Aralia School of Herbal Medicine

09/19/2025

Let’s be real. A lot of herbal medicine does not taste that good. It is a huge barrier for so many people in using herbs as medicine and it really doesn’t have to be this way!

Herbal medicine can be both delicious and effective, and I will be covering many types of preparations that make this easy in a class I am teaching online this coming Sunday.

Class will be full of detailed instructions and delicious recipes. I’ll try to post a few here in the coming weeks as well!

If you’re interested in this class there is a link in my bio to more details and the sign up. 🌱

09/11/2025

One of my favorite recipes for getting through fall and winter is Elder C Syrup. Up here in Vermont elderberries are still going strong! I’ll be teaching a class in a couple weeks where you can learn to make herbal syrups, honeys, vinegars, oxymels and glycerites. Save some elderberries in your freezer so you can make this great recipe! It’s perfect for helping you stay healthy through virus season.

09/10/2025

08/15/2025

Diversity of tactics improves outcomes and resilience, including with herbs!

I’m teaching a class this Sunday on Herbal Topicals. You can learn all about different types of herbal preparations, how to make them, and when to use them.

Topical treatments are so beginner friendly, and yet they are still so strong and effective. Don’t overlook or underestimate them!

Topicals are a great place to start working with herbs, and familiarity with the many different forms of external preparations is a very important skill set for clinical practice as well.

You don’t necessarily need to know someones whole medical history, or deep constitution to be able to help them with topical herbs. And having concentrated application of herbs directly to afflicted tissues, combined with taking herbs internally, leads to a faster, more resilient recovery.

This will be a fun class, with great handouts and a detailed demonstration of the intermediary solvent extraction process for making infused oils.

You can register at the link in my bio or on my website.

08/08/2025

It’s summertime! So fun and also a great time to have some topical herbal remedies on hand.

Topical treatments are a great way to safely apply plant medicine and see results quickly.

While oils are very easy to make, they can also spoil very easily or come out looking the same as the oil you put in.

As a busy practitioner it has been really helpful to have methods for making high quality herbal oils and ointments quickly, having finished oils ready in a few hours rather than waiting weeks, with techniques that increase strength and prevent spoilage.

This class will have fun step by step demonstration of the intermediary solvent extraction method for making oils, discussion, handouts, recipes and plenty of time for Q&A.

Link in bio to registration

07/19/2025

Some folks have reached out to see if they could take tomorrows Tincture Making class individually, rather than as part of the membership. So I've added that as an option!

You can register here: https://aralia-school-of-herbal-medicine.kit.com/products/tincture-making-skills-
Or in the Event. Class is tomorrow, Sunday, from 3-5:30. The recording will be included, so you can watch it as many times as you like.

Maybe I'll see you there!

07/17/2025

Tincture making is actually quite an easy process but it can also be pretty intimidating and confusing. There are lots of different methods and numerous ways it can go wrong.

In this class I will teach straight forward methods for making potent plant extracts that last.

Both beginners and more experienced tincture makers will gain insights into how to create high quality, long lasting, effective tinctures.

Its also really fun! Join me this weekend if you want to gain confidence and skills in tincture making.

Class is this Sunday, July 20th from 3 to 5:30.

It is part of the summer medicine making series of my student membership. You can sign up and gain access to the full library of ALL of my classes. Not just medicine making, but all of them. Materia Medica, Organ systems, Herbal First Aid, and more.

You can also participate in the community discussions and student study group, ask questions, access resources, and attend live online events.

There‘s a link in my bio to sign up or learn more.

07/08/2025

We need all the options we can get for access to healthcare these days, and always.

For my summer class series I want to pass on the skills and experience I have gained over past 30 years of making plant medicine. We can’t expect herbs resolve health issues if the preparations we are taking are of poor quality! I’m concerned that this is becoming a big issue in the herb world these days.

It really doesn’t have to be. Making potent herbal extracts is really accessible and fun, it just takes some know-how.

Enrollment is open for the student membership and the summer classes are all about medicine making! If you want to build new skills and confidence in medicine making from the plants that grow all around us, I hope you’ll join us for this series! It’s going to be a lot of fun.

As always, the student membership includes access to recordings of ALL of the previous classes, as well as the community platform.

You can watch lessons in Herbal First Aid, Organ Systems, and Materia Medica on your own schedule and participate in live classes and student study group for interactive discussion and Q&A. It’s a pretty cool model that I am excited to share and grow. If you have any questions put them in the comments!

Ty

06/13/2025

So many of you expressed interest in this incredible place. I just wanted to let you know that it will be on the market today.

My Athens House is the realty company that will be listing it. (The land is in Meigs though, not Athens!)

I have been growing herbs and making herbal medicine on this land for almost twenty years. I have now moved to Vermont and am hoping another steward who will care for the land as much as I have will take my place.

The property has a pole barn building that houses a 600 square foot move in ready apartment, built in 2022, and another 600 square feet of office/apothecary space. It also has a large covered shed for equipment, a shop space, a horse barn, a heated greenhouse, and 75’ high tunnel. The original farm house is still on the property as well, which needs some rehab.
The property has a natural gas well, so the owner is entitled to free natural gas for heating and energy needs. It’s located on a dead end driveway, so it’s very quiet and peaceful.

The forest on this land is home to many edible and medicinal plants. The woods are mostly mature hardwood, including a sugar maple stand that has been tapped to make syrup in the past. There are two ponds on the property, one large enough to swim in on hot summer days. A creek winds through the hollow, creating a vibrant wildlife corridor.

This land borders Paul Strauss’s and is part of the Rutland Green Corridor, and it’s only a few miles from UPS. It’s really a special place that is home to a stunning array of plant and animal life. We’re hoping that someone with an interest in maintaining and enriching the wealth of biodiversity that the property offers will become its new steward.

06/11/2025

Herbs can have profound effects on the heart and blood vessels. I have been surprised so many times on just how effective herbs can be with numerous cardiovascular issues.

If you want to learn how to work with herbs to improve cardiovascular health, this class I will be teaching tomorrow might interest you. You will learn how your cardiovascular system works and how I have seen herbs be useful for people with a range of cv concerns in my clinical practice.

More info in the event or register at https://aralia-school-of-herbal-medicine.kit.com/products/herbs-for-cvhealth

06/01/2025