The Dartmoor Herbalist at Oke Herbs

08/10/2025

14/09/2025

Autumn has arrived! After the dearth of fungi last year due to the weather, this years weather has caused the polar opposite, with astonishing amounts of many species!
So where last year I chose not to run fungi walks, with such an abundance I have two fungi days coming up, they're quite different, one on the 21st at Parke in Bovey Tracey, the next on the 28th at Lower Longwood in Hatherleigh (with optional herbal sauna!) We will be IDing, foraging and making medicine for later 🌿✨

12/08/2025

In the latest episode of The Folklore Podcast, I chat with The Dartmoor Herbalist at Oke Herbs about her practice as a medical herbalist and the differences between her legal prescribing and other forms of modern and historic herbalism.

Listen free at https://www.thefolklorepodcast.com/medical-herbalism.html

23/07/2025

20/07/2025

Some of you may have noticed some unusual activity on here, my Google account and/or may have seen the Instagram videos I did.. I'm glad to say the individual harassing me has been stopped and I will resume business as usual as soon as possible. This person was practiced enough to know that harassing someone via their business makes it a civil matter, even if that business IS you! And it was only a slip up via a threatening phone contact which made it personal, which meant the police could step in. It has been draining and to be honest I am now struggling to cover costs and catch up, but have been really heartened by the support received from those around me, and of course the plants 🌿✨

17/07/2025

Not long now ✨🌿

I'm really looking forward to this! An opportunity to spend time in a beautiful, tranquil rewilding project, surrounded by 100 acres of woodland. The habitat is incredibly varied, and alongside the plants there are hundreds of beautiful butterflies, damselflies and birds. This one is limited to 15 so please book early if you'd definitely like to come along. The site is large and includes uneven paths, however if you run out of energy there are places to sit and rest before rejoining. Full address and details to be given on booking. https://dartmoorherbs.sumupstore.com/product/summer-medicinal-foraging-at-lower-longwood

10/07/2025

As anyone who has seen me walking around like a Velociraptor in the last couple of days can attest, I have hurt my back quite badly (slipped L4-5) - this used to take me out for weeks but I'm hoping to be back to normal next week!

06/07/2025

A little bit I wrote on Angelica

🌿 Herb of the Month: Angelica - Angelica archangelica 🌿

In his 1597 herbal John Gerard describes Angelica as “ a singular remedie against poison [..] plague, and all infections taken by evil and corrupt aire” – whilst that seems like quite the claim, it does align with Angelica’s known medicinal properties.

Angelica’s essential oil has been shown to be active against (among many other pathogens) Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that can cause diarrhoea and colitis, alongside anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral and smooth muscle relaxant activities, which aid in its ability to soothe the digestive tract and painful menstruation.

To read the full blog written by Jenny Carden-Porrett, visit our website: https://nimh.org.uk/herbal-resources/

Note: When taking herbs, we recommend seeking the advice of a qualified medical herbalist.

03/07/2025

Thank you to Matt of Wild Oke for showing us round Old Town wood last night for Green Drinks, so lovely to find out the complexities and hidden ecological gems that are so easily overlooked! And knowing Dormice and Otters live so nearby makes it all the more magical!

03/07/2025

I'm really looking forward to this! An opportunity to spend time in a beautiful, tranquil rewilding project, surrounded by 100 acres of woodland. The habitat is incredibly varied, and alongside the plants there are hundreds of beautiful butterflies, damselflies and birds. This one is limited to 15 so please book early if you'd definitely like to come along. The site is large and includes uneven paths, however if you run out of energy there are places to sit and rest before rejoining. Full address and details to be given on booking. https://dartmoorherbs.sumupstore.com/product/summer-medicinal-foraging-at-lower-longwood

21/06/2025

If you visited the museum today, you may have caught a waft of some beautiful organic and locally grown herbs in the form of a solstice incense created at our workshop yesterday ☺️

Used a solstice incense around the museum today, created last night at a workshop run by Herbalist Jenny Carden at the exciting new space in Launceston
www.meetusatlanstefan.com