Feral Florals

04/15/2025

04/06/2025

Yarrow, a friendly wild herb often considered a pesky w**d has a history of amazing uses. Check out this video on its abilities!

03/18/2025

Whether tossed in a salad or dried for tea, these 2 "w**ds" are so much more than a feral flower(aka a w**d). ;)

Did you know purple dead nettle has traditionally been used in tea to help ease those spring allergies that are on the way?

How about henbit tea? Good to help ease the stiff joints on those cold spring mornings when you want to be outside playing in your garden!

Have you tried either of these spring greens?

Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) and Purple Deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) are two non-native “w**ds” introduced from Eurasia that you’re probably seeing a lot of right now. Clumps of these winter to early spring annuals often grow alongside each other in lawns, roadsides, parking lots, disturbed areas, and fallow fields. Many people get them confused with each other. They’re both in the mint family (Family Lamiaceae; notice the square stems) and they have very similar small, pink flowers. To tell Henbit and Purple Deadnettle apart, just look for the features in the picture.

For more details on each species, scroll down this page to view my recent posts on each plant. Although some pollinators visit Henbit and Purple Deadnettle, native plants provide a far greater benefit to wildlife given the co-adaptations between native wildlife and native plants. My recent posts on these two plants have suggestions for native plants you can add to your landscape to benefit native pollinators, caterpillars, songbirds, and other wildlife.

02/21/2025

🌼🌼🌼
Find our lovely calendula cream here ~ https://warriorapothecary.com/product/german-calendula-cream/

02/20/2025

There's nothing like a big beautiful hibiscus to brighten your day!🌺
These stunning blooms have been traditionally used in medicine and in culinary practice as well.
Steeping into a tart, flavorful tea, hibiscus is often included in blends to enhance the immune system.

Some other benefits this beautiful flower has been known to be used for include:
Lowering blood pressure
Helping aide in weight loss plans
Relief of mild constipation
Cleanses skin and brightens the complexion(wonderful for facials!)
Supports healthy cholesterol
Helps combat colds and flus

We enjoy a nice cup of hibiscus and wild berry tea year around whenever we crave something a little tropical. Iced in summer. Hot in winter.

02/20/2025

No pain. No gain.
Without showers, no flowers.
Grow through what you go through.

Beauty, grace, strength, and hope can be found in those dark, dirty, messy moments.
I hope you find the light in your dark today too.

🪷 Lotus flowers need mud to anchor their roots. Without mud, you won't see a lotus flower. What beauty can be found in the muddy mess!

02/19/2025

A throwback to harvesting lots of my rosemary bushes for a lovely woman and her business in exchange for some of her fresh homemade breads. (A trade I'm almost always willing to make btw! ;) )
Rosemary is not only a delectable addition for pairing with a wide range of foods and meats😋, it's a powerhouse of an herb for medicinal uses!

Historically students in ancient Greece and Rome would wear sprigs of rosemary to help improve their mental clarity and recall during their studies.
Topically salves of rosemary can help to ease mild muscle pains and spasms.
Great for easing headaches, improving blood circulation, and aiding in digestion, Rosemary is often given in small doses regularly.

There's so many uses for rosemary, it's a great plant to add to your garden. It's easy and forgiving and sure to win you over with its charms.

**as always, avoid rosemary if you have an allergy and talk to your physician before using any plant in a medical routine.

02/19/2025

A brief note on this picture. Some people will find that they may have an allergic reaction to some of these listed trees. If you know you have an allergy, you should avoid consuming these in any form! And as always, if you cannot ID your leaf with 100% certainty you should not eat it then either. Always be 100% certain what you're consuming from the wild.

🌟Bonus info! How many of these also have an additional use as herbal medicine?

At least half of these have traditionally been used in medicine when taken as tea!

My personal favorite?
🌲White pine with a nice kick of vitamin C! Perfect for foraging in winter when you may need an extra vitamin boost. After all, pine needle tea has about 4 times the vitamin C of a cup of lemon or orange juice! It will also help thin out any mucus to help expel it more easily from the body.

02/19/2025

I believe knowledge of our plants around us should be free and readily accessible to everyone.

🌿There shouldn't be a pay wall to know how to make a tea to soothe your nerves with plants in your yard.
🌼There doesn't need to be a paid monthly subscription to learn which flowers can be added to your salads for a colorful, flavorful punch.

I will share knowledge of all things wild and natural with everyone so that we all may learn together about our wild and wonderful world.

From your backyard gardens to the forest and fields, lets make friends with the wild that is in our lives and in our hearts.