BotanicalWays

10/13/2026

People ask, "how can you tell the difference between Goldenrod & Ragweed?" Once upon a time, I couldn't either. It can be difficult for most people to see it. The biggest visible difference is the flowering. Goldenrod has bright yellow flowers and ragweed has greenish yellow flowers. Goldenrod might be mistaken for ragweed when it hasn't bloomed, they look a lot alike. Another visible difference is in the leaves. Hope this helps: Goldenrod is top flower and Ragweed is bottom flower.

10/12/2026

It's the season of the Goldenrod!🌾Harvested some of this beauty today which I'll be transforming into a tea, salve and tincture. Just gonna enjoy it's aroma for a bit. If I was to describe how it smells, it's like a honey scent, very pleasant and uplifting. HA HA I just realized I am working with the color yellow today! Got some lemon slices dehydrating as well and thinking about making some homemade lemon drops and some lemon powder later, who knows. 🍋 Happy Monday 🌼

10/11/2026

Since Tropical Storm Isaias broken a small branch off my Beautyberry bush, I’m going to harvest the seeds of the berries and try to successfully propagate the broken limb. We shall see. This is new to me since I have never done either before- I’m always down to learn and try something new. Hope everyone is having a relaxing Sunday!

10/03/2026

Getting to Know What Grows Around Us: 🌿 Apparently, our field has a department for rear-end complaints. 😂
Today’s plant research took an unexpected turn, from pretty pink flowers to diarrhea and hemorrhoids. Well… that escalated quickly. 🧻🔥
According to my Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs, traditional uses include herbal tea for diarrhea and a leaf poultice for hemorrhoids.
Imagine being a delicate little plant whose résumé reads:
“Experienced in urgent departures and hostile seating conditions.” 🤣
I’m over here admiring the flowers while this plant’s history is all about helping folks through a bad day on the throne. 👑🚽
We laugh, but anyone who’s dealt with either knows: the struggle is real, and sitting down should never require a pep talk. 😅
Sharing traditional herbal history, friends and not a guaranteed cure or a DIY treatment recommendation. Lady’s thumb and Pennsylvania smartweed are related but different plants, so the correct identification and guide entry matter. 🌿
BotanicalWays: come for the flowers, stay for the wildly uncomfortable plant facts. 😂

09/24/2026

🌿 Getting to Know What Grows Around Us 🌿
GUESS WHAT I FOUND!!! 💛
GOLDENROD!
Y'all, I have been seeing goldenrod blooming EVERYWHERE lately, and I'm not gonna lie- I was getting a little jelly. 😂
Every time I passed another field covered in those gorgeous yellow blooms, I kept wondering, “Why don't we have any growing in OUR field?”
I was actually starting to get a little bummed about it.
Well…apparently I just needed to LOOK. 🤦‍♀️🤣
Because there she was.
ONE. SINGLE. GOLDENROD. 💛🌿
And you would've thought I found buried treasure.
Needless to say, this little lady has officially been placed on the DO NOT MOW list. 😂
🌼 Meet Goldenrod (Solidago spp.)
Goldenrod has a long history of traditional herbal use. Various species have historically been prepared for urinary and respiratory complaints and used externally for minor wounds and skin concerns.
But goldenrod isn't just interesting to herbalists. It's an important late-season food source for pollinators, providing pollen and nectar when many other flowers are beginning to call it quits for the year. 🐝🦋
And let's clear up a little botanical slander while we're here…
🤧 Goldenrod gets blamed for fall allergies—but ragweed is usually the troublemaker!
Goldenrod's pollen is relatively heavy and sticky and is primarily transported by insects. Ragweed blooms around the same time, but its lightweight pollen becomes airborne—which is why it is a major contributor to seasonal allergies.
So while poor goldenrod is standing there looking all bright and suspicious…ragweed is over in the corner like:
“Yep. Definitely her.” 👀🤣
One of my favorite things about getting to know this property has been discovering just how much is already growing here. Things I once might have walked right past now have me stopping, taking pictures, researching, and occasionally getting ridiculously excited in the middle of a field. 😂
Today, I'm just happy to know we have goldenrod of our very own. 💛
Now let's see if she brings some friends next year. 🌿
😂
Traditional uses are shared for educational purposes and aren't evidence that a use is safe or effective. Always positively identify wild plants before harvesting or using them.

09/21/2026

Not a bad view of the day closing, look at that sky! Finally UNPACKING my herbs! Got a work table put together today too 😊 look forward to putting in shelves on the wall soon, just had to get them out the boxes & on the wire rack I used in my old office. One day closer to creating, blending, mixing, brewing, infusing herbs again!

09/16/2026

🌱 Planting: 1. Alabama rock clay: temporarily defeated. 😂
In this heat, getting a shovel through Alabama clay feels less like gardening and more like a full-body negotiation with the earth. But after digging, sweating, and questioning whether I needed a shovel or a jackhammer, our very first plant is officially in the ground!
And it had to be American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana). 💜
Once established, those brilliant purple berries can become future batches of beautyberry jam. Its leaves also have a long history of traditional use as an insect repellent; people would crush a leaf in their hands and rub it on exposed skin. Researchers have since identified naturally occurring compounds in beautyberry that help explain that traditional use. As with anything applied to the skin, patch-test first.
Someday, this plant will provide berries for jam, leaves for experimenting with outdoor products and cuttings for even more plants.
But today, it represents something bigger:
Something I chose.
Something I grew.
Something I dug into my own land.
Something that will produce for years to come.
There is something incredibly special about planting the first useful plant on land that belongs to you.
The beginning may look like one little beautyberry bush beside a stubborn patch of Alabama clay, but I can already see the garden it’s becoming. 💚

09/13/2026

Happy Wife Vibes! The Mr. Hubbie mowed my garden path😁 Totally did not expect this today and here I thought I was just planning and imagining where to plant herbs & plants 🌱🌻 He always goes above and beyond to reach our goals 🥰And man that John Deere Z530R is a beast!

09/08/2026

Transforming the Studio: after being here for a few months; taming a field of wildness, painting our living spaces, getting somewhat situated, fixing/updating things we didn’t know were wrong upon checking some things off our checklist- painting the studio has begun!! I am super excited and yesterday we trailed out where the garden will be! Soon I’ll have a mowed path and can’t wait to share the progress with y’all! The GOAL this week is to have the BotanicalWays Studio painted.

05/14/2026