in their hands as they scrubbed the pots 💕

Have you noticed horsetail where you live? And did you know any of its old uses before today?

Follow for more herbal stories and fun facts about plants 🍀

06/01/2026

Tonight I close the doors to this winter’s intake for The Crafty Herbalist Academy. After midnight UK time, no more enrolments for a while - my attention will be on the students already inside, working through the course, sending in assignments, asking questions, and actually using herbs in their real lives. I can’t wait to see their confidence grow 💕

If you just want the odd herb tip, you don’t need my Academy. The internet will keep you busy. This is for you if herbs are not leaving you alone and you’re tired of half-finished notes, random jars, and feeling like you’re guessing. Inside you get a full herbal immersion course in a clear order, practical remedy making, seasonal projects, and my eyes on your work so you can build real knowledge and confidence over time ☺️

If you already know that herbal medicine is something you want to carry with you into the next few years - not as a phase, but as part of how you live and care - this is your last chance to join us for winter. Doors close at midnight tonight.

Join The Crafty Herbalist Academy here:

www.craftyherbalistacademy.com

03/01/2026

I see this so often. People drawn to herbs, but anxious they’ll mess it up. Afraid of contraindications. Unsure where to start. Overloaded with advice that doesn’t join the dots.

Herbal medicine isn’t about memorising lists or chasing the “right” herb. It’s about understanding people, patterns, seasons, and how plants meet us there.

There is a slower, guided way to learn. One that builds confidence over time and actually fits real life.

If that’s the path you’re on this year, you’re very welcome here ☺️💕

31/12/2025

Last day of the year, in the local park with my two, wellies muddy, pockets full of found treasures, trying to slow them down and myself with them. So grateful for the winter sunshine ☺️

I wanted to say hi on this last day of 2025. Not with big promises or shiny goals, but with a question I ask myself every year: what do I actually want to make time for?

If learning herbal medicine has been sitting at the back of your mind, not as a trend but as a real skill for everyday life, the Crafty Herbalist Academy is open for a few more days.

You don’t need to do it all at once. You weave it around family life, work, tired days and curious ones. That’s how it’s meant to be.

Doors close soon, then we settle in with the winter work ☺️💕

31/12/2025

2025 asked for presence more than perfection…

For showing up for my family, even when energy was low.

For walking the land and letting nature guide me.

For community - learning, sharing, remembering that none of us do this alone.

I’m ending this year with deep gratitude, and stepping into 2026 rooted, clear, and open to what’s next.

Thank you for being here 💕🍃