Wayside Blog — Wayside Botanicals

Rebirth with Chaparral

Chaparral, creosote bush, Larrea divaricate and L. tridentata. One of my absolute favorite herbs. The smell reminds me of my teen years spending summers with my grandparents in Southern New Mexico. The moisture from the summer monsoons would release its aromatic and invigorating sent, awaking every cell in my body, and the body of the Earth. Id imagine that the smell would help wake the soil and plants up to be ready to receive the rains so desperately needed on a hot dry day in July. The smell now takes me back to that space inside myself as a budding woman, just staring my long journey into female hood and all the hardships and miracles I would and still endure, it gives me comfort and strength.

reisha beckJanuary 30, 2022Chaparral, medicinal uses of chaparral Comments

Herbs for Imbolc

Imbolc is a fantastic time to initiate healing and to re-member ourselves by reclaiming the parts of our selves or lives we have forgotten. May these herbs be a doorway to help connect you to health, wellbeing and happiness for the coming seasons.

reisha beckJanuary 30, 2022Comment

Red Alder - Tree of Resurrection

Alder bark is one of the most under rated, under used and under researched botanicals, in my opinion. Its traditional usage is found in most parts of the northern hemisphere. From England and Russia to Alaska and New Mexico, Alder Bark has a long history of use, for good reason. It has a powerful ability to cleanse the waters of our bodies. Much like how alder trees cleanse the waters along streams and riparian ecosystems, Alder cleanses our lymph and blood from impurities and stagnant toxins. Alder is cooling and mildly drying in action and is very grounding.

reisha beckJanuary 28, 2022Alder Medicinal Uses, alder bark, Red Alder Medicine, Alder Trees Comment

Herb Drying Tips: Garbling and Passive Solar Drying Shed

Hey folks, just wanted to share some herb drying tips, as I’ve had several folks ask about my set up lately. When I started my farm in 2017, I was completely off the grid, with no electricity for drying. So, i had to get creative! I researched and found that both Peg Shafer’s Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm, and Jeff Carpenters Zack Woods Herb Farm both had passive solar drying sheds, on a large scale, to dry their herbs. It was an affordable solution for me, easy to build, and requires no electrify.

reisha beckJune 2, 2021 Comments

Balm of Gilead, Black Cottonwood Buds

Cottonwood Buds Balm of Gilead, Populus trichocarpa

Known for their amazing aroma and remarkable healing qualities. Cottonwood buds are one of my favorite winter harvests. Winter storms break branches and sometimes knock over whole trees, making picking these fallen gifts a very ethical harvest. You can harvest the buds and twigs from mid-November, if you don’t mind dealing with the leaves, to early march up to two weeks after the Indian plum starts blooming. The sticky resinous buds mark your hands and make for a wonderfully fragrant harvest.

reisha beckMarch 8, 2021Cottonwood buds, Balm of Gilead, Wild HArvesting, Wayside BotanicalsComment

Usnea Lungs of the Forest

Wild Harvesting doesn’t stop in the winter, in fact making use of our wild winter storms here in the Pacific Northwest makes for abundant ethical harvesting. One of which is Usnea. Windstorms knock down branches from the canopies loaded with this medicinal lichen, and we harvesters can come along and gather the fresh vibrant thalli of Usnea. If they are yellowing or brown, they have been on the ground too long and are now decomposing and adding nitrogen back into the forest soil, so look for the vibrant green ones.

reisha beckFebruary 6, 2021Wayside BotanicalsComment