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Bloom Patrol & Bug Repellant
~ June 2025 Newsletter ~

June is a joyful and exciting time in the garden! Plants are in the dirt. At the beginning of this month our new seeds and seedlings still itty bitty babies, but they'll bush out nicely by the end of the month. The backyard or deck garden becomes a source of daily  flavor and medicine for food, drink, and remedy making. Right now it's just tiny pinches of herbs but soon fistfuls will go into each meal. Simply looking out at my the green and flowering landscape makes us smile. 

Perennial blooms are bursting. Divine fragrances in the air (lily of the valley, autumn olive, roses...). Lush green leaves on the trees. June is rose season here in NH. Swoon! So lovely infused in cold water and seltzer to sip.

New & Seasonal in This Email

•  Natural Insect & Tick Repellent

•  Late Spring Plant Spotlights

•  BHHS Registration Closing soon!

•  Advanced Health Concerns - Drop In Classes

•  Upcoming Community Classes

On a Personal Note

I'm thrilled and grateful to have the deck garden and umbrella set up--it's been a refuge of peace while I continue to work in this exciting but over-consuming manuscript. (Will it be done by July? I sure hope so!) It's going to be a major juggle wrapping it up alongside all that is happening the many personal and professional things happening in June--I wasn't supposed to still be writing the book, but here I am. Some Wins: Most of the big book sections are done, many sections re-read and edited. Important time with family. Managed to get out for the first kayak (yay for a local visit with Jiling Lin!) and with-husband canoe time. Enjoying walking on the treadmill while I re-read chapters (I never thought I'd like a treadmill, but it's a great break from sitting). And perhaps most of all that self-watering deck garden - photos and recent blooms on Instagram. But, y'all, I really hope that next time you hear from me I have submitted this manuscript. Unless it's already on my schedule, I will be committing to nothing else new/additional for at least a month (and probably most of this summer). 

Natural Insect & Tick Repellents

June is also prime bug month! Black flies, mosquitoes, and more. No repellent is 100% effective, but they can help reduce the risk of exposure. I'm also playing with little clay discs on the deck with a few drops of lavender and rose geranium (maybe helping? certainly smells better than citronella and more toxic conventional options).

Ticks are bad this year, too. Employ a handful of tactics to limit your exposure to ticks and ability to remove them promptly before they can pass disease on to you or your pets. Nothing is a 100% guarantee and doing more than one thing helps improve your odds of not getting bit. See more in my blog post!

 Spotlight on Late Spring/Early Summer Plants!

Rose (Rosa spp.) petals and flower heads will have more aromatics and sweetness via cold infusions (in water, seltzer, honey, or glycerine) or hydrosol. These aromatics have a cooling effect on temperament and a brightening, calming effect on mood. I love adding a rugosa rose blossom to my glass water bottle in summer to help remind me to relax and stop and smell the roses. Roses’ astringent tannins help tighten and tone when applied topically.

Agastache spp. such as Korean Licorice Mint and anise hyssop have flavors that vary between sharp minty-ness and sweet, soft honey-fennel. They’re in the mint family and like many of their familiars (basil, lemon balm, holy basil, self heal…) they’re rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory constituents that help cool inflammation and irritation. In traditional Asian herbal medicine, Korean licorice mint helps cool summer heat. Plus, they’re delicious! I particularly prefer those with the sweet honey-fennel flavor – you’ll have to smell and taste your specimen to confirm this – especially with a splash of vanilla extract. Vanilla gives brightens and softens Agastache with a root beer-like flavor that’s soooo good in seltzer for a naturally sweet sugar-free soda. Use the leaves snipped in salad or whole in fresh spring rolls, too. The pretty purple flowers taste good while decorating your glass or ice cubes.

Elderflowers have slight antihistamine action that can relieve both cold/flu and allergy symptoms, and they acts a diaphoretic (make you sweat) to help you break a fever and get over illness more quickly. Learn more HERE.

Holy Basil/Tulsi can be grown just like culinary basil – it loves rich, moist soil, heat, sun, and is perfectly fine in a pot. The leaves and flowers provide calm energy that helps your body adapt to stress by balancing the stress hormone cortisol as well as blood sugar. It also reduces inflammation and has many other benefits. Great fresh or dry in any form, and particularly fabulous as tea. Learn more in this student monograph by Diana Barkelew HERE. 

~Starting Soon! Last chance to Register~
BEYOND the Home Herbalist Series
Tuesdays June 17th- August 26th, 6-9 pm EST
Limited Remedy Kits Available

In Person is ALMOST FULL 
This will be the last time for several years that I run this series in person, 
and I probably won't run it live stream next year.

(If the online store allows you to purchase the in-person registration, 
there's still space. If not and it's listed as "sold out", it's full.) 
Also live streamed online (plenty of space for that).

Deepen your understanding of herbalism and the human body past the fundamentals with this beginner/intermediate course. Each class covers a body system and at least one remedy. For each body system or health concern, you'll learn how the body should work, how things get out of balance, and how to use herbs, diet, and lifestyle changes to bring it back into balance.

9 CLASSES In Person & Live Streamed TUESDAY NIGHTS 6-9 pm Eastern Time
And all are also recorded and available for replay at your own pace with no deadline.

Continue and deepen your education beyond the basics. In the nine classes, we cover a body system and a remedy making technique (building on new topics not covered in the beginner Home Herbalist Series). Each 3-hour live class is accompanied by detailed class notes, full-color slides, and access to all the class recordings. 
Prior attendance of the Home Herbalist series is encouraged but  
not essential nor required.

Develop core skills as a home herbalist ~
also a great launching point for future clinical study 

Live Streamed (& Recorded) Class Topics
Class 1: Backyard Medicine | Tea Blending
Class 2: Herbal Safety | Herb-Infused Broths
Class 3: Longevity & Vitality | Cordials, Elixirs & Oxymels
Class 4:  Strong Bones | Nourishing Infusions & Seaweed Snacks
Class 5: Brain-Boosting Herbs | Brainiac Bonbons
Class 6: Managing Chronic Pain | Gin Raisins or Topical Pain Oil
Class 7: Strong Lungs | Herbal Cough Syrup
Class 8: Healthy Skin with Herbs | Flower Water & Herbal Exfoliant
Class 9: Autoimmune Support | Electuaries

Student perks include… 

Lifetime access to online course materials

Bonus on-demand class and herb walk video recordings

1 year American Herbalists Guild student membership

Exclusive discounts to local and national herb farms, shops, and books

Certificate upon completion of the series/homework

Limited $125 value optional remedy kits available (USA only)

Advanced Health Concerns 

~ Drop In Classes~

Register for a Drop In Class HERE

• Jun 3: Advanced Gut Repair w/Maria 
• Jun 10: Menopause w/Maria 
• Sep 9: Fatigue Differentials with Thomas Easley
• Sep 16: Nervous System, PTSD & Trauma Support for Herbalists with Amy Branum 
• Sep 30: Herb-Drug Interactions w/Maria 
• Oct 7: Thyroid w/Maria 
• Oct 14: Lyme Disease & Coinfections with Debbie Mercier 
• Oct 21: Herbal Cancer Care with Ember Peters (5-8 pm EST) 
• Oct 28: Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) & Histamine  Intolerance Overview & Herbal Approaches with Mel Kasting
• Nov 11: Death and Dying Workshop for Herbalists with Suchil Coffman-Guerra
• Nov 18: COVID Considerations with Maria

Guest Teacher Drop In Bundle: Register Here

Upcoming Events (June & July)

Wintergreen Botanicals

Maria Noel Groves, RH (AHG)

www.WintergreenBotanicals.com

603-340-5161

office@wintergreenbotanicals.com