Botanical Brain Balms

/in /by

The new book by Nicolette Perry and Elaine Perry, director and curator at the physic garden, is on sale now in The Physic Shop at the reduced price of £13. This book is for anyone interested in using plants to make the best of your brain & mind. An authoritative and accessible guide to 56 plants – a truly unique overview of medicinal plants that clearly explains the best evidence for the efficacy of plants for the brain.

Beautifully illustrated, Botanical Brain Balms is a fascinating guide packed with safe and natural ways to improve the way you think and feel.

Planet Birdsong

/in /by

Planet Birdsong arrive at the physic garden this June with an opportunity for a 90 minute school event held at the physic garden on the afternoon of Friday 8th June. To see a lesson plan and powerpoint for the session click here.

Please get in touch with the physic garden if you are interested in booking this place for your school group – info@dilstonphysicgarden.com.

A school visit highlight from Planet Birdsong’s Heritage Lottery Funded residency in Nidderdale: https://youtu.be/0g9LaVmA4HI

‘Planet Birdsong is a UK based charitable initiative inspired by the wonderful world of bird songs and calls. Bird vocalisations are an international language that transcends geographical and species boundaries. Planet Birdsong explores the role of technology and data collection in connecting the maximum possible number of citizens with the natural world. We cross the boundaries between countries along migration routes to deliver maximum conservation value. Our initiative is multi-disciplinary, facilitating communication between scientists, conservationists, musicians, educators and IT professionals. Read more: http://www.planetbirdsong.org.’

Picture

Potion Club EXTRA

/in , , , /by
As well as regular Potion Club over the summer at Dilston Physic Garden medical herbalist Davina Hopkinson has created a new fun and fascinating course for children aged between 8 and 12 (guide) who want to learn more about the intriguing world of plants for medicine.
Potion Club EXTRA brings 6 unique and interactive sessions in 2018 that are monthly on Saturdays, starting in March through to September 2018 (except one Sunday and excluding August).
Delve in to the magical world of herbs. Learn all about local plants you find in the garden, hedgerows, woods and fields. We’ll be going out to forage for some of these. Each month we’ll explore which plants are growing and how they can be turned into medicine. Like spring tonics to give your body a kick start after the long winter months, or roots and berries in autumn to make cold and flu remedies.
We’ll choose a plant of the month and explore it – what it does, how it does it, and see how to turn it into a real effective potion! Different plants can be used for parts of our body – like to help digestion, boost our immunity and even help us sleep – we’ll discover just how these plants can be used to help healing.
With a little scintillating history (herbal medicine goes back 60,000 years!) thrown in, there’ll be some telling of mysterious magical herbal folk tales and of course plenty of safe remedy making. Each month children can enjoy filling in a their own Potion Book where they can add their own thoughts and artwork.
Cost for each Potion Club EXTRA is £15 or £25 for two, with a discount for booking the whole course. Please bring your own packed lunch. For further information and to register your interest in future Potion Clubs or home education groups contact Davina on 01661 842897 or davinaherbalist@gmail.com.
Dates* of Potion Club EXTRA 2018 :
10am to 2pm 
Saturday 17th March
Saturday 21st April
Sunday 13th May
Saturday 16th June 16,
Saturday 14th July
Saturday 22nd September
*please note these dates are provisional

St. John’s Wort: Demon exorciser | Dilston Physic Garden |

BY POPULAR DEMAND ‘Dilston Dispensary of Herbal Medicine’ 2018

/in , , /by

Enjoying its 3rd year the ‘Dilston Dispensary of Herbal Medicine’ returns in 2018 to give you easy access to qualified information on the use of plants for health and medicine.

Ensuring you’re using the correct herb for your needs is essential since if plant medicines are used inappropriately, just as with drugs, they can be unhelpful and problems can arise. Our registered medical herbalists and qualified herbal pharmacist are here to help you explore effective herbal medicine to support you back to health and to keep you healthy.

Just drop into The Physic Shop – every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month 12 to 3pm May to August and every Thursday 2-3pm June and July 2018. 

Wednesday’s dispensary is led by medical herbalists Ross and Davina and Thursday’s by pharmacist Milena.

  • No need to make an appointment – just come along to the Dilston Dispensary of Herbal Medicines situated in The Physic Shop.
  • £5 per short consultation and individual prescription (herbal medicine is purchased separately).
  • Milena is offering a free consultation when you join her ‘Thursday Talks‘ (1-2pm every Thursday in June & July 2018).
  • For more complex ailments, Ross or Davina can arrange an in depth consultation with you.
  • Don’t forget you can enjoy the Physic Garden while you’re there – physic garden admission charges do not apply if you’re just visiting the Dispensary.  If you’d like to visit the physic garden too, entrance is £4 and the Season Pass only £10
  • The Physic Shop also stocks a range of organic or wild crafted teas, tinctures, creams and other herbal products.

Read more information here or email info@dilstonphysicgarden.com or contact Ross (rossherbalist@gmail.com), Davina (davinaherbalist@gmail.com) or Milena (milena.kopkowska@gmail.com) directly.

*Please note: The Dilston Dispensary of Herbal Medicine does not dispense conventional medicine products; the dispensary is only open on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday 12-3pm (May-Aug) and every Thursday 2-3pm (Jun-Jul) 2018; dispensary times may change for 2019.

NEW Thursday Talks: Handy Herbs for Everyday Ailments – starting June 7th 2018

/in /by

This summer the physic garden is delighted to welcome back pharmacist Milena. As a pharmacist trained in Poland, where plant medicines are dispensed alongside drugs, this year Milena is not only offering consultations, but is encouraging learning on medicinal plants for common ailments through a series of workshops. Just drop into the physic garden every Thursday from 1pm over June and July to uncover simple secrets for maintaining health and treating everyday ailments.

Scroll down for the summer timetable or visit the Workshops page for full details of each workshop for June and July .

The series kicks off on Thursday 7th June 2018 with How to Make a Herbal Mouthwash at 1pm in the Herbology House at Dilston Physic Garden. No booking is required, cost is £5 plus the physic Garden admission of£4 – or if you’d like like enjoy more than one Thursday Talk or the whole series you can buy a Season Pass for £10. If you wish to contact the tutor please email on milena.kopkowska@gmail.com.

MORE DETAILS ON THE TALKS 

Each week Milena will lead a hour long workshop discussing different health problems which can be remedied safely at home with medicinal plants. The aim is to empower you to take care of yourself in a natural way. There will be some demonstration and practical tips on how to make the herbal products, as well as the opportunity to ask questions about the management of different conditions with herbal remedies. There will also be opportunity to buy some herbs on the day and if you would like to seek individual advice from Milena, consultations are available after the talk.

ABOUT MILENA

Milena is a fully qualified pharmacist practicing in the UK. Her pharmacy degree is from ​Poznań University of Medical Sciences in Poland, where herbal medicine is a large part of pharmacy degrees and pharmacists are qualified to dispense both herbal and drug medicine*. In Poland, as in much of Europe, herbal medicines constitute a substantial part of the pharmacy stock and are commonly used by pharmacists and doctors for the management of minor ailments.

Since working as pharmacist in the UK Milena feels that many common health problems may not be adequately addressed in the mainstream UK health service, since UK doctors do not prescribe herbal medicines, and UK pharmacies often don’t offer them, the public don’t know about them. Milena says she is here to change this! With knowledge of both herbal and drug medicine, she can therefore help you explore different treatment options and help you find the best way to improve your health.

Milena says “I know a great deal about herbal medication, the chemical basis for their effectiveness, and practical ways of using raw plant material to make effective medicines”. Milena is here to share her pharmacy knowledge of effective herbal medicines and to help the public benefit from the abundance of natural medicines that are prescribed more in Europe than they are in the UK.​

WORKSHOP TIMETABLE SUMMER 2018 : ‘Handy Herbs for Everyday Ailments’ 

Drop into the physic garden every Thursday at 1pm from June 7th to 26th July

Thu – 7/6/18- 1pm – How to make herbal mouthwash

Thu – 14/6/18- 1pm – How to improve digestion with herbs

Thu – 21/6/18- 1pm – How herbs working on your liver help your digestion

Thu – 28/6/18- 1pm – How to regulate your bowel work with herbs

Thu – 5/7/18- 1pm – Herbal way to deal with stress – calming herbs

Thu – 12/7/18- 1pm – Herbs to support blood vessels and improve circulation

Thu – 19/7/18- 1pm – How to manage urine infections with herbs

Thu – 26/7/18- 3pm – Herbal way to soothe the skin

*Please note the Dilston Dispensary of Herbal Medicines dispenses herbal medicine and not conventional medicine products.

Botanical Brain Balms

/in , , /by

Dilston Physic Garden’s director and curator are publishing a book on plants for the brain – ‘Botanical Brain Balms: Essential plants for memory, mood and mind’ with Filbert Press UK and publishers in the U.S., France and Germany.

‘The benefits of a plant-based diet to physical health are well-known and scientific research now shows that plants can improve mental health too. Many leaves, roots and berries contain ingredients that boost cognitive skills and alleviate common problems like stress, fatigue and mood swings – without the side effects of conventional drugs.
In this authoritative guide, experts in herbal medicine and neuroscience recommend plants for a wide range of problems. They explain the science behind how they work and suggest easy remedies and exercises that are pleasant to take and make part of your daily routine.
Beautifully illustrated, Botanical Brain Balms is packed full of safe and natural ways to improve the way you think and feel.’

“A great book and the one I’ve been waiting for – scientific, accessible and eminently useable.” Bunny Guinness

Sage, Rosemary & Melissa to boost memory

/in , /by
This pilot clinical trial was carried out with the Bodyworks Centre in Hexham and Dilston Physic Garden and is published in the journal Phytomedicine.

At a glance:

The results showed that a medicinal tincture (an extraction of the plants in alcohol) of sage, rosemary and melissa given for 2 weeks improved word recall by over 50% in under 63 year old’s.

Summary:

A randomised double-blind placebo-controlled pilot trial of a combined extract of sage, rosemary and melissa, traditional herbal medicines, on the enhancement of memory in normal healthy subjects, including influence of age

N.S.L.Perry, R.Menzies, F.Hodgson, P.Wedgewood, M.-J.R.Howes,H.J.Brooker, K.A.Wesnes, E.K. Perry

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate for the first time the effects of a combination of sage, rosemary and melissa (Salvia officinalis L., Rosmarinus officinalis L. and Melissa officinalis L.; SRM), traditional European medicines, on verbal recall in normal healthy subjects. To devise a suitable study design for assessing the clinical efficacy of traditional herbal medicines for memory and brain function.

Methods

Forty-four normal healthy subjects (mean age 61 ± 9.26y SD; m/f 6/38) participated in this study. A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled pilot study was performed with subjects randomised into an active and placebo group. The study consisted of a single 2-week term ethanol extract of SRM that was chemically-characterised using high resolution LC-UV-MS/MS analysis. Immediate and delayed word recall were used to assess memory after taking SRM or placebo (ethanol extract of Myrrhis odorata (L.) Scop.). In addition analysis was performed with subjects divided into younger and older subgroups (≤ 62 years mean age n = 26: SRM n = 10, Placebo n = 16; ≥ 63 years n = 19: SRM n = 13, Placebo n = 6).

Results

Overall there were no significant differences between treatment and placebo change from baseline for immediate or delayed word recall. However subgroup analysis showed significant improvements to delayed word recall in the under 63 year age group (p < 0.0123) with Cohen’s effect size d = 0.92. No adverse effects were observed.

Conclusion

This pilot study indicates that an oral preparation of SRM at the selected dose and for the period of administration is more effective than a placebo in supported verbal episodic memory in healthy subjects under 63 years of age. Short- and long- term supplementation with SRM extract merits more robust investigation as an adjunctive treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and in the general ageing population. The study design proved a simple cost effective trial protocol to test the efficacy of herbal medicines on verbal episodic memory, with future studies including broader cognitive assessment.

Autumn Equinox Event

/in /by

Horse chestnuts | Dilston Physic Garden |

At the time of the Autumn Equinox, day and night are once again equal and balanced. But unlike the Spring Equinox when we moved into the light of summer, now we cross a threshold to ‘the darkness of winter and the magical powers of the stars and the inner realms’. At this turning of the wheel of the year we will celebrate in a ritual drama the mystery of the lengthening of night and the rising of the evening stars.

The event is facilitated by local members druids. There is no admission charge – however, a donation towards the Physic Garden running costs would be much appreciated.

For information please email celticspiritualitygroup@yahoogroups.com

 

Midsummer solstice

/in /by

Celebrate the Summer Solstice

Dilston Physic Garden

Saturday 24th June 5.00pm – 8.00pm

The Summer Solstice marks the time when the sun is at the height of its power – and nature’s response is a splendid display of colour and fragrance. This time is known in contemporary druidry as ‘Alban Hefin’ which means ‘Light of the Summer Shore’.

Midsummer is the time when the tide of light has reached its high water mark – the time of greatest light. This event, though, is also tinged with some sadness because from now on the sun’s strength will begin to ebb as we enter the waning year.

Facilitated by local members of Druids, this midsummer ceremony celebrates – in symbolic form – the power of light and love in our lives.

For information on this or any any other of Druid celebrations at the physic garden please email

celticspiritualitygroup@yahoogroups.com