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Collecting herbs direct from the source is far healthier and more beneficial than purchasing dried herbs and herbal medicines from health stores and supermarkets.

Early human tribes gathered herbs from the wild and, through a process of trial and error, discovered the medicinal and culinary uses of plants. This ancient herbal lore is as useful today as it was millennia ago and you can benefit from knowing which herbs to gather for their healing properties.

Nature provides a cure for almost all human ailments without any nasty side-effects, as long as plants are used correctly, and there are other advantages to gathering herbs for healing or culinary use. First it is completely free. Second, the action of physically locating and gathering the herbs encourages you to spend some time outdoors, which often leads to a state of inner calm. Finally, there is also the added bonus of exercise.

If you are serious about practicing herbalism at home, the initial outlay of building up your collection of useful plants can be expensive. Collecting and drying wild herbs is a cheap and also fun way of establishing your herbal medicine cabinet. Freshly gathered herbs also retain their culinary and medicinal properties for longer and are at full strength, being untreated with any artificial substances.

Wild herbs can be put to other uses around the home. You can make cosmetics, potpourri, scented pillows and aromatic sachets to place in drawers or wardrobes, keeping clothes smelling fresh.

You can use herbs to make your own tinctures and infused oils for aromatherapy, and scented waters such as lavender or rose waters. Herbs can be used to make delicious wines and cordials, such as elderflower or berry.

All you need to know about harvesting the gifts of nature is outlined below, including putting together an herbal gathering kit and planning your route.

Before you start:

The first rule of gathering herbs in the wild is to ensure you know exactly what plants you are gathering and for what purpose. Therefore, you should be confident in your ability to identify the correct plant and its parts through study and research. Decide what you want to gather and find out what it looks like, where it grows and how to recognize it before you go on your trip.

You should only harvest the parts needed and never take an entire plant unless there are plenty of that type growing nearby. Don't gather herbs from the wayside of busy roads, as plants absorb the pollutants from traffic; a minimum of 50 meters

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