Fleurbain

Category: herbalism

  • i love my tiny community garden plot!

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    tammy.schmidt
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    … and the apartment sized harvests. Within one hour I picked basil, parsley, tomatoes, stevia, chamomile and lavender.?áI then planted some greens for the fall – a little late, we will see. After that I made a pesto and documented it. Okay, on with the rest of the day! Tammy Schmidt, Montreal.

  • friday night refreshment, my way

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    tammy.schmidt
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    Is mint taking over your garden? ?áHere is one way to use it up. * Take a good fist full of mint from the garden * Coarsely chop it with scissors and put the mint into a shaker or jar * Add a little gin to the shaker. Add 3 ice cubes and juice of…

  • herbs for cats

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    tammy.schmidt
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    Cats have been a part of my daily life for 14 years now.?á During most of this time I have thought of them as little carnivores, little super predators.?á?á While it is true that they rely on meat for their sustenance, they love plants too.?á They love green stuff like fresh green blades of oats…

  • the beauty is in the practice

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    tammy.schmidt
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    I just read a very silly article in the Globe and Mail called The promise and perils of backyard herbalism by Adriana Barton. ?áIn this, she tries to pit herbalists against ‘real’ science and research. ?áI love how this article reveals how bound-up we are in our respective beliefs. ?áSome people are thoroughly disgusted with…

  • March!

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    tammy.schmidt
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    A friend of mine remarked to me a couple of months ago that Arcade Fire’s music is very marchy. ?áSometimes when I am listening to them on my Ipod, I test this comment and try to march a little. ?áUnfortunately, I can usually march along to their music. ?áThis does not really matter to me.…

  • snow painting with plant pigments

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    tammy.schmidt
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    This past weekend during the Montreal High Lights Festival, we participated in Nuit?áBlanche in the Griffintown?áCultural Corridor.?áIt was a great deal of fun to put our recent?áexperiments in Herbal Snow Painting to the test. Despite the cold, we had many keen public?áparticipants join us in creating some snow paintings! We began the day with a…

  • DIY blossoms and oatmeal tub tea

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    tammy.schmidt
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    I just watched The Story of Cosmetics (2010). ?áIt reminded me of why I went down this road called herbalism. ?áI kept seeing myself and others buying into the hype on labels, and this hype had little or nothing to do with the?ácontents. For example, we all know a successful company based on oatmeal (Avena…

  • hot chocolate, my way

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    tammy.schmidt
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    Over the years I have learned that the amount of sugar we eat in North America is not normal, nor is it helping us.?á To change this and scale back on the sweet stuff will require a good amount of determination and some experimentation. Gary Taubes states in his book, Good Calories Bad Calories, that…

  • gratitude

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    tammy.schmidt
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    This is a sentimental entry as well as somewhat of a departure from the typical ‘Fleurbain concept’. In the last few days, I have thought about the folks?áwho have got through to me. ?áThese people have been my teachers. I am overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for the people in my life who have…

  • Herbal Creativity Spa Weekend: Valentine

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    tammy.schmidt
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    The pinnacle of the dark, dreary days of winter is a purgatory that rests between Christmastime and SpringÔǪ February. Installed into February is a day that is supposed to be a celebration of ÔÇ£LoveÔÇØ. Many lament the commercialisation of ValentineÔÇÿs Day, and resent the high expectations and sadness that come with so many of our…