June is the height of midsummer, and the Wheel of the Year turns inexorably onwards as the longest day comes and goes for us in the Northern hemisphere. Because the days are still long, with an early sunrise and  a long twilight, we take the opportunity to move from urban […]

All of us have an immune system that is made up of organs and cells. The job of these organs and cells is to protect our bodies from infections, viruses, parasites and cancer cells. Unfortunately, sometimes this system decides to go haywire and instead of protecting us, it actually attacks […]

Our gardens are the place where we grow many health-giving plants. Among the culinary delights that form the bedrock  of our cooking are parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Other important culinary herbs are mint, bay, horseradish, fennel, marjoram, oregano, lovage, dill, basil, and lemongrass. The latter can be a bit […]

At this time of year when gardens demand so much of our attention it is interesting to consider why we put such an effort into making even the smallest patch lovely.  A garden may be defined as an area distinguished by its layout and the plants that grow there, all […]

This is a good month to decide if you want to have herbs growing in your garden as the seed catalogues and gardening advertisements whet our interest. So many of the ones used therapeutically may be obtained from the wild but some, such as marshmallow, elecampane and lovage need to […]

We are all familiar with the swede turnip, more often than not calling it a swede or just a turnip. In Scotland, the swede is called neeps and in France and the US, rutabaga. It is a regular part of winter fare in Ireland, and along with carrots, parsnips, and […]