Saturday, January 28, 2012

Beginnings

Golden Bough Herbs started officially in Portland, Or by Clea Partridge.  She's been making her own balms, salves, and tinctures for years in an effort to help herself and her friends move away from mass marketed medicines.  All herbal ingredients are wild harvested from safe locations in the Pacific Northwest.

This time of year the changes around us can be hard to notice.  Trees are still bare, days are still cold and short, and it seems like there is nothing growing.  However, nature provides for us year round.  Being aware of the cycles of the year helps one sync up with the outdoors.  If you let you eyes adjust, you'll notice nature's bounty even in the dead of winter.  As each month passes, more natural medicines will become available.  And some will pass away with the season.  Golden Bough Herbs hopes to offer different lines of product to coincide with the time of year.

Available in January: Poplar Buds!  (Also known as Cottonwood Buds)
Poplar Buds are a potent medicine inside the body and out.  Used in salves and oils, they help to heal topical cuts and scrapes.  A poplar bud salve is also a powerful aid in healing sore or tired muscles, arthritis, and really any aches or pains.  Poplar bud salve is great for anyone who works with their hands.

Internally (tea or tincture) they're great for helping with the common cold.  They are quite resinous, so they will create a lubricous coating that is very soothing on the throat in particular.

Right now, Golden Bough Herbs is offering:
Poplar Bud Hand Salve
Poplar Bud Oil (great for healing massages)
Poplar Bud Tincture