This is an edit of a post I wrote 2 years ago after coming across some lovely Ferula tingitana, (Ammoniacum) resin. Recently, I finally got my hands on the other Ammoniacum, Dorema ammoniacum which you will now find in the shop. For most intents and purposes the two...
Frankincense and Myrrh are becoming better known and integrated with our Western lives as interest in the healing power of plants grows. Though we often learn of these resins through the popularity of their essential oils , their greatest therapeutic gifts lie in...
Botany for the distiller. A workshop series at the Bozarth Mansion in Spokane WA 12-14 June 2017 Distilling essential oils is a simple process that echoes the evaporation and condensation of water in Nature. We load the still with aromatic material and collect...
For those who will be in South Central Ontario this weekend As promised, I will teach a distillation workshop this Saturday in the Apothecary’s Garden at the Teaching gardens in Churchill Park Hamilton. It will be part of the Hamilton Herbal Weekend. Short...
The Viridis Genii Symposium Plant Magic, Mysticism, and Medicine June 3rd — June 6th 2016 As some of you know, I will be presenting the keynote speech and conducting a workshop at the Viridis Genii symposium beginning of June in Portland Oregon. The premise of this...
Plant Medicine- Ancient and Modern As inherently creative beings, we aspire to meet or exceed ourselves in all we do. Part of our joy and satisfaction in any given creative field, is to push the boundaries and bring our work beyond where others have taken it. We are...
How to make a pot still Likely the simplest and most versatile distillation apparatus that one can make at home, is a pot still. With a pot still one can Distill essential oils from aromatic herbs, flowers and seeds, oleo-resins like Frankincense, Myrrh, Pine and...
APOTHECARY’S APPRENTICE HAMILTON HERBAL WORKSHOPS Medieval Apothecary’s Garden- courtesy the Guttenberg Project. The Apothecary’s Apprentice is a hands-on “how-to” series of workshops in Hamilton that focuses on the practical and applied side of herbalism. In...
Nicholas Culpeper’s books and “herbals” have been considered classic and well-respected references for hundreds of years now. Packed with recipes, plant profiles and lore, Culpeper sets out the proper way to identify plants, diagnose and treat...
Distilling Wild Ginger Essential Oil Distillations, mistillations and musings No matter how much experience and knowledge we have, how much care and control we exercise, we will still, on occasion, make critical mistakes. We are quick to record and share our...
Now is the season, the possibilities of this years bounty are starting to bubble up in our minds. Wild wines, Jams, Jellies, confections and preserves, fritters and frittatas. Wild Mushrooms and May-apples. SPRING is here! Symbol of potential and new beginnings, new...
A Thought on the holistic tincturing of oleo-resins. Each type of Oleo-Gum-Resin such as Myrrh, Opoponax, Mastic, the many types of Frankincense etc., contain different proportions of water-soluble gum and alcohol soluble oleo-resins, (resins and volatile oils). I...