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Cool off for Summer
~ July 2025 Newsletter ~

Welcome to the Height of Summer

Summer solstice just behind us, these are some the longest days of the year with gardens bursting at the seem with herbs, veggies, lush greenery (oh yes, and weeds!). Paddle season is fully on and cooling waters are one of the best ways to beat the heat: sip, dip, swim, food bath, shower. In this newsletter we share some of my favorite herbal remedy making and wildcrafting tips as well as easy, delicious recipes to cool off on these hot days.

New & Seasonal in This Email

• Herbal Remedies for Summer

• Summer Plant Spotlight: St. John's Wort

• Summer Chilled Drinks and Cooling Herbs

• NEW BOOK Herbal Gut Health Preorders Open Now! 
• Upcoming July Community Classes

• AHC Fall Drop in Classes - Start September 9th!

In Memoriam

In the past month, we lost two wonderful people too soon from within our national/global herbal community. 

Mary Bove, ND, beloved herbalist, midwife, and  naturopathic doctor who practiced for many years in Vermont with specialties in pregnancy and children's care, and then settled into northern New Hampshire for semi-retirement. She was a frequent speaker at conferences and advisor/formulator/teacher for Gaia Herbs for decades and author of An Encyclopedia of Natural Healing for Children and Infants (one of the best books on this topic). For a tribute to her and free access to some of her great herbal webinars, see this page from Gaia Herbs. She spent her last months fighting an aggressive from of cancer and many decades instilling the joy of herbs with her kindness and genuine love and generosity for plants and people. While she and I were not close, I did interview her and take her classes many times over the years (some of the first ever herb classes I took were with her), and her influence has certainly shaped me as an herbalist, particularly in regards to thyroid support and my awareness and love of magnolia bark for sleep and stress support.

John Gallagher, herbal enthusiast and co-founder of Herb Mentor had a pivotal role in supporting the broad reach of herbalism, including sharing Rosalee de la Foret's recipes and courses in her earlier years, creating an online subscription-based herbal learning platform, helping to develop the Wildcraft! Board Game and Herbal Fairies to inspire the younger generation, and partnering with many, many wonderful herbalists to share free and for-pay herbal programs. I have enjoyed following and sharing John's work and collaborative for many years. His family, friends, and community are reeling from his tragic and unexpected passing after fighting many years with depression, insomnia, and anxiety. You can learn more about John's life and impact from Rosalee's beautiful tribute here.

While I was not personally close with these herbalists, I have deeply appreciation their work, kindness, generosity, and appreciation for herbs. Their impact was far-reaching. They likely touched your own herbal life in direct or indirect ways, and they will be missed. My deepest sympathies to their families and loved ones. <3

 Herbal Remedies for Summer

It's summer! And your garden is likely starting to produce an abundance of herbal goodness! So, the question is, how to preserve your bounty in ways you'll actually use and enjoy (ideally quickly because you're probably very busy). My Kitchen Apothecary 101 blog has basic remedy making techniques with links to a few short free videos. If you want to dive deeper in tinctures, my Herbal Tinctures blog and Fresh Plant Tincture Video are very helpful. If you want to learn more about herb-infused oils for making salves and other recipes, see my ever-popular DIY Herb-Infused Oil Blog and the various free videos linked there, too. (Thanks to Mountain Rose Herbs and Storey Publishing for producing these free little remedy videos with me.) 

Happy Summer!

Summer Plant Spotlight

St. John’s wort flowers & buds (Hypericum perforatum) – The fresh yellow buds and flowers of this important weed yield an amazing crimson oil. Only fresh buds and flowers should be used (top bit of the plant, it’s ok if you get a few leaves and some stem), and the oil will be stronger if you let it infuse in the SUN (this is a SUN PLANT) for a few days or weeks. You can purchase St. John’s wort in 1 to 4 oz quantities in natural food stores. It’s an amazing medicinal oil for most skin conditions including burns, cuts, wounds, bedsores, radiation burns, etc. It can be applied along an inflamed nerve or muscle for pain including sciatica or shingles. (Self heal and lemon balm also help shingles/herpes.) It is reported to have mild sunscreen properties and also helps with sunburns. Fresh (no need to wilt) herbal oil infusion. Though drying, SJW tincture can be used in a pinch.

Summer Chiller Drinks and Cooling Herbs

Now that the growing season has kicked into full gear, take advantage of one of the easiest and most delicious ways to incorporate fresh herbs into your daily routine: infused water. You might be thinking, “You mean, herbal tea?” But, this isn’t quite the same thing. It’s glorious, refreshing, delicious, and stunning.

It’s crazy simple. Place some fresh sprigs of herbs and/or flowers in a container of water, let them sit for a bit, then sip. Most of our garden herbs will taste great within 5 to 15 minutes, but roses and cinnamon sticks need an hour or two to really impart flavor. Refrigerate or add ice if you like, but use it up within a day because this type of beverage spoils easily. Or, you can take it up a notch to make seltzer or soda. Learn more about infused water, soda and seltzer HERE.

The weather is warming up! And while this has many people jumping for joy and heading to the beach after a dreary, long winter/spring, summer heat can also take its toll. So, what do we do when the heat cranks up? We can use cooling herbs and even cooling formats of herbs (like iced tea, infused water, cool baths, water-based mists) to chill us out and balance those excessive energetics of the season!

Cooling herbs tend to be sour (hibiscus, citrus, berries), fruity sweet, melon-y (watermelon, cucumbers), vegetal/green (leafy greens, raw salads, violet leaves, chickweed, plantain), mucilaginous (marshmallow, violet… particularly nice when it’s hot and dry). Learn more in my blog post HERE.

New! Herbal Gut Health Book:
Natural Therapies to Promote Healthy Digestion, Boost Your Microbiome, and Support Gut Repair

A healthy gut is the key to good overall health—both physical and mental—and researchers are beginning to uncover the links between an unbalanced gut microbiome and chronic conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and cancer. As a clinical herbalist with decades of experience, Maria Noël Groves has helped patients of all ages resolve their digestive complaints and related health issues by teaching them how to adopt healthier dietary habits, employ herbs to alleviate digestive issues and improve digestion, and incorporate balanced lifestyle practices—resolving their diseases and dramatically improving their quality of life. Gorgeous full-color illustrated book, 300+ pages, including anatomy and physiology, herbal actions, detailed plant profiles, protocol points for key concerns, herbal energetics, recipes, charts, and more! The book will ship mid-January when it releases!

Includes Special Bonuses!

Free Access to Maria’s Mini Gut Health Online Course On-Demand course, releasing in 2026

Special one-time discount for 10% off 

Maria’s online live streamed and on-demand classes and series when you buy the book direct from her here.

And of course, your book will be signed by Maria!

(Local folks - at this time I don't have a free pick up option because my  home is not safe nor easy to swing by in winter. Stay tuned,  hopefully I'll be able to do a few free community classes in the area during January with pick up options there.)

Upcoming July Events

Advanced Health Concerns

Drop In Classes This Fall!

Advanced Health Concerns classes will resume this fall and so does your chance to drop in on guest teacher classes or Maria's classes. Register for individual classes below or use the button to register for the guest teacher drop in bundle. If you decide to register for the entire course after attending your drop in class, email us for a code to apply your individual class payment towards the full course. There is no deadline to watch or access course after purchase.  You can also still sign up for the whole Advanced Health Concerns series or the broader full  Advanced series, both of which include access to these upcoming live stream classes and a bunch of other classes already available on-demand.

But you can also sign up for the individual classes as a drop in student:

• Sep 9: Fatigue Differentials with Thomas Easley – Register Here
• Sep 16: Nervous System, PTSD & Trauma Support for Herbalists with Amy Branum – Register Here
• Sep 30: Herb-Drug Interactions with me – Register Here
• Oct 7: Thyroid with me – Register Here
• Oct 14: Lyme Disease & Coinfections with Debbie Mercier – Register Here
• Oct 21: Herbal Cancer Care with Ember Peters (5-8 pm EST) – Register Here
• Oct 28: Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) & Histamine  Intolerance Overview & Herbal Approaches with Mel Kasting – Register Here
• Nov 11: Death and Dying Workshop for Herbalists with Suchil Coffman-Guerra – Register Here
• Nov 18: COVID Considerations with me – Register Here

Wintergreen Botanicals

Maria Noel Groves, RH (AHG)

www.WintergreenBotanicals.com

603-340-5161

wintergreenbotanicals.office@gmail.com