Herbs with Rosalee

Where are you in your herbal learning journey? Where would you like to go? What steps will you take to get there? These are all questions I’ve asked myself many times over the years, and reflecting upon the answers has helped to guide me to where I am today. Last year, one of the answers that jumped out at me was: go back to herbal school! This may seem a little silly or strange – after all, I alr...

Ashwagandha is one of the most revered herbs in the Ayurvedic tradition, and it’s easy to see why!  This amazing herb can be a wonderful ally if you’re struggling with sleep issues, anxiety, and stress – and even if you’re not.  It’s a wonderfully grounding and rejuvenative herb that, when taken at the right dose, can support your health in so many ways.  (However, it is worth notin...

A few months ago, a listener emailed me to suggest I bring herbalist Lucy Jones on the podcast - and I’m so glad she did! I bought one of Lucy’s books and almost immediately filled it with notes and highlights, and I was delighted when she agreed to come on the show and talk about one of my favorite plants, marshmallow. In this conversation, Lucy shared all about an amazing, often-overlooked way t...

I had the pleasure of meeting Helen Ward earlier this year at an herbal retreat in Italy, and I was immediately taken with her warm and kind spirit. It was such a joy to catch up with her again in this interview! Helen’s connection with elderberry runs deep, and in this conversation we get to hear all about how this plant became such a big part of her herbal path – and how it continues to nurture...

It was such an honor to sit down again with Robert Rogers - he’s been working with plants for over fifty years and has such a wealth of knowledge to share!  I was so excited that he chose to discuss rhodiola, a plant that I love to reach for in the cold, dark days of winter. Robert was a key player in getting sustainable sources of the plant to the market many years ago (you’ll hear all about...

In honor of this week's Thanksgiving holiday in the US, we're replaying a listener favorite here at Herbs with Rosalee - The Benefits of Sage! There are sooooo many benefits of sage! In the United States, the sage herb often gets ignored except as a tasty addition to the Thanksgiving stuffing. But there are lots of reasons to love sage every day of the year.  In this episode, I share my love...

I’ve known Thomas Elpel for several years, and was really excited to have the chance to talk with him again. Tom sat down with me to discuss how a basic understanding of botany can be helpful for herbalists, but our conversation went way beyond that.  While not strictly an herbalist, Tom is definitely a plant person through and through, and his curiosity about the natural world is infectious!...

I’ve got something a little bit different for this week’s episode! You know all those commercials for pharmaceutical drugs? The ones that list all the crazy side effects while showing people strolling on the beach or at a dinner party having fun? Well, for this week’s episode I envisioned what it might be like if there was a similar ad for herbs. You’ll also hear about one of my online courses, Co...

I’ve known Beth for many years, and I knew from experience that the two of us were going to have a lively conversation!  It was a joy to sit down with her to discuss kava - a plant that has been supporting her since day one of her herbal journey, and one that I have also found to be super helpful in times of stress and anxiety.  Beth has gotten to know this plant so well that her friends...

I’ve only worked with black birch a little bit, and I was really excited when Amelia South told me she was interested in discussing this beautiful tree!  Amelia had so much to share about black birch, and I left the conversation wishing I could be out in the woods smelling and tasting it right then.  I’d be surprised if you don’t leave this episode feeling super interested in black birch...

I’ve heard about Pam Montgomery for many years, so I was excited to finally meet her!  Pam’s approach to herbalism really focuses on developing relationships with the plants, and it was fascinating to hear her discuss the ways she makes those connections and gets to know herbs on a deeper level. Pam recently had the opportunity to do a deep-dive with lavender in the fields of Provence, and sh...

It’s been many years since Patricia and I have been together in person, and it was an honor to sit down with her again and hear her stories and wisdom.  She had a lot of insights to share about the process of becoming a Registered Herbalist through the American Herbalists Guild (including why you would want to do so in the first place!), as well as tips about some of the most important herbal...

It was such a pleasure to have Yarrow on the show!  Yarrow is a dynamic speaker who is super passionate about building relationships with herbs and their ecosystems.  As you’ll hear in this conversation, Yarrow sees herbalism as a bridge to help people tune back in to the natural world, and he weaves in nature connection with everything he does. Yarrow spoke extensively about reishi mush...

I’ve been emailing with Holly for years, but as much as we’ve interacted via email and recipe exchange, this was our first time face-to-face and it was great to finally get the chance to meet her!  In this episode, Holly shares so much fascinating information about elderberry (one of my very favorite herbs!) - from folklore, to crafty uses for the twigs, to tips for harvesting the berries, an...

In place of a regular podcast this week, I’m offering an entire webinar all about working with herbs during the cold and flu season!  In this webinar, we’ll look at five of my very favorite herbs to work with to help with common cold and flu symptoms, as well as to help prevent getting sick in the first place!   When you join the webinar, I’ll also share with you my ebook, 5 Herbs f...

When I first started studying herbs over two decades ago, I learned herbs (like many people do) by memorizing herbal actions, memorizing lists, and then throwing it all together.  But I found that choosing herbs for people using these memorized lists didn’t always work, which was incredibly discouraging! Luckily, I found out about herbal energetics, and that’s what I’ve based my herbal practi...

It’s easy to love the taste of thyme in stews and roasts and sauces, but have you taken the time to really taste thyme? When you have really good quality thyme, it’s highly aromatic and very spicy and hot! Tasting an herb and experiencing how it feels in your body when you take it as food and medicine is at the heart of herbal energetics. This system is a great way to really get to know the plants...

There are so many medicinal benefits of meadowsweet herb! Some people think of meadowsweet simply as a natural form of aspirin.  While it does shine at relieving pain (especially a particular type of pain!), meadowsweet’s gifts go far beyond this. In this episode, I’ll be sharing my love of this beautiful member of the rose family, as well as one of my favorite ways to enjoy its pain-relievin...

This is the first time I’ve sat down with Leslie, and I enjoyed listening to her winding story of learning about herbs through the decades!  I was equally amazed by the extensive information she shared about the medicinal benefits of magnolia.  She really opened my eyes to the gifts of this beautiful, ancient tree.  Leslie shared several ways to work with magnolia, including her rec...

It was truly a pleasure to chat with Richard Mandelbaum about self heal!  He not only discussed many medicinal gifts of this lovely little herb, but also dove deeper into nature connection, herbal energetics, and the intricacies of medicine making, weaving all of these things together in such a beautiful way.  Richard’s joy in embracing his curiosity about the world is so delightful, and...

This was my first time meeting Molly, and it was an absolute joy to talk with her and hear the many ways she is working with herbs to strengthen relationships and build connections.  I just loved when Molly walked me through how she connects with mugwort through the five senses - what a delightful way to begin to build a relationship with a plant! Molly shared many ways of working with mugwor...

It’s been on my mind to have Michael Pilarski on the show for quite a while now, so when he dropped by the other day to see my garden, it seemed like the perfect time to invite him to be here.  I loved talking with Michael about his experience of both wildcrafting and farming, and his perspective about the benefits and drawbacks of both of those ways of working with the land.  And it was...

I had such a great time catching up with Phyllis Light in this conversation!  Hearing Phyllis’ unique herbal story and her philosophy about herbs and herbalism was a real treat.  Plus, she shared such an abundance of information about sumac and its medicinal gifts that I am inspired to start working more with this amazing plant! Phyllis shared so many ways to work with sumac, including h...

It was so much fun to meet the famous Brigitte Mars, who has been an herbalist for over fifty years.  I’ve admired her work for such a  long time, and found in this interview that she is also quite the character!   Brigitte has such a strong thread of creativity that just bursts out of her, and our conversation went in many unexpected directions – way beyond simply talking abou...

I have fallen in love with Mary Morgaine Squire’s plant love letter newsletters lately, and when I sat down to interview her, it was made even more clear to me just how deep her connection with the herbs is!  I’m excited that she chose ginkgo ( GIngko biloba ) for her herb – it’s a new plant for the show and one I haven’t worked with much myself. I really enjoyed learning more about it. ...