It’s late winter in the Pacific Northwest and signs of spring are already starting to show themselves. I’ve always enjoyed this time of year, the excitement of witnessing the Earth waking up from her wintertime slumber and the feelings of hope that brings. But despite the heartfelt joy, I often find myself struggling to move from the slower pace of winter hibernation to the quickening energy and longer days full of garden prep, housework, and other to-dos that piled up. Thankfully, I need to look no further than my trusty green ally, nettle, for support during this transition.

Photo courtesy of Susan Leopold, PhD, Executive Director at United Plant Savers.

Osha root (Ligusticum porteri) has been in use as an herbal medicine, incense, food, and for ceremonial purposes for thousands of years. When European colonists arrived in North America, osha was already being widely used by First Nations People in the American Southwest and Mexico to treat a variety of conditions, particularly those involving the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. The Zuni people chewed the root in healing rituals and the Tarahumara people used it ritualistically in protection ceremonies. This herbal ally has been generously gifting itself to humans on our continent for millennia, and its renown has spread to other parts of the world. Unfortunately, this increasing popularity has shined a light on osha’s one significant problem—virtually all commercial osha is wildharvested because this independent herb doesn’t do well as a cultivated crop. This limitation combined with the ever-increasing demand for osha has many herbalists concerned about the viability and long-term sustainability of this precious botanical. Let’s take a deeper dive into osha.

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Thousands of years ago, humans discovered the wellness-supporting qualities of bitter herbs. Presumably we started out eating them, but soon enough we were refining them into tonics, digestive aids, and extracts. In folklore, it was Mithridates, king of Pontus, who formulated the first bitters while trying to make an antidote for poisons and venoms. I suppose if I’d spent years trying to make a universal poison antidote and ended up with a really excellent digestive aid, I might be disappointed. But looking at it now, that antidote still doesn’t exist and bitters have come to the aid of millions of people throughout time. So, chin up Mithridates, you did good.

Whenever I am cooking, I am always thinking of ways to add more plants and nutrition. I like to challenge myself to have at least ten different plants represented in every meal. It’s a challenge I learned from Rosalee de la Foret. It is actually trickier than expected. However, in all of our lineages, somewhere we have ancestors who lived more directly with the land. These relatives consumed many more phytonutrients than what we are accustomed to—I am sure many more than ten per meal—so it can be done. Adding nettles to tortillas is a delicious new way to add one more plant to your meals.

It’s been a long couple of years. Many of us are feeling mental fatigue and existential stress, which negatively impacts our immune systems and overall wellbeing. This year, having some easy winter health formulas on hand feels more important than ever. They can’t cure the state of our world, but they often can help support our immune systems before we get sick and can provide some relief when we’ve caught whatever winter crud is going around. The following formulas have been Mountain Rose Herbs' favorites for a long time and are wonderful additions to your winter care routine. From our home to yours, we wish you a healthy, restful winter!

If you’ve ever checked the ingredients list on your favorite chai blend, you may have found yourself dizzied by the long list of herbs and spices involved. While such an assortment might take some work to assemble, this variety also makes chai spice recipes a delicious way to enjoy a whole host of beneficial botanicals in a single cup. And one of our favorite additions, from both a flavor and wellness perspective, is sweet and adaptogenic astragulus root.

Here in the Coast Range and Willamette Valley of western Oregon, we know our foggy, rainy winters are responsible for the stunningly gorgeous, green landscapes we love so much. But, wow, it’s been cold and gray this winter! As a born-and-raised Oregonian, I’m one of the weirdos who loves rain, who adds extra blankets to my bed so I can sleep with the windows open to hear and smell the winter weather. I love sloshing around in rubber boots, and taking drizzly forest walks in the fog, and struggling against the cold rain to plant a super-early garden. There is a name for people like me: pluviophile (someone who finds joy and peace of mind on rainy days). However, for most people, the combination of dark, wet, and cold is incredibly challenging. It grieves me to watch my sun-loving, light-deprived friends and family sink into annual winter doldrums, which is why I love to make this mood-boosting herbal extract with its blend of warming, uplifting, relaxing herbs to help alleviate those seasonal blues and give a little relief to my favorite people.

Modern athletes seeking to support health and performance have no shortage of high-tech, lab-synthesized supplement options at their disposal. However, many active individuals are seeking out more natural options to power their active pursuits, and herbalists have plenty to contribute to the conversation!

My acupuncture clinic is perhaps similar to a martial arts studio. Nobody punches or kicks in my clinic, at least not on purpose, but I support people as they fight through aches and pains from injuries both acute and chronic. After treating pain-related conditions with acupuncture, I often aid recovery by rubbing a liniment, or Die Da Jiu (跌打酒), into achy joints and tissues. The aromatic herbs and precious resins in this formula scent my treatment room like an ancient apothecary, while moving stuck traumas, helping tissues release their stored issues, and lending a golden glow to affected areas.

I’ll admit it, I have some big, sappy feelings about lemon balm. You might even say that I have an herbal crush on the plant, and let’s be honest, I don’t think I’m the only one. This herb tends to evoke that feeling in its fans. We don’t just use lemon balm we also hold a deep and abiding affection for it. When we decided to write blog posts about our favorite herbs, it made me pause and ask myself just what it is about lemon balm that I love so much? I am a creature guided by my gut feelings and intuition. Which can be wonderful, but admittedly, not the most scientific approach. So, I sat down to do some research on my beloved Melissa officinalis.

Have you ever asked yourself, “What herbs and spices would I bring to a desert island?” It’s a fun exercise to think about what you can’t live without. Salt, nettles, and ginger root top my list! Ginger root’s warm, spicy flavor makes the perfect addition to Thai and Indian dishes. It also uplifts healthful tea and drink recipes, like this Turmeric Ginger Tea. Ginger root (Zingiber officinale) supports healthy digestion and helps relieve occasional upset stomach and nausea.* Making a simple ginger root tea when I was pregnant really helped me stay grounded. I think of ginger as this wonderous plant ally, but it wasn’t until recently that I researched the history and cultivation of it. Now I have a renewed love of ginger!