Today.....

Here are some more lovely shots of he garden.....

A walk in my garden

Today on my walk about the garden I was absolutely amazed at the signs of Spring.  I will begin in earnest this week composting the beds, laying gravel, moving rocks and so forth.  It is good to be outside.  Sunny days, cool nights.  I have experienced a personal shock and mistrust this past week, I find being among my plants, digging in the soil, tidying up, to be a wonderful therapy.  I am grateful for the gift of ShadyAcres, my little spot in the Smoky Mountains.

No podcast this week.  They will resume March 1  with Vesna Plakanis of A Walk In The Woods.  Topic....Women of a Certain Age and The Great Outdoors.  Many more wonderful guests with potent information for you as the year goes on.  Better to get it all organized, me thinks, then to proceed in a rush.

Specials this week are a free soap with every order!!! 

Also announcing that as of tomorrow, you will be able to place an order right on FaceBook.  Thanks to another woman business owner for making me aware of this time saving tool!!!

I hope you enjoy the following photos as much as I enjoyed being on a little jaunt and taking them.

Have a Green Week!!!  Cynthia @ MoonMaid Botanicals

This was a wonderful weekend filled with plans and then the actual event, Indie Business Meet-up!!!  Many folks around the country gathered with other like-minded business owners for events and get togethers everywhere!!!  I had a fantastic time with women who are future guests on my podcast, Women of A Certain Age and....., as well as local business owners who might are potential members of Indie Beauty Network. 

Because I am travelling there will not be a podcast this week.  Next week we start again with topics such as Women of A Certain Age and Retirement, The Great Outdoors and much more. I will keep you posted. 

I will have an article posted tomorrow on WildYam.  A very important herb here @ MoonMaid as it is the key ingredient in 3 of our signature formulas; ProMeno Women's Wild Yam Cream and ProAndro Men's Wild Yam Cream as well as VitalVulva Wild Yam Salve.  All are alternatives to bio-identical and chemical hormone products.

Get them here      http://www.moonmaidbotanicals.com/products.htm

Meanwhile, enjoy the pictures of our get together and launching Wish Laterns off into the sky @ rhia link
       http://on.fb.me/A29Eew


Have a wonder day....may it be blessed with an interaction with at least one fabulous Herb!!!

This Week at MoonMaid

Free shipping all this week on phone orders....place yours @ 877.253.7853

BlogTalkRadio Show is tomorrow @ 2 PM EST with guest Nomi Shannon, raw food expert, educator and author.  Check out information about Nomi and how to listen to this informative and educational call @ this link  http://bit.ly/zuvTAP  Nomi is a wealth of knowledge on the benefits of raw, how to do it and has lots of recipes.  Please call in during the show and Nomi can answer your questions directly.  The call in number is 818.475.9319 at 2 PM EST, tomorrow, Tuesday January 10, 2012. 

Herb of the week is Calendula (Calendula officinalis) I particularly love this bright "happy" plant!!!

I use it in my CalendulaBlossom Cream which is available separately or in my flower kit.  Get yours here http://bit.ly/waxIfK

Not only a beautiful flower in the garden, it has many medicinal uses for the home herbalist. This fabulous blossom is not only anti-inflammatory making it a possible choice for arthritis and other inflammatory conditions, it is also anti-fungal and anti-microbial.  Used internally is it excellent for digestive inflammation and may be effective for ulcers.  Not only internal ulcers may benefit but external inflammation, cuts and abrasions are all soothed by this healing plant.  An infused oil of this blossom is a must have in any herbal first aid kit.

According to Culpeper, an renowed 19 century herbalist, calendula would strengthen the heart.  It is a plant of the sun and blooms all summer, beautiful orange, golden or yellow blossoms.  Summer allergies that effect the eyes may be relieved by an eyewash of calendula. Minor bruises, cuts, scrapes, and bites will all be soothed by an infused oil.

Create a wash for eyes or any wound by simply steeping the petals in water…similar to making a cup of tea. Use muslin or organic cotton soaked in the tea to wash the eyes or skin.  To make an oil infusion substitute the warm water with warm oil (olive, sunflower or almond are my favorites), cover the blossoms with oil and let stand, tightly sealed,  in a cupboard for 2 weeks.  Then strain the oil from the plant and you have a potent oil for immediate use.  You can create a salve by adding a mix of melted beeswax and coconut oil, cocoa butter or shea butter to your calendula oil.  Blending  all or some of the substances together will create a “hard” oil or salve.  The beeswax is a necessity while the other ingredients are added as desired.

In food, the blossoms were once used to color cheese, often used in soups and stews or salads as the petals add a slight peppery taste to any dish.  Growing this plant in your garden between other vegetables creates natural pest control.  The strong aroma of this plant keeps many pests at bay.  Try planting it between your greens, spinach and lettuces.

However you use this wonderful plant, I hope it will become a staple in your garden, kitchen and medicine cabinet.

Until next week.....Herbal Blessings!!!  Cynthia @ MoonMaid Botanicals

Getting ready for travel next week....

Getting into the Holiday Spirit by spending time with good friends sharing good food and lot's of laughter.  This will continue into this upcoming weekend.  This is also my week to shop for the few gifts that I am purchasing.  I always adopt a needy family so I'll get that under the tree.  Writing a few cards to folks I don't talk to often or see often.  It feels like a good time to send a note of thoughts and good wishes.  My family has decided not to exchange gifts among us adults.....but we are buying for our grandkids, neices and nephews.  This is fun as well.  It took away so much of the "I should" pressure and left space for spoiling the kids who really appreciate it!!!! 

Because I am so busy I am not doing a BlogShow this week.  I think I'll put it off until after the holidays.  First show will be January 10th, Tuesday at 2PM ET.  I'm planning a great line-up for 2012 including: How to Blend the Perfect Cup of Tea, Insights into Menopause from health expert Sherri Goddard, Herbs for Menopause, The 10 Herbs everyone should have at home, and much much more!!!  If you can't listen for the actual broadcast, you can always find a link at my website or click   http://bit.ly/Il6dN   to see what might be of interest.

Product specials:  For phone orders placed between now and the end of the year, no shipping and 20% off any bundle.  Call 877.253.7853 to place your order today.

Plant of the week:  Comfrey.  It is one of my ESSENTIAL plants and I use it often!!!

Comfrey (Symphytum officinalis) has many folk names that tell the tale of this plant: knitbone is the most common.  There is a "legend" that this plant which can have leaves that are the size of your forearm, was wrapped on the broken bones of soilders during the Civil War to heal the break.  It can be abundant in the woods so was likely readily available.  It is a demulcent (soothing) as well as an expectorant (expels mucous) plant, both leaf and root.  It can be used to sooth an irritated intestine or colon, as well as irritated tummy.  When lungs are full of mucous and tired from the act of coughing, there is no superior remedy then a mix of comfrey leaf and root.  I use this plant for burns, irritations and bug bites.  You find it in many of my products; like VitalVulva Wild Yam Salve, Ouch Ointment and CalendulaBlossom Cream.  Click http://bit.ly/arEbAS to see more about these products.

My own personal experience with comfrey is on a very profound burn I experienced some years ago.  Hot boiling oil complete with beeswax exploded onto my arm.  I had my comfrey plant nearby and immediately crushed leaves and began to apply to this burn.  Over time, the only sign of this burn is the lack of pigment on my arm.  Otherwise, the skin looks just like the rest of my arm....which is not common for bad burns.  Usually the skin appears crinkled.  Amazing what the plant kingdom can do for us, for less cost and less trauma to our bodies!!!

I hope you have a wonderful week.  I look forward to checking in with you next Monday.

Cynthia Johnston

MoonMaid Botanicals

877.253.7853

Getting on a schedule....

I am currently working in a coaching program about Branded Content and developing a strategy to create success with this marketing technique, and tool I suppose.  My Monday Blog will focus on what is up at MoonMaid this week;  our specials, the subject of my weekly BlogTalk Radio show and my Herb of the Week.

Specials...........20% off all "bundles" and free shipping on those orders.  Place these orders by phone @ 877.253.7853

Weekly Blog Show:  Cynthia will discuss MoonMaid Botanical products that may be effective for "women of a certain age" that are experiencing hormone issues:  Listen here:
http://bit.ly/tkPVVR

Herb of the Week:  Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa)    This amazing plant with it's ribbed heart shaped leaves grows abundantly at ShadyAcres Plant Sanctuary, MoonMaid Botanicals' forest garden.  I often find it whorled around a rather elusive forest plant Ginseng.  Though the above ground leaves of Wild Yam are abundant, the plant has very small finger sized roots.  It is easy to see how this plant has become dangerously overharvested as it is the main plant source of diosgenin which is  a potent saponin taken from this root and converted into Progesterone for natural products or into "Progestins" for pharmaceutical products.   Synthetic progestins that are in prescriptions like PremPro, are often called "progesterone" by physicians but Beware!!!!  There is a huge difference in these prescription drugs and natural bio-identical products with true progesterone.  Additionally we have truely "herbal" products like the ones described below.

MoonMaid's core products; ProMeno Wild Yam Cream, ProAndro Men's Wild Yam Cream and VitalVulva Wild Yam salve are a slightly different products then those mentioned above in that we do an "herbal infusion" process of the plant into organic olive oil.   Akin to making a cup of tea with a herb and water,  jar of herb and oil is warmed at a low temperature the theory being that the properties of the herb are taken into the oil.  Our products are applied topically and geared to help women and men who are experiencing hormones swings due to menopause, andropause, PMS, and a variety of other symptoms that seem somehow directly related to the toxic estrogens in our environment.    Though these products do not contain any actual hormones they seem to help the body address hormone balance in a natural way.  Hormone free products are increasingly being sought out by women and men who have any sort of cancer issues. 

We definitely think hormone and adrenal balance are critical to a healthy life.........and we Believe that herbs can be a big help.  Hear more about this subject on my blog talk show on Tuesday @ 2 where I will discuss the effective way to use MoonMaid products for hormone issues........and why it is so predominant in society today.  Listen here: 
http://bit.ly/tkPVVR
Until next week.......may you delight in all of the weeds that grow around you!!!
Cynthia @ MoonMaid Botanicals
www.moonmaidbotanicals.com
moonmaidbotanicals@yahoo.com
877.253.7853

May since I have written.  Did make it home at last from Virginia.  Have done another road trip since then out West to NewMexico to the Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference.  The best I have ever attended.  Wonderful group of brilliant and eclectic folks!!!!  Took my Toyota Truck on that trip and discovered I am no longer a "truck gal" which I was forever.  I guess from my truck, I graduated to a wagon that I also loved, then to my fabulous van.......I do tend to get attached to my vehicles.  I have now moved on to a Subaru Outback Wagon.  Really great!!!!  Now....trying to decide to keep the truck or let it go.  Do I really need two cars?  I live in the country....trucks are handy, alas, it does not happen to be a 4WD.  Time will tell.
Now off to tidying up this blog!!!  I am planning to begin a Herb of the Week.  That should keep me busy for a long long while......so many wonderful plants!!!
Until next time.....