Wendy Kelly MNIMH Medical Herbalist

24/06/2025

Fancy another wee herb walk? I was away for a magical weekend at Carberry Tower Mansion House & Estate (****) celebrating my friends' wedding and took the opportunity to squeeze in a herbal explore of the grounds! Come and enjoy a wee walk with me

13/06/2025

It's been a hectic week here, not only with busy clinics but with the end of school days for one child and the end of a college year for another. So emotionally tiring too! Now I am relaxing in the sunny back garden, having gathered some roses, elderflowers and honeysuckle for drying and to garnish a well earned gin and tonic - cheers! 😁

30/05/2025

A herbal cycle ride from Cramond to Leith

30/05/2025

Inside a herbalist's brain on a cycle ride! Napiers the Herbalists

17/01/2025

How to make slippery elm and marshmallow lozenges at home!

01/11/2024

Hello folks! I did a webinar on Monday on menopause if anyone wants a look? Hope it helps some of you menopausal women out there!

Are you navigating perimenopause, menopause, or post-menopause? Watch this free webinar by Napiers the Herbalists, where our expert Medical Herbalist Wendy K...

02/09/2024

I had an unexpected treat at the weekend as I acted as a taxi service for my double bass playing husband. He was playing a gig in Saughton park and I thought I was dropping him off and zooming back home again. When we got there, it was sunny and lovely and I decided to stay and check out what was going on. I'm so glad I did! A good old fashioned fruit and vegetable show was on, the rose gardens in the park were a delight and then I stumbled upon a real treasure - a physic garden that I did not know existed! My visit was topped off with a café snack and being entertained with some fine outdoor jazz by my husband and his fellow musicians Keith and Gary.
If you live in Edinburgh and have never been to Saughton Park, I thoroughly recommend going there for a wander and maybe even a cheeky wee scone in the lovely cafe!

03/08/2024

It's been a busy couple of weeks, being away on family holiday then over to Ireland to visit in-laws so today was a day to potter and catch up with myself. I noticed the nettles in the back garden were already heavily seeded so decided to go gather some for the drying nets. This put me in the mood to go for a wee walk to get some rosebay willow herb (fireweed) as I have been wanting to try and make some fireweed fermented tea (I will post in a week or so once I have processed it). On my walk around the cycle paths of Leith, I was amazed to see lots of brambles already ripe and juicy - I wouldn't normally begin looking for another 3-4 weeks! I was also lucky to stumble across a lovely patch of honeysuckle which I will dry for lovely painkilling, soothing honeysuckle tea. It was a very successful unplanned foraging day!

26/07/2024

Part of the joy of summer holidays is exploring new places and checking out what herbs I can find on our daily outings. Yesterday we went to the beautiful Wood of Cree RSPB Reserve for a wee daunder through the woods. I was delighted to see swathes of blaeberries (bilberries) which is our native blueberry here in Scotland. I use a tincture of blaeberries in clinic to support circulation, to manage high blood pressure and to support eye health. Of course I can never resist free food so had to gather a wee bowlful of the berries. This morning's breakfast was blaeberries and strawberries with some Greek yogurt, a handful of walnuts and a dollop of chocolate hummus, enjoyed in our holiday cottage garden in the sun (it finally appears on our last day 🙄😂) - delish 😁

22/07/2024

I'm lucky to be away this week in the beautiful Dumfries & Galloway and the cottage I'm staying in has a beautiful garden. I found these berries and can't decide if they are loganberries or tayberries. Either way, this afternoon it was raining so as a fun wee project, I decided to pick a few and make some jam. Let's call it tayganberry jam and it's delicious!

06/07/2024

What a beautiful sight on this piece of abandoned wasteland on the way home from choir practice. Feverfew is a key bitter herb I use for my migraine suffering patients and it's cheery flowers lift my spirits every time I see it 😊 I love my plant allies ❤️

25/06/2024

Just beat the rain today when out gathering some local herbs for my talk tonight at Leith SWI on behalf of Napiers the Herbalists . I reckon I have picked about 20 different herbs just from a quick walk around the back garden, the surrounding pavements and Leith links! Herbal medicine surrounds us every day 😁