Welcome to The Withered Herb! A culmination of my interests, values and desires this business venture is “Decidedly Different” in a variety of ways.
Why Herbs?
Plants fascinate me but herbs have my heart. They have served humanity (and other animals) for thousands of years offering a multitude of tangible uses:
Culinary – Imagine our food without the aromas and flavors of herbs and spices. At one time, spices and herbs were often traded as currency.
Medicinal – Historically, human’s use of herbs and spices to soothe, treat and prevent ailments was the primary application of herbal knowledge. Plant medicine is still the primary source for most modern medicines.
Scents – Humans have a long history of smelliness! For thousands of years, herbs and spices, which are often heavily scented due to the oils in their leaves and flowers, were used to mask offensive smells. The business of plant smells is a big one: billions are spent on pleasant smelling cleaning products and personal toiletries.
Cosmetic – Cleanliness and beauty treatments were based on specific powers of herbs. Our skin is our biggest organ and absorbs what we put on it. Herbs offer a gentle alternative to many of the expensive commercial products that are often based in harsh chemicals.
Home & Garden – As flowering plants that typically dry well retaining their scents and colors, herbs more than earn their keep by offering visual appeal alive in our gardens and withered in our homes.
Herbs have a rich folkloric heritage that often attempted to explain how and why an herb worked. Dismissed as simple folklore by some, research and technical examination on herbs’ remarkable powers are now revealing that many of those explanations were right on.
My interest in herbs started many years ago with my desire to stop using industrial products that were laden with what I believed to be dangerous chemicals. Over the years, research indicates that our environment and our bodies are absorbing hundreds of industrial chemicals from products that we use on a daily basis. Herbs offer an alternative to these chemicals, some of which are considered carcinogenic.
But it was the garden and my interest in culinary herbs where my interest for all things herbal evolved. And so, my decision to start my own business had to include my passion for the last thirty years: herbs & spices.
This site celebrates the many ways that we can use herbs & spices in our daily lives. My gift baskets, herbal products, recipes, photos, descriptions, historical anecdotes, book reviews, research findings, gardening tips, and random musings will offer the visitor a glimpse into the magical world of herbs.
Like my life, my gardens, my reading lists, and my business venture this site is a work in progress. I encourage you to grab a mug of herbal tea and explore. Oh, you don’t have a mug of herbal tea? It just so happens you can find both in the The Withered Herb E-Store!
Blessings,
Sue