The Medicine Garden

26/09/2025

If you are looking for some herbal excitement, please come along.

Plants, Planets, Myth and healing. There was a time not that long ago that all wisdom and knowledge was passed on through stories, as books were few, and most couldn’t read. The stories, myths and tales about the plants that we still have from those times still carries the most ancient plant wisdo

11/05/2025

It's a day to celebrate when the roses start to bloom! This is my Apothecaries rose, Rosa Gallica, and it has a gentle, subtle scent, that cannot be copied, or equalled. Culpeper Comments that if he were to record all the properties of roses it would 'make my book swell too big, it being sufficient for a volume of itself!' It is the red rose traditionally ruled by Jupiter, the King of the planets that he speaks mostly highly about. Jupiter is the planet of the air and blood humour, and it is to Roses that we should turn whenever we are troubled by heat of any kind- Rose is the prime remedy to cool all things...so when we need to cool hot inflammations; think of itchy skin, eczema, sunburn, when we need to cool hot emotions; think of anger, angst, agitation, stress, and hot diseases causing fevers, headaches, and boils... Mostly though, we can't immerse ourselves in the aromatic embrace of a summer rose garden, so instead we can turn to the next best thing- Red rose water, again Culpeper sums up its benefits saying; 'cooling and cordial, refreshing, quickening the the weak and faint spirits...it is also of much good use against the redness and inflammation of the eyes, to bathe them therewith, and the temples of the head, as also against pain and ache, and to procure rest and sleep.' One of his loveliest suggestions is to apply fresh rose leaves and mint leaves heated, over the stomach, liver and heart, to strengthen them and to cool and temper them.
No wonder I sell so much rose water! And no wonder so many of my tea mixes have some rose petals added. My current favourite evening tea is red clover flowers, meadowsweet and rose, so calming and soothing, just like going to sleep in a summer rose garden!!

09/05/2025

We are thrilled to share Steven Taylor's recent conversation with Ana Isabel on the In the Light - Growing Your Soul podcast, where the pair explore the roots of humoral philosophy, its links to medical astrology, and the timeless wisdom of elemental cycles 🌿

Stephen (The Medicine Garden) also shares practical insights into tongue diagnosis, seasonal living, and how we might reawaken a more intuitive relationship with nature and the body.

Listen to the full podcast episode at https://buff.ly/T5yp4vV

Find out more about the humors, and how they shape our health, emotions, and environment, in Stephen's book 'The Humoral Herbal'. As this week's you can save 20% with code HH20 at checkout! 📚

🇬🇧 To order from our UK website click https://buff.ly/Dr4rWKP
🇺🇸 To order from our US website click https://buff.ly/ra5UYae

09/05/2025

The planetary ruler of a herb is described as its 'hidden' quality, whilst its direct effect- heating, cooling, drying or moistening is considered to be its 'manifest' quality. So here are three Venus herbs; white dead nettle- also given the wonderful name 'Archangel' gently warm and dry, particularly helpful for women's reproductive issues, Elderflower- warm and dry and also very helpful for the respiratory passages, Joints, and urinary system all of which correspond Venus, then herb Robert, also very drying with a particular affinity to the urinary tract and bladder.
The Bay tree is a Sun herb, warming and dry and a wonderful cleanser of excess water- phlegm, catarrh, swellings etc, and strengthening for the Vital spirit, which is like the sun energy in the body..
Then two Jupiter herbs, both helpful for the liver which Jupiter rules- dandelion cooling, and Wood Avens warming the liver,
and finally lily of the Valley, a herb of Mercury, strengthening and regulating the beat of the heart, with Mercury being associated with the Animating or 'Animal Spirit' within the body..And finally Broom, a herb of the hot red planet Mars- purging damp and phlegm...

09/05/2025

Every ancient and traditional plant medicine healing system has a way of grouping plants together, in North America the first Nations people assign every plant to a plant tribe, for instance to***co is in the tribe of magicians and tricksters... in Africa plants are described by colour -either red, white or black, red plants are protective, white plants are cleansing, and black are plants of sorcery, in Tibetan and Ayurvedic medicine plants are often grouped together by taste.
In the traditional Western humoral system each plant is considered to have a ruling planet, and this planet indicates which organ, system or energy in the body that the plant has a particular affinity to. Please watch the podcast that I have done with Ana Isabel for a deeper exploration of the planetary correspondence of our herbs- enjoy!

How did the sytem of the humors begin? In this conversation with Stephen Taylor we discuss the origins of the humors and how they came to define temperament as linked with the body, health and disease

01/04/2025

Nettles! They're back, moving, clearing and cleansing the land of dampness. And so of course that is how we think of them in the body, 'the prime blood cleanser' as the old Herbalists used to say, capable of clearing the blood of all the crude undigested humours of winter. I like to juice them at this time of year, while they're fresh and young, and full of trace elements and nutrients, so good for those of us struggling with long-term chronic conditions, especially those with swellings and dampness.
Every year is different with the way the plants grow, and why shouldn't it be? This year is a definite 'Nettle Year', the nettles are abundant, whilst the other spring herbs such as cleavers are in a bit of a retreat, at least that's what I'm observing as I go out to gather. What might this be telling us, I wonder... Nettles are of course a herb of Mars, all to do with cleansing through force, purging and pushing out debris, whilst cleavers being a Moon herb works through opening, clearing the way, and expelling through flow, using water rather than fire to cleanse. It reminds me of traditional African medicine, where plants are divided into red medicines and white medicines, the red are all about protection, and the white are concerned with cleansing. So maybe there is a message here for us from nature, get hold of your metal, work to strengthen yourself emotionally, mentally and physically, be like the Nettles, stand up strong, and hold your ground! And of course in the meantime go out and grab some nettle energy, it's out there for the taking- enjoy!

29/03/2025

Identifying the various violets is quite an art..and I don't claim to have any great proficiency... I identified these violets as wood violets with the help of an online app!
However the good news for us herb lovers is that all the violets generally have very similar properties, and can to some extent be interchanged with each other... clearly sweet violets is the sweetest! It certainly has the best aroma to prove it, but even dog violet which has no odour at all still offers all the other violet gifts..
Nicholas Culpeper said that violets are cool and moist, and that they are generally ruled by that lovely soothing planet Venus! However he also says that heartsease the wild pansy is that much cooler still, and should actually be considered as being ruled by cold old Saturn!
If you taste a violet leaf you'll notice a distinct salicylate flavour, and also a soft sliminess on the tongue, indicating violets ability to soothe, and reduce inflammation. Being ruled by Venus is a way of pointing us in the direction of those organs ruled by the water element, as that's the element belonging to her. If we think of watery aspects of the body we will probably quickly produce a list including the lungs, the bowels, the joints, the reproductive organs, the skin, and the urinary system, and then we shouldn't be surprised that all of these were considered Phlegmatic or water element aspects. So of course violets have been always been used to soothe these body parts..making good cough syrups, soothing infusions for urinary inflammations and also specifucally for any heat or inflammatory conditions of the womb and ovaries.
But perhaps one of my favourite aspects of violets is that they are one of the four main heart soothing herbs which were traditionally called the 'cordials'. They were said to be particularly good for soothing hot agitation of the heart- this might be anger, angst or stress, but also for physical inflammatory heart issues such as pericarditis. So in these times with so much hot anger and stress around, maybe we can find a moment to return to the violet, try a fresh blossom if out walking, or perhaps buy some dried herb to drink as a tea, and if you do that you might also wish to combine it with the other main cordial herbs; Rose, Lemon Balm and Borage... enjoy.

31/12/2022

Happy new year, when I saw this picture it perfectly spoke to me of the ancient mythology associated with the turning of the year...In the ancient Ogham tree alphabet the old year ends with 'Idho' the yew tree whose line in the ancient song of Amorgen reads: 'I am the tomb of every hope, who but I knows the secrets of the unhewn Dolmen.' The dawn of the new year then starts with 'Ailm' the fir or pine tree, and its line reads 'I am the womb of every holt.' (holt comes from ancient Norse and was the name for a small wood or copse) these two are the winter soltice trees, one finishing and one starting the Solar year. The tree associated with the first lunar month is the birch. Its line in the ancient song reads: 'I am a Stag of seven tines'. When a stag grew seven tines it was said to have become a Royal Stag, and worthy of being a leader, representing the birth of the new year and its potential for creativity and personal expansion and growth. I feel that the birch at this point of the year asks us; what is it that we need to birth? And also akin to the birch brush or besom, thw question ; what is it that we need to sweep away?
This year I hope to create some more spaces of learning about herbs and healing, and hope to continue to grow the opportunities to share the knowledge I have gained about plant healing and medicine. I hope to sweep away any feelings of negativity and self doubt that seem to so often accompany us and to help others also cleanse their spirits of limiting thoughts and feelings...
To that end I will be continuing to offer my 'exploring herbs' sessions every 2nd and 4th Thursday evenings here in Chichester. I am also starting the year with a workshop in London about working with the Humours called ' Who are we treating anyway?' https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/using-the-humoral-constitutions-in-herbal-medicine-tickets-472814459777
A poditive start for me had been the very generous review for my book which written by John Michael Greer, author of 'Green wizardry' https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/213695.html
Wishing you all a great 2023. XX

The medicine garden is the practice and dispensary of Steve Taylor, a herbalist with 30 years experience. We treat patients, and supply them with organic and where possible locally sourced herbal medicines, we also do remedial massage for back pain.

08/11/2022

Inspired by the Full moon I felt it would be great to get to meet two herbs traditionally ruled by the moon in this weeks ' exploring herbs' session... so if you fancy an exciting journey into the Medicine, myth and magic of two wonderful moon herbs join us this Thursday 6.30-8.30 pm in Chichester. The session is £15 including the herb tasting, as well as print outs of the herbs stories and properties. Message us if you'd like to come, or call the clinic 01243 773882.

24/10/2022

Even though the flowers have passed into the seed stage, we have a second burst of greenery on the local wild Mugwort on the South Downs. 'Mater herbarum' - 'Mother of herbs' seems one of the most appropriate ancient names for this marvelous plant. I was speaking to a Polish woman this week, who told me that in Poland it is known as 'Miracle w**d' and is used to treat countless things in their country medicine and is especially used for pain. As well as its healing and pain relieving properties it was traditionally gathered on assumption day -15th August, and having been blessed in the local church would be hung in the rafters to confer health, wealth and protection from demons for the coming year. I was once approached after a talk I had given by a gentleman who had grown up in Egypt and still had family and friends in Morocco and Tunisia. He told me that the people there make a tea (called Sheba tea)from the closely related plant Southernwood. It is considered to be a miraculous healing herb and he wanted to tell about a friend from there who had just had an amazing healing experience. The friend in question had developed an innoperable tumour on their face, and having no further treatments offered decided to try the tea. They made up a strong infusion each night and then drank it the following day, and to their surprise, (as they had started out as a bit of a sceptic) in three weeks the tumour completely resolved and then disappeared. It transpired that the Egyptian gentleman was a retired dermatologist and he was really interested to know if I had come across this use of the plant before. For pain I often give it as a footbath, and also as a striong infusion, this is particularly helpful for menstrual pain, and the pain of endometriosis. It can also be taken as a refreshing and invigorating
herbal tissuane, combined with herbs such as chamomile and Sage.

17/10/2022

Just popped by the allotment to cut a late show of rainbow chard, and enjoyed seeing the abundance of fresh growth, like a mini spring occurring with nettle, cleavers and even the angelica flowering. This second spring flush isn't at all uncommon, and was known as the 'goose summer' (where the word gossamer comes from) and it was the time that you would fatten your geese and poultry before winter. I find it interesting too in the context of the humours, as they are aligned with the seasons as well as the body. The autumn is the Earth humour or Melancholic season, where everything tends to dry and cool with leaves falling and sap returning to the roots. However here we have a sudden burst of activity that seems to fly in the face of autumn. Nature is a great teacher, and seeing this energetic burst in cleansing and activating spring herbs points towards the benefits for us of engaging in a similar gentle cleansing strategy at this time of year. Using the warmth of herbs like Angelica is a traditional way of countering any cold stagnation that may be occurring as we slow down with the changing season, whilst the nettles and cleavers will clear and detoxify any such blocks in the blood. Interesting that angelica is also such a powerful anti viral and protective herb just as we all enter the season of viral attack... and of course angelica with its uplifting energy helps to counter emotional slumps that can start to overwhelm us now the dark winter looms, with nettle giving us a boost of energy and focus to keep us on track.
I am just starting to plan a workshop for the new year looking at our temperaments and constitutions so if you're interested keep an eye out for further details.

16/10/2022

Thank you Dylan for this comprehensive and brilliant reminder of a pivotal person in the evolution of Western herbal medicine. Thinking of Culpeper I was remembering that he had a Melancholic/choleric constitution, leading to him being thorough, determined, and generous with his skills and knowledge. Interesting that we are now entering the season of melancholy too! Quite apt that this is when we celebrate his birthday as well! Time for a new national holiday perhaps? --Nicholas Culpeper day, a day to celebrate natural medicine, health and well being for all!