Alice Johnston Medical Herbalist

Alice Johnston Medical Herbalist Consultant Medical Herbalist | A natural and sustainable way to support your health | 1-2-1 consultations online and in person

28/06/2026

🌿💚 Raspberry leaf tea simple and effective 💚🌿

In 2024 we decided to create a soft fruit garden and now grow amongst other things, raspberries. The berries are currently starting to ripen and at the same time the canes for next year are growing beautiful leaves.

In my dispensary I have raspberry leaf tincture, but the beauty of this herb is that herbal tea of the fresh or dried leaves is very effective and can be taken long term. Additionally, a tea extracts vitamins and minerals adding to the health benefits. 🍵

Raspberry leaf is a partum preparator, gently supporting the uterus in late pregnancy in preparation for delivery. It is very effective for period pain. Start drinking it 2-3 days before the period starts and during the first days of it to ease the pain. It is astringent and helps with diarrhoea and also makes an effective gargle for tonsillitis and sore throats. 🌿🍵

I am drying a fresh batch just now but if you don't have access to fresh you can buy raspberry leaf tea in health food stores.

Please consult a medical herbalist or your midwife when you want to use the tea during the last trimester of your pregnancy. ⚠️

If you would like to find out how herbal medicine can support your health, please get in touch.

Take good care

Alice 🌿

27/06/2026

🌿📚✨ Heartwood Meet-up ✨📚🌿

Today herbal medicine students, alumni and medical herbalists met in Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to spend some quality time.

We visited the Herbology exhibition, had lunch and then hung out with the medicinal plants of the herbology students.

The herbs were at their best and enchanted us all.

It was such fun to spend the day with herb folk.

Till next time.

Take good care
Alice 🌿

🌳🍯 Honey Sweet Lime Blossom 🍯🌳I enjoyed a long walk along the river Ahr this week on a sunny day and was stopped in my t...
10/06/2026

🌳🍯 Honey Sweet Lime Blossom 🍯🌳
I enjoyed a long walk along the river Ahr this week on a sunny day and was stopped in my tracks by a sweet, honey-like fragrance. Looking up I realised that I was walking under mature lime trees. The trees were full of bees, and I picked some blossom to enjoy the nutty sweetness,.

June brings the peak blooming season of Tilia europaea (Lime blossom / Linden) and the air is filled with this beautiful scent.

In Western Herbal Medicine, Tilia is used to reduce tension from the nervous system and vasculature, and the blossom tea helps to manage feverish symptoms during colds and respiratory infections.

Nervine Relaxant: She gently calms the nervous system easing tension, anxiety, and stress-related headaches.

Sleep Support: She helps quieten a restless mind, supporting restorative sleep.

Circulatory Support: She is a gentle cardiac tonic and hypotensive especially when stress is the driver for elevated blood pressure and palpitations.

If you would like to explore how Western Herbal Medicine can support your health and wellbeing, please get in touch🌳✨

Enjoy early Summer
Take good care

Alice🌿

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08/06/2026

🌿🏺🌞 Spring Herb Walks and Pottery 🌞🏺🌿

Over the last 4 weeks I ran free pop-up Spring herb walks in Livingston Murieston, Linlithgow and East Calder and about 30 folk, children and dogies joined in the herbal fun.

The weather was kind and the herbs were out in all their wonderful Spring glory.

A wonderful new edition to the herbal fun was the collaboration with Zibah the potter and I can't wait to hear when our herbal printed tiles have been fired and are ready to be collected. 

Thank you for everyone who came along and the ones who shared their stories and memories of recipes and folklore with the group. 

I love seeing the biophilia in the eyes of the people who shared an hour with me and the herbs and who left with ideas and inspirations how to engage and enjoy the plants near us. 

Thank you so much and take good care

Alice 🌿

🌿🏺Herbs and Pottery 🏺🌿Join me and Zibah at on Thursday, 21st May, for a Spring Herb Walk and Tile Pressing workshop. We...
05/05/2026

🌿🏺Herbs and Pottery 🏺🌿

Join me and Zibah at on Thursday, 21st May, for a Spring Herb Walk and Tile Pressing workshop. We’ll begin with a wander along the Linlithgow canal, identifying the common plants living in our direct neighbourhood and discussing their traditional uses, folklore, and place in modern herbalism.

After gathering our botanical inspiration, we’ll head back to the studio to press our finds into clay, capturing the delicate herbal relief in a pottery tile.

Whether you’re interested in the medicinal properties of our local flora or simply want a creative afternoon in good company, We’d love to see you there.

🗓 When: 21.05.2026 14:00 - 16:00

📍Where: Linlithgow Pottery

🎟 Investment: £20 (includes the walk and your pottery session)

Please wear sturdy shoes and dress for the Scottish weather—we’ll be out rain or shine!

Link in bio to book your spot. 🌿🍯

BotanicalArt SpringHerbs HolisticHealth WestLothianEvents

💛🌿✨The Little Alchemist Lady’s Mantle 💛🌿✨On my lunch time walk today, I met a large cluster of Alchemilla.As a medical h...
30/04/2026

💛🌿✨The Little Alchemist Lady’s Mantle 💛🌿✨

On my lunch time walk today, I met a large cluster of Alchemilla.

As a medical herbalist, I view Lady’s Mantle who is a member of the rose family primarily through her astringent action. Alchemilla is all about restoring integrity and tone to atonic tissues, particularly within the female reproductive system. She will be present in prescriptions for heavy periods, endometriosis and fibroids.

According to the wonderful herbalist Christopher Hedley Alchemilla works well for women who, for no apparent reason, can’t fall pregnant. He also states that it makes people feel good.

The morphology of the leaf, which collects and holds moisture gave her the name Little Alchemist in the past. Her dew appearing on a hot and dry day was required to turn lead into gold.

If you want to hear more about plants join me on my upcoming free herb walks in Livingston, Linlithgow and East Calder. You can find the information in the pictures of this post

Enjoy Spring and hopefully see you sometime soon.

Take good care
Alice 🌿

✨🌱 Spring is officially here, and so is the 2026 Herb Walk programme! 🌱✨I am so excited to announce three FREE pop-up he...
23/04/2026

✨🌱 Spring is officially here, and so is the 2026 Herb Walk programme! 🌱✨

I am so excited to announce three FREE pop-up herb walks across West Lothian. We’ll be exploring the incredible plants right in our neighbourhood, learning how to identify them, and chatting about their traditional uses. I’m also keen to hear your plant stories!

The Details:

📍 Livingston: 19 May | Linhouse Circular (Murieston Rd)

📍 Linlithgow: 26 May | Grow Wild Organic Farm Shop

📍 East Calder: 02 June | Almondell Country Park (South Car Park)

🕒 Time: 18:45 – 20:00 🎟️ Cost: Totally free! No booking required—just turn up. 🐕 Dogs: Well-behaved pups on leads are very welcome.

Come prepared for the weather (we walk rain or shine!) and wear sturdy shoes. I can’t wait to see you all there! 🌿✨

Take good care
Alice🌿


🌿 A New Chapter at MedicalHerbalist.scot 🌿I am pleased to share a refresh of my website. While the address remains the s...
06/03/2026

🌿 A New Chapter at MedicalHerbalist.scot 🌿

I am pleased to share a refresh of my website. While the address remains the same, the site now better reflects the evolution of my practice and my work and interest in the field of Biophilia.

What’s New? I have added a dedicated section to share my research and clinical focus on Biophilia—the innate connection between humans and the natural world. Following the survey work Helen Phillips and the and CPP, I am increasingly integrating nature-based activities into my treatment strategies, exploring how direct engagement with our environment can synergistically enhance therapeutic outcomes.

A Little About My Path: For those new to my practice, I am Alice Johnston. My approach to Western Medical Herbalism is defined by a combination of traditional wisdom and modern clinical reasoning.

With a background in Information Sciences and senior management, I bring a pragmatic and methodical lens to my consultations. I believe in "the why" — getting to the bottom of complex, chronic conditions through a collaborative approach that works alongside the NHS and considers your environment as a whole.

Explore the site to find:

🌿 Information on how nature-based activities can support your wellbeing.

🩺 Details on my consultation process in Uphall (and online).

🍵Information about acute and chronic conditions which can be supported with herbs.

You can find the link in my bio. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the new biophilia section!

Take good care

Alice 🌿

🌿🍵 Therapeutic Relationship - Patient‑centred Care at the Heart of Herbal Medicine. 🍵🌿As Medical Herbalist and author r...
29/01/2026

🌿🍵 Therapeutic Relationship - Patient‑centred Care at the Heart of Herbal Medicine. 🍵🌿

As Medical Herbalist and author reminds us, the therapeutic relationship is not an accessory to treatment - it is a core part of the medicine. When we truly listen, when we create space for a person’s story, physiology and lived experience to be heard, meaningful change becomes possible.

To me in my practice, active listening is not a technique but a commitment. Every consultation is an opportunity to understand the person in front of me – the symptoms they are experiencing, what they’ve tried, what hasn’t worked and what matters to them.

A recent patient described feeling “listened to and valued” for the first time after years of appointments that brought little progress. Through careful observation, collaborative discussion, and a personalised herbal medicine treatment that could adapt as her journey unfolded, she began to see real changes.

This is the essence of patient‑centred herbal medicine:

🌿 a therapeutic relationship built on equality and respect.

🌳 a save space for narrative, emotion and lived experience.

🍵 personalised herbal treatment which includes diet and lifestyle.

✨ ongoing care and support, not a one‑off transaction

When we really hear the patient, we create the conditions for healing.

If you’re exploring a more collaborative, individual approach to your health, my clinic is open to you.

Take good care
Alice 🌿


✨ My invitation to slow down and rest ✨A low winter sun filtering through bare deciduous trees, just after the solstice....
26/12/2025

✨ My invitation to slow down and rest ✨

A low winter sun filtering through bare deciduous trees, just after the solstice.

In the German tradition of the Rauhnächte, the twelve liminal days between the lunar and solar year are held as a threshold time — a pause between what has been and what is yet to unfold. 

I consciously use these days for reflection on the closing year and gentle orientation towards the new one ahead.

During the year, I tend to fill my days with work and commitments, a habit I would like to change. I long for a slower pace of life. 

The coming days and nights I dedicate to rest rather than productivity: prioritising sleep, warmth, simple nourishing food, and unhurried time in nature. 

Wishing you a healthy, peaceful, and nourishing new year ahead.

Take good care

Alice 🌿

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Broxburn
EH525DX

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