Rosemary Gladstar is an expert on herbalism who has taught countless people about herbs, written many books and lectured around the world. She joins me this week to share herbalism history and benefits, and the top plants for new herb growers to cultivate.
Rosemary is a community herbalist, a wild plant enthusiast and the director of The Science and Art of Herbalism, an in-depth home study course with thousands of students enrolled across the globe. She founded Sage Mountain Botanical Sanctuary in Orange, Vermont, and lived there for 30 years, recently moving to Waitsfield, Vermont. She had come to New England from the West Coast, where she grew up. She opened her first herb store on Main Street of Sebastopol, California, in 1972 — and it’s still there today. She also founded the California School of Herbal Studies, Traditional Medicinal Tea Co and Mountain Rose Herb company.
Rosemary Gladstar is a community herbalist and author. She is the director of The Science and Art of Herbalism. Photo Courtesy of Rosemary Gladstar
In talking with Rosemary, her vivaciousness, spunk, energy and health shine through.
Herbalism is the oldest system of healing on the planet, Rosemary points out. “It’s not the only system of healing. It doesn’t work best for everything, by any means, but it complements modern medicine,” she says.
Rosemary once suffered compound fractures in both legs when a young motorcyclist slid out of control and hit her while she was on a plant walk with a group. Her surgeon told her one of her legs would require a metal plate. She listened to her own instincts and refused to schedule the surgery. She continued to wear a cast while eating and drinking high-calcium herbs and high-protein herbs for 18 months. Her leg healed fine, and she has better mobility now than she would have had if she had gotten a plate in her leg.
In considering what treatments to use for an ailment, Rosemary considers what treatments will be the least damaging to the body but also least damaging ecologically.
Rosemary’s latest book is “The Generosity of Plants: Shared Wisdom from the Community of Herb Lovers” She didn’t write the whole book herself but is credited as being the “gatherer” of the wisdom shared in the book.
I had my strongest exposure to herbs, their power and their medical benefits two years ago when I went to the Chelsea Flower Show. Connected to the grounds is the Chelsea Physic Garden, established in 1673 as the pharmacy to treat the people of London.
To spend half a day or more there, wandering the plants and reading the tags and learning so much, was an experience that I’ll never forget. It helped me appreciate, more so than any other event in my life, the fact that herbs are more than just plants. The benefits that they provide are amazing.
Meet Rosemary Gladstar
“So many people rediscover herbs when they’re adults, but when I was a child, I grew up on a small dairy farm in Northern California in Sonoma County, which was like a plant haven. So I was just surrounded by plants.”
Both sets of her grandparents lived close by, and one of her grandmothers, Mary Egitkhanoff, was very plant-wise. When Rosemary began teaching herbalism in the 1970s, her grandmother would cook up hortas and wild herb stews for the students.
“I definitely, like, knelt at her feet and just learned from her, and she had a very profound influence on all of the grandchildren’s lives because she was such a remarkable human being,” Rosemary says.
Mary Egitkhanoff credited plants with saving her life. She and her family came to the United States in 1924 as refugees and were very poor.
“She meant that literally, actually, because she was deeply religious, so it was her faith in God, but she also was extremely knowledgeable about the plants,” Rosemary says. “And so my grandmother was a survivor of the Armenian genocide, as I mentioned in the book, and they were able to survive because my grandmother knew a lot about the wild plants. …
“She knew all the plants and knew how to make medicines from them and how to eat them.”
Rosemary Gladstar is the gatherer of the wisdom found in “The Generosity of Plants.”
Befriending the Great Juliette de Baïracli Levy
“I was very fortunate when I was younger to connect with some amazing elders,” Rosemary says.
One who was a great influence and an early teacher was the world-famous herbalist Juliette de Baïracli Levy, who was of Turkish-Egyptian descent and grew up in England. When Rosemary first learned of Juliette, Juliette was living on a remote island in Greece.
“She was just this incredibly wild character,” Rosemary recalls. “This is way back in the ’70, and then she herself had begun her herbal journey in the 1940s, and she’d written a number of books that were sort of obsolete when I was a child growing up.”
Rosemary discovered those books, which had a profound influence on her life. She was determined to meet Juliette, who was in her 70s then. Rosemary traveled to Greece, and they forged a friendship that continued until Juliette died in 2009 at the age of 99.
Herb Precautions
Herbs are delivered via tinctures, salves, infused oils, teas and capsules.
Rosemary notes that herbs can interfere with certain medications, just like how someone taking statins is supposed to refrain from drinking grapefruit juice. She always recommends consulting a doctor — hopefully a plant-savvy doctor — or a clinical herbalist.
“Absolutely, if somebody is on lifesaving medication, like they have heart issues and they’re taking medication to prevent heart attacks, you want to be very mindful of whatever other medicines you’re taking, whether it’s over the counter or herbal,” she says.
There is a large group of herbs considered tonic or food herbs, that are cooked along with greens like dandelion greens, nettle, amaranth or chickweed, Rosemary says. “All these weedy plants that grow in our gardens, they’re food herbs. Those are the herbs my grandmother survived on, and our ancestors that survived on. So you don’t have to worry about those herbs.”
But those who haven’t studied herbs won’t know which plants are the strong, medicinal herbs, she adds.
What Are Herbs and Herbalism?
Webster’s dictionary defines an herb as a non-woody plant.
“But herbalists define all plants that are useful as herbs, and basically, I would say that’s all plants on the planet,” Rosemary says.
Even a plant that may be toxic to humans has an important place in the great web of life, she says. “Herbalists look at plants, whether they’re culinaries or medicinals or healing the earth because they’re high in nitrogen, as being all herbs.”
Herbalism is a broad term as well. Rosemary says when sick people hear “herbalist” they think of someone who treats medical issues. But herbs can also heal the soil.
“I define herbalists as people who work with plants on any level,” Rosemary says.
There has been a tremendous amount of research done all over the world with scientific rigor that has proven what herbalists have known for millennia about herbs, according to Rosemary.
“The other aspect of herbalism is, to me, the more fascinating part. It’s really the art, and art is not defined by rules so much,” she says.
This comes into play when helping people with health struggles.
“When we talk about the art of herbalism, when you’re working with people who have health problems … there’s standard recipes. There’s constitutional types, but really every single individual is different, and they’re going to respond to the medicines — whether it’s pharmaceuticals or herbs — in a different way. So herbalists always say, ‘We treat individuals not disease.’”
She says it’s important to talk about the science because it engages people’s minds. “And in Western society, we tend to learn with our minds, which is unfortunate because we’re so geared to learn with our hearts and our beings. And really, our minds really are serving the art.”
Rosemary says so many herbalism studies are about learning to perceive through your heart. Sacred plant communication is about “going beyond the mind of what you know, and beginning to converse actually with the plants themselves.”
As a gardener, being out with your plants is part of the magic for you, she says. Plants have conversations with gardeners, telling us when they need something. Or saying, “Look at me, I’m so beautiful.” And during harvest, they tell us when they are ready.
Rosemary says what really is exciting to her is falling into the beauty of the plants and getting lost in there.
Photo Courtesy of Rosemary Gladstar
Does Herbalism Work?
“The World Health Organization reports over 82% of the world still uses herbs as a primary system of healing, and we in the United States are one of the only countries in the world where it’s illegal to practice herbalism as a healing art,” Rosemary says. “We practice it, but the laws are written up that unless you have a medical license, you can’t use any other system of healing.”
When people ask Rosemary whether herbs really work, she laughs and thinks: They would’ve been discarded centuries ago if they didn’t. In fact, many herbs are no longer used because it was found that they are not effective, just as many pharmaceuticals are no longer in use. It’s what works best that lasts and is passed along through the centuries.
“Today you can find herb stores in almost every town,” she notes. “You can find herb classes, herb gardens. You can find practitioners. You find a lot of doctors who are very, very interested in herbal medicine.”
Herbs and Pharmaceuticals
The stimulant ephedrine has numerous medical uses. Before scientists learned how to synthesize it, it was derived from ma huang, a plant in the genus Ephedra. Morphine, which can also be synthesized, is derived from poppy plants.
“Many of the important drugs that are used today were originally from the plants, and then now they synthesize them,” Rosemary says.
Pharma extracts just the active ingredient, while plants contain all of the other chemical constituents that support the active ingredient. Concentrated in large amounts, the active ingredient becomes a drug.
The pharmaceutical industry emerged after World War II. But decades before then, the American Medical Association was founded in 1847. The AMA fought to stop “quackery” in medicine. It also was a reason why eclectic medicine — a branch of American medicine that used botanical remedies, other substances and physical therapy — lost favor. The last school of eclectic medicine, the Eclectic Medical Institute in Cincinnati, closed its doors in 1942.
“The Lloyd Library, which is the largest collection of medical herbal textbooks and eclectic textbooks in the world, is still open in Cincinnati,” Rosemary notes. “A lot of doctors and herbalists and people who are studying medicine go there to research because the books are still available.”
Why Grow Herbs
“Most herbs are fairly simple to grow,” Rosemary says. “They’re vigorous. They’re not fussy. Most of them are going to be pretty hearty.”
There is a huge group of culinary herbs such as mint, oregano, thyme, and marjoram. “There’s just nothing that sparkles a meal like fresh herbs from the garden,” she says.
Then there are culinary herbs that are also used therapeutically, such as garlic and dill.
“Kitchens would be boring without garlic,” Rosemary says. “And yet here you have one of your most incredible immune-supporting herbs. You have an herb that’s really excellent for people who have high cholesterol, have heart problems. It’s great for warding off colds and flus. It’s an amazing immune supporter. It’s great for warding off people you don’t want to be around. Just eat a lot of fresh garlic.”
Dill is an herb with seeds that help relieve gassiness and bloating.
Lavender is fragrant and beautiful, and it’s used for nerve relief. The flowers can be soaked in oil to be added to a bath or used as a body oil. A little can be added to tea.
“We call lavender ‘first aid in a bottle,’” Rosemary says. You can mix the oil with a little bit of honey to be used as an antiseptic on burns and insect bites.
Yarrow is considered a weedy plant but it’s a major herb. It’s used for digestion to relieve cramping.
“It can also be applied to a wound to stop bleeding externally. Then we can also use it internally for bleeding. I’ve used this plant for serious situations and have seen it work wonders.”
Yarrow’s scientific name is Achillea millefolium.
Achilles used it in the Battle of Troy to stop the bleeding of the soldiers, Rosemary says, and in World War II, when medicine was hard to get out to the fields, yarrow was used to treat wounds and bleeding.
A black swallowtail butterfly caterpillar on dill, a culinary herb with seeds that relieve gassiness. Photo credit: Amy Prentice
Herbal Tea
Soda, even natural soda, is full of sugar. Herbal teas are refreshing with no sugar needed.
“You can make your teas with all the herbs growing in your garden and they can be delicious but they can also be so health giving.”
Rosemary recommends using a wide-mouth quart jar. At night, fill the jar a quarter of the way with herbs, then add boiling water. The next morning, strain it. That leaves you with four cups of nutritious tea.
“Herbs can be incredibly nutritionally packed. In fact, almost all of the herbs are higher in vitamins and minerals than the garden vegetables,” she says.
For example, nettle is a rich source of calcium, iron and protein.
“It stings. So you have to pick it with your gloves on. … But once you steam it or make tea with it or cook it in your omelets and stuff, it’s a delicious green.”
Peppermint or spearmint can be added to any tea to lift up the flavor.
The United Plant Savers.
Rosemary helped found the United Plant Savers.
“Of all the things I’ve done in my life, that would be the thing that I’m most pleased with,” she says.
Rosemary moved to a wilderness area in Vermont in the late 1980s — a 600-acre herbal retreat center that abutted 25,000 acres of wilderness.
“It was a big strip of wilderness, and I was really excited about seeing a lot of the herbs that were native to the Northeast that were very primary herbs in our materia medica — herbs that were very popular herbs used medicinally.”
But she found very few plants where they would be expected to grow. “It kind of alarmed me,” she said.
She started thinking about how herbalism was becoming popular, but there was no conversation about where the plants were coming from.
“So in 1994, a group of herbalists came together — there were about 13 of us — and we decided to form a nonprofit organization to address the issue of plant conservation,” she recalls.
They purchased a 370-acre ranch in southeastern Ohio, which is the center of the organization. Today it has a learning center, a research center in a library and a glass conservatory.
“It’s been a really incredible work that we’ve created that’s really, I think, a gift to American herbalism and a statement for American herbalism, because plant conservation and addressing which plants are at risk and turning plants away from being wildcrafted to organically cultivated has become a big turnaround in the industry.”
Thirty years ago, almost all plants used in herbalism were taken from the wild. Now, there are many organic herb farmers.
Echinacea is native to the New World. It was historically taken from the wild and exported, but today it is cultivated. Photo Courtesy of Rosemary Gladstar
I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Rosemary Gladstar on herbalism. If you haven’t listened yet, you can do so now by scrolling to the top of the page and clicking the Play icon in the green bar under the page title.
Do you grow herbs for your health? Let us know in the comments below.
Links & Resources
Some product links in this guide are affiliate links. See full disclosure below.
Episode 190: Growing Herbs: The Workhorse Plants for Every Garden, Outdoors and Indoors
joe gardener Blog: How Do I Grow Herbs?
joegardener Online Gardening Academy™: Popular courses on gardening fundamentals; managing pests, diseases & weeds; seed starting and more.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Organic Vegetable Gardening: My new premium online course. The course is designed to be a comprehensive guide to starting, growing, nurturing and harvesting your favorite vegetables, no matter what you love to eat, no matter where you live, no matter your level of gardening experience.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Master Seed Starting: Everything you need to know to start your own plants from seed — indoors and out.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Beginning Gardener Fundamentals: Essential principles to know to create a thriving garden.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Growing Epic Tomatoes: Learn how to grow epic tomatoes with Joe Lamp’l and Craig LeHoullier.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Master Pests, Diseases & Weeds: Learn the proactive steps to take to manage pests, diseases and weeds for a more successful garden with a lot less frustration. Just $47 for lifetime access!
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Perfect Soil Recipe Master Class: Learn how to create the perfect soil environment for thriving plants.
The Science & Art of Herbalism online course
“The Generosity of Plants: Shared Wisdom from the Community of Herb Lovers” gathered by Rosemary Gladstar
“Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide: 33 Healing Herbs to Know, Grow, and Use”
“Herbs for Children’s Health How to Make and Use Gentle Herbal Remedies for Common Childhood Ailments” by Rosemary Gladstar
“Herbs for Common Ailments: How to Make and Use Herbal Remedies for Home Health Care” by Rosemary Gladstar
“Herbal Healing for Women” by Rosemary Gladstar
“The Nation of Plants” by Stefano Mancuso
“Lab Girl: A Memoir” by Hope Jahren
Rosemary Gladstar on Instagram | @rosemarygladstar
Rosemary Gladstar on Bluesky | @rosemarygladstar.com
Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbs & Earth Awareness on Facebook
Rosemary Gladstar’s Science & Art of Herbalism on YouTube
California School of Herbal Studies.
Sage Mountain Botanical Sanctuary
Dramm – Our podcast episode sponsor and Brand Partner of joegardener.com
Proven Winners ColorChoice – Our podcast episode sponsor and Brand Partner of joegardener.com
Milorganite® – Our podcast episode sponsor and Brand Partner of joegardener.com
Disclosure: Some product links in this guide are affiliate links, which means we get a commission if you make a purchase. However, none of the prices of these resources have been increased to compensate us, and compensation is not an influencing factor on their inclusion here. The selection of all items featured in this post and podcast was based solely on merit and in no way influenced by any affiliate or financial incentive, or contractual relationship. At the time of this writing, Joe Lamp’l has professional relationships with the following companies who may have products included in this post and podcast: Milorganite, Soil3, Territorial Seed Company, Proven Winners ColorChoice, and Dramm. These companies are either Brand Partners of joegardener.com and/or advertise on our website. However, we receive no additional compensation from the sales or promotion of their product through this guide. The inclusion of any products mentioned within this post is entirely independent and exclusive of any relationship.
