Plant Profile: White Sage {Salvia apiana}

Also, Known As:

Bee Sage
Sacred Sage
White Ceremonial Sage
White Sage

Salvia apiana or white sage is a perennially growing evergreen shrub that is indigenous to the southwestern regions of the United States and the adjoining north-western areas of Mexico. This herb is mostly found growing in the wild in the scrub habitat in the coastal regions of Baja California and Southern California, located on the western peripheries of the Sonoran and Mojave deserts.

White sage possibly derives its name from its ashen evergreen leaves, which contain oils and resins. The leaves of white sage emit a potent aroma when they are rubbed. The white to light lavender hued blooms of this plant attract bees, and this is described in the plant’s specific name – apiana. White sage bears many flower stalks, which measure anything between 1 meter and 1.3 meters (3.3 feet to 4.3 feet) in height. Occasionally…

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Plant Profile: Sage

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Salvia officinalis

Also, Known As:

Common Sage
Dalmatian Sage
Garden Sage
Meadow Sage
Red Sage
Sage
Scarlet Sage
True Sage

Considered all across the world as a valuable culinary spice, and cultivated everywhere, the sage is a perennial shrub that grows best in its wild state in Europe and in the Mediterranean areas of the world. The plant consists of a strongly branched root system, which produces square and finely hairy sterns. These are woody at the base and bear oblong leaves. The floral leaves of the sage are ovate to ovate-lanceolate. The flowers of the sage are small and two-lipped and they grow in whorls. The flowers are blue, purple or white in color.

The versatile sage can be used for bringing in quick relief from a variety of ailments, both minor and major. For example, to gain immediate relief from itching and swelling accompanying insect bites, a few fresh…

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Boost Your Juice With Herbs

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Have you ever cracked open a fresh aloe plant and watched it ooze a clear, sticky gel? This is one of the earth’s natural juices that can be scraped from the inner plant and used externally to soothe inflamed skin.* Humans have been juicing plants for hundreds of years, traditionally by mashing them or with simple tools like a mortar and pestle.

In the last hundred years, juicing has evolved from human hands to high-powered machines. We understand why juicing is so popular, as it is a quick and tasty way to get an abundance of nourishing fruits and veggies in daily. However, we don’t always agree with the new jargon surrounding this age-old practice. Often, juicing is touted as a way to “cleanse” the body and rid it of toxins. We believe in the many benefits of juicing, and we believe that our bodies are intelligent— not inherently flawed…

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Spiritual Cleansing Bath – Basic Recipe

Seven Safe, Effective Natural Antibiotics

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Certain natural substances have antibacterial properties, but which are safe to use, and when should a person use them?

Prescription antibiotics, such as penicillin, have helped people to recover from otherwise fatal diseases and conditions since the 1940s.

However, people are also turning to natural antibiotics for treatment.

According to the NHS, 1 in 10 people experiences side effects that harm the digestive system after taking antibiotics. Around 1 in 15 people are allergic to this type of medication.

In this article, we look at the evidence behind seven of the best natural antibiotics. We also discuss which to avoid, and when to see a doctor.

Seven best natural antibiotics

Garlic may be an effective treatment against bacteria.

The scientific jury is still out concerning natural antibiotics. While people have used remedies like these for hundreds of years, most treatments have not been thoroughly tested.

However, some show promising results under medical…

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Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

If you’re old enough to count among the Baby Boomer generation, you certainly remember the sensation caused by the release of Simon and Garfunkel’s hit song, “Scarborough Fair,” with its haunting refrain, “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.” Most people who bought the album (yes, it was an album, not an MP3 back then) didn’t really think about the properties of the herbal list as they sang along, and it’s doubtful that Simon and Garfunkel had anything prescriptive in mind, but in fact, they adopted the song from an old English ballad that some say is about the Great Plague in the Middle Ages. The fact is that parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme were commonly used medicinally in earlier times and may have been used in an attempt to heal victims of the Plague. On the other hand, the four herbs were chief components in a love potion that witches concocted in…

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A Living Herbal Apothecary

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Whether you’re an experienced farmer or completely new to the world of gardening, medicinal herbs offer a unique growing experience. In this article, you’ll learn the steps you need to take to create a living herbal apothecary outside your door. If you have the land to cultivate and would like to grow your own herbs, start right here.

Herbs From the Ground Up:

Gardening begins with the soil; it’s the “ground of our being,” to borrow a phrase. If you take care of the soil, the soil, in turn, will nourish and feed the plants you grow for healing and health.

Soil Types:

An important first step in growing outdoors is to find what kind of soil you have. Take a handful of soil from a couple different places in your yard or on your land, make sure each one is somewhat moist, squeeze it gently in your fist, and…

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Our Beloved Oregon Grape

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Berberis aquifolium

Also, Known As:

Oregon Grape
Mountain Grape

Not many people are aware of the interesting fact that the state flower of Oregon blooms on this beautiful shrub. Known for its attractiveness and its rapid growth, the Oregon grape is used medicinally, as well as for ornamental landscaping in several homes across the country. The leaves of the Oregon grape resemble those of holly; they are dark green, spiny and shiny, in almost the same way as the holly leaves are dark green and shiny. The flowers of this shrub are small and yellowish green in color, and the berries of the Oregon grape are a shade of dark purple-blue, especially when they ripen. They grow in small clusters, and in this, they resemble clusters or bunches of grapes. The Oregon grape shrub can grow to almost 6 feet in height, but in general, it grows about 3 –…

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Chickweed {Stellaria media}

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Also, Known As:

Adder’s Mouth
Chickweed
Indian Chickweed
Satinflower
Scarweed
Starweed
Starwort
Stitchwort
Tongue Grass
White Bird’s-eye
Winterweed

The plant known as the chickweed is a very fragile appearing herb; as a plant, it is actually a very lusty annual plant characterized by the presence of matted to straight green stems growing in profusion over vast areas of land. The chickweed is an extraordinarily hardy herb, and the normal growing starts during the fall season, it is very capable of enduring harsh sleet and severe snowstorms during the winter months, and has been found to be growing even in the far northern areas of the continent, the plant is so hardy that it has been known to be resistant to the majority of weed killers used in agriculture. The production of seeds is usually over by the spring, even though the plant itself is known to begin blooming even when…

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Spring Herb: Cicely {Myrrhis odorata}

Crooked Bear Creek Organic Herbs

Also, Known As:

Anise Fern
British Myrrh
Cicely
Cow Chervil
Garden Myrrh
Shepherd’s Needle
Smooth Cicely
Sweet Bracken
Sweet Chervil
Sweet Cicely
Sweet Myrrh

The plant called the sweet cicely is a hardy and robust herb. The cicely is an aromatic perennial herb indigenous to the mountainous areas of Europe and Asian Russia – growing originally only in these regions. The cicely when fully mature can reach 0.6 to 0.9 m or 2 to 3 feet in height. Sweet cicely is one of the first herbs that come up when spring arrives; the sweet cicely is a pretty plant and makes a beautiful backdrop to a perennial border in mountainous regions where it grows.

Sweet-Cicely In older times, people would usually grow this old cottage garden perennial at a site near the door to the kitchen. The site would be chosen so that the pretty divided fern-like leaves could be easily accessed…