Welcome To The Herb Society UK

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Latest Issue Of 'Herbs' Out Now!

The winter issue of the Society's journal 'Herbs', is out now. Growing And Using Savory, Judith Hann Herb Society President, enjoys growing savory in her Cotswold garden.

We have a review and extract from Terry Breverton's fascinating new book Breverton's Complete Herbal: A Book of Remarkable Plants and Their Uses, pays homage to Culpeper and our herbal predecessors and contains just about everything you'll ever need to know about the properties and provenance of herbs and spices of the world, from Amara dulcis to Yarrow.

Yotam Ottolenghi, chef, patron and Guardian columnist, enthuses about the distinctive flavours of coriander, the seeds and leaves of which make it his unmissable two-shot herb. Yotam Ottolenghi’s Desert Island Herb… Coriander.

Jill Saunders, Head Gardener at East Riddlesden Hall, describes the way herbs were once used by the family who lived at the property, and sets the scene for herb gardening there now. Time To Explore… Kitchen Herbs At East Riddlesden Hall.

Gareth Evans finds traces of herbal history and imagery at every turn on a visit to Nuremberg in his article Spice Sacks And The City. Back on the home front he makes a gentle plea for green thoughts in a green country as he muses on medicinal and herbal culture in Wales and the need for continuing research The Importance Of Being Wormwood. Plus articles from regular contributors Caroline Holmes, Anthony Lyman-Dixon and Pamela Westland.

Members Business Directory

Herb Cosmetics & Crafts

Our Library & Archives

Our Presidents

Our Herb Garden (A Virtual Tour)

Herb Society Garden On BBC's Escape To The Country!

During the summer of 2011 the BBC came to Sulgrave Manor with the crew from “Escape to the Country” and filmed Council member Cheryl Waller showing a couple looking for a new home in the area around the society's herb garden, discussing with them many of the benefits and uses of herbs. The programme airs on Friday 23rd December on BBC 1 at 3:00pm, if you miss it, it can be viewed using BBC's iPlayer up to the 30th December.

For those of you that want to find out more about our garden, why not take a virtual tour and make plans to visit and experience it for yourself in 2012.

It's Cold And Flu Season

If you've just found our website and are new to the world of herbs and herbal remedies you may find the following articles useful for the seasonal coughs and colds that affect most of us at this time of the year.

Christopher Hedley and Non Shaw offer some seasonal recipes and sage advice in their article Winter Cold & Flu Remedies in which you can find recipes for a 'classic' herbal cold and flu tea and learn how to make a tasty cough syrup for unproductive coughs.

Ann McIntyre, a former president of the Society offers advice on how you can best herbally be Preparing For The Cold Season by boosting your immune system using herbs and shares her recipe for Elderberry Syrup.

New Look Website Coming Soon

Our webmistress had to take some time off in 2011 due to ill health which explains why we've not had the usual web updates and new content adding to the site during the majority of 2011.

We're pleased to say that she's now feeling much better and our site will once again have regular updates and new content added. The main site will also be revamped and relaunched as will the Society's education area during 2012, see the teaser image (left). Welcome back Debs!

Join Judith Hann For President's Day In 2012

Enjoy a day at Judith Hann’s wonderful garden in the Cotswolds on Friday 25 May 2012. Visit her walled herb garden and six acres of glorious gardens are there to be discovered. Learn some fascinating ways of cooking with herbs and taste some delightful dishes cooked by Judith. Full details in the March issue of Herbs. Judith is passionate about herbs and runs a successful cookery school Hann's Herbs from her home in the Cotswolds.

Read how Judith came to be such a fan of culinary herbs and her hopes for her 2 year presidency here 2010/12 Herb Society President.

A Year With James Wong - Review & Recipes

James Wong, the UK's most popular ethnobotanist will be back on our screens in March with a new series. To coincide with the series there is a new book containing over 100 new recipes, you can read a full review of the book and order your copy via Amazon here.

NB: Herb Society members can find three recipes and photos from James new book in the Members Area, the recipes we’ve included are the Oats & Almond Moisturizing Body Cream, Honeysuckle & Jasmine Jelly for Sore Throats and Wood Polish, all containing honey or beeswax.

Herb Society Bee Aware! Campaign

The decline of the Western honeybee population has been noticed by gardeners and commented on widely by journalists with various reasons being given from overuse of pesticides to destruction of habitat. It has been shown that pesticides affect how bees communicate and their ability to get back to the hive. Add to that the fact that they are vulnerable due to a weak immune system which means they cannot withstand more than three challenges, and the outlook is pretty bleak. The trouble is, at the moment no-one really knows why bees are disappearing at such an alarming rate so we at the Herb Society have decided to join the debate and raise awareness so our focus this year is our BEE AWARE! campaign.

We're On Facebook - Become A Fan!

If you have a Facebook account, you can help promote the Herb Society by 'Becoming A Fan'. We've created a page on 'Facebook' designed to let people know about the Society, who we are, what we do and to promote the benefit of herbs.

You can access the page by clicking on the logo to the right, once there just click the [Become A Fan] link and you'll be added to our fan list. You can also join our Facebook Group if you're so inclined. Using popular social networking tools like Facebook can help get the word out to people who otherwise may have not heard about us.

Latest Companies To Join Our Members Discount Scheme

Several new companies have recently joined the scheme to offer discounts to members. The latest to join are Amiya Natural Beauty, Culberry Nursery (10%) and Scented Geraniums (15%), they join Teapigs, who are offering members a 15% discount when they order from their online shop. Hooksgreen Herbs Ltd (10%) and Nicholson's Herb Farm (10%) have also joined the scheme offering members a 10% discount. Plus several American companies such as Nichols Garden Nursery (10%) and Richters Herbs (10%) have joined the scheme offering discounts to our US members. You can find out more about the discount scheme and access the discount codes in our Members Area.

High Street Herbals: The Top 300 Over-The-Counter Herbal Medicinals Available In The UK The Conservation Concerns' by Sue Minter

Just uploaded to the Members Only area is a 16 page list of the top 300 over-the-counter herbal medicinals available in the UK, which details the botanical name, the condition the herb is used to treat, the part(s) used, whether the herb is wild or cultivated and any conservation concerns surrounding the herb.

This research has been done by Sue Minter the Herb Society Chair, who is open to adding more information (or correcting it) from knowledgeable herbalists/producers/growers and conservationists in the interest of sustainable trade. It is believed to be the only information available to the consumer on this subject. Non-Members can view a sample page of this document here. Members will find the full document over in the Members Area.

New Online Herb Society Members Business Directory

We’re excited to announce a new online service to our members who run Herb businesses, which will be of use and benefit to the rest of our members. Members benefit from discount, where applicable, on production of their Herb Society membership card or online by entering the code that will be available in the Members' Area (coming in June). It's easy to get listed in the directory and it's currently FREE. If you're already a Herb Society member and run a herb business, simple visit the Directory page and contact me with the details required to get listed.

Leaving The Society A Legacy

Your membership is vital in enabling the Society to maintain and spread information regarding the wide variety of herbs available and how they can be grown and used to great benefit, but there is never enough money to do everything that we would like to do. To enable the Society to meet its aims and continue its work into the future please remember the Society in your will.

There was an oversight with the December issue of the magazine, we said that there was a comprehensive note on how to leave a legacy to the Society enclosed with the magazine. Unfortunately the document didn't get included with the journal so it will be added in the next issue of Herbs. For those of you who wish to read more about it now, you can download the document as a .pdf file here Leaving The Society A Legacy. Please read it and consider how a gift can help.

The Herb Society Is An Amazon Associate!

Want to help the Herb Society raise much needed funds? Do you buy books, DVD's, CD's etc from Amazon? Well from now on, simply use the link to Amazon on this page (found above the 'Members Only' link in the navigation menu) or use a direct link from the book links that are placed around the site promoting new herb books, and the Herb Society will then get 5% of your Amazon purchase!

If you're not sure what to buy for someone, why not give them an Amazon gift certificate? Or use the Wish List facility on Amazon to compile a list of books you'd like and email the list to your loved one to give them a few hints?

What links the Druids, Henry VIII and Hilda Leyel?

We have a new article added to the Herbs In History section, written for us by Linda Harrold DBTh. MURHP. Linda explores the path of Herbal Medicine in Britain covering the Roman Invasion, the Physicians of Myddfai, through to 1927 when Hilda Leyel set up the Society of Herbalists, the 1941 Medicines Bill, and ending with the present day picture. Read the full article here History Of Herbal Medicine In Britain.

Most Important Herb Society News – make your support go further!

The Society has established with HM Revenue and Customs, that Gift Aid can be applied (where appropriate) to Member’s Subscriptions received since 6th April 2003. This will have a dramatic effect on finances, which in turn, will assist in securing the Society’s future as an independent organisation as well as being able to maintain the quality and frequency of it’s publications and services to members. For further details and to download a form visit our Gift Aid page.

Join the Herb Society Today

Explore our web site to find out about all the great things we are doing to promote the wonder of herbs. Then find out here about the benefits to you of membership.

The Herb Society Garden Virtual Tour

Take a virtual tour of our garden at Sulgrave Manor.

The Herb Society is not qualified to provide medicinal advice. Useful contacts for such advice can be found on our contacts page. Officers and Council Members of the Herb Society (UK) accept no liability for any harm, damage, or illness arising from the use of plants mentioned or described in articles that appear in this web site. Information on this site is the copyright of the Herb Society unless otherwise stated. Text or pictures must not be reproduced elsewhere without permission from the Society.

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