Hello Reader, Have you ever met my friend Krista Nelson? If you have, I’m sure you agree with me that she’s unforgettable—a Grandmother Earth energy comes to mind when I think of her. She is here to make a difference. Krista Nelson is an African American grandmother with Lenape ancestry who shares her love language of nature, which stems from indigenous traditions that have been here for thousands of years. 🌱 She plays her flute to the water as it dances along the creek bed 🌱 She honors and...
7 days ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, First things first…remember to register for the BotanicWise Women’s Gathering by August 1 (Saturday) for the best savings! Now I want to share an excerpt from Emily Ruff’s Moon Medicine Newsletter. Emily is a featured teacher at this year’s Gathering… This week’s full moon in Aquarius... is one of the most charged lunations of the year. If the summer has felt unusually intense, significant, and like something large is shifting beneath ordinary life, it's no surprise - and this...
12 days ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader, Do you still have questions about joining our upcoming workshop, The Living Page with Tony Lemos? Here are a few answers… Do you offer a payment plan? ✅ Just choose Partial.ly as your payment method at checkout. Payment plans are completely customizable; you choose the payment plan that fits your budget. Is the program really risk-free? ✅ Yes! We offer a 100% “Worth It” guarantee. We are so confident in our programs that we provide a full tuition refund if you request it within...
13 days ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, Long before Instagram, before botanical photography was at our fingertips, there was a woman who found a way to preserve the delicate beauty of plants through sunlight and chemistry. Her name was Anna Atkins. As a 19th-century British botanist, artist, and woman, she broke down barriers. A pioneer of early photography, Atkins created what is widely considered the first photographically illustrated book: Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, published in 1843....
17 days ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, We all want to be healthy. We exercise. We choose our food carefully…most of the time. 😋We cultivate a peaceful mind. And still, perfect health eludes us. This is part of being human. Underneath this quest is a longing for wholeness…To be complete. To be seen. To have purpose. I remember walking to school as a small child and pondering my future on this earth. Even though I was so little, I had a reverence for the feeling that I was meant for something big. I now believe this...
19 days ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, One of the greatest gifts plants have given me isn't just better health or a deeper understanding of herbal medicine. They've cultivated friendships. In 1994, at my first herbal gathering, I attended a class on plants for pollinators. The teacher talked about bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and showed us how to grow the plants they thrive on. I was riveted by the intimate relationship she had with both creatures and plants. Decades later, that same teacher, Deb Soule...
24 days ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, I’m excited to step into the world of print-making with Tony Lemos. I see this as more than an art workshop. It is an invitation—to slow down and BE. Incorporating plants and nature into art fosters focus and patience. We begin to see plants differently—as catchers of light and shadow. One of the techniques Tony will share is the cyanotype, one of the oldest photographic printing processes, a print with white silhouettes against a rich blue background. Art deepens our...
26 days ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader, I have been thinking about the quest for longevity, the perennial search for the fountain of youth. I’m deeply committed to nourishing my body with good food, exercise, sunlight, and, when appropriate, herbal remedies. But I also feel a tension rise up—a grasping—when I consider the range of the modern experimental options before me… Preventive screening and advanced blood testing Continuous health monitoring with wearables Microbiome analysis Peptide therapies Stem cell...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader, The world of nature is my ally. Every fiber in my being longs to connect with it. Instinctively, I know this connection holds deep healing for me. Parkinson’s presents many opportunities to embrace change, adapt, and build resilience. That puts it politely—truly, our imperfect bodies make us face our deepest fears. I’m learning to observe and hold my worries with gentleness, while recognizing I can’t control, or even plan for, every outcome. When I see myself reflected in the...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read