It was such a pleasure to sit down with herbalist and teacher, Nicole Telkes, to discuss juniper (Juniperus spp.)! In some bioregions, this plant is hated as a pest in the landscape and a source of misery to seasonal-allergy sufferers. But juniper is full of medicinal gifts! For instance, juniper:
► Supports the kidneys and urinary tract
► Warms cold, cramping muscles and can soothe the pain of osteoarthritis
► Can help to clear fungal infections
► and more
Juniper also gives us aromatic, beautifully-colored and -grained wood and provides habitat and food for a multitude of animals.
There’s a lot to enjoy and appreciate about juniper!
By the end of this episode, you’ll know:
► Why it’s important to question and observe the role of plants in their environment… and to critically evaluate what you’re going to do with plants before you harvest a single leaf
► Two types of infections it’s really smart to talk with your doctor about before self-treating
► Who needs to be cautious about working with juniper (and why)
► The surprising role of passivity in herbalism
► How to make a juniper infused herbal oil you can massage into sore muscles or cold joints…or just enjoy as an after-bath oil that will leave you smelling delicious (be sure to download your recipe card!)
Here are two of my favorite takeaways from our conversation:
“In permaculture, we always talk about turning problem areas into solutions, or things that are looked at as a problem into a solution. I look at invasive and weedy plants and how can we turn them into solutions.”
“It’s like a grocery store. You can’t just walk into the grocery store and take whatever you want. Even in a grocery store, you still have to exchange something. In nature, we might not be exchanging money, but we need to exchange something back.”
For those who don’t already know Nicole, she is an award winning practicing herbalist and RH(AHG). She has a background in botanical studies, plant conservation work, community activism, and herbal first-aid clinics. She wrote the books Medicinal Plants of Texas and Herbcraft: The Complete Guide to 21st Century Holistic Western Herbalism. She lives between Seattle and Austin, supervising over 250 medicinal plants and themed gardens at Bastyr University and is the founder and lead instructor at the Wildflower School of Botanical Medicine. She is best known for her work freeing fire cider.
If you’d like to hear more from Nicole, which I highly recommend, then head to the show notes where you can get easy links for her website and social media. You can also find the transcript for this episode in the show notes.
I’m so happy to share our conversation with you today!
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Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com
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On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.
Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.
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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients Into Foods & Remedies That Heal and co-author of the bestselling book Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine. She's a registered herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild and teaches many popular online courses. Read about how Rosalee went from having a terminal illness to being a bestselling author in her full story here.
