Chestnut Herbal School

Author: Juliet Blankespoor

Cherry calendula nopal salsa.
Last updated on October 13th, 2023

Cherry Chipotle Nopales Salsa Recipe and the Health Benefits of Prickly Pear

Nopales (Opuntia spp., Cactaceae) are an important medicine and traditional food in Central America and the Southwest. Cherry Chipotle Nopales Salsa is high in bioflavonoids, with its array of vibrant rainbow colors. Serve this delicious salsa with chips or as a side with any Mexican dish. It is an excellent accompaniment to scrambled eggs and feta in corn tortillas.

Longleaf pine's thick bark.
Last updated on November 15th, 2023

Longleaf Pine

Longleaf PineWritten and Photographed by Juliet Blankespoor Longleaf pine Longleaf Pine is an iconic tree of the southeastern coastal plains, much as the Redwood and Sequoia trees dominate their respective regions of the West. It is hard to get a sense of the Longleaf Pine’s historical ecologic and economic importance as one passes through the [...]
Magnolia blooms.
Last updated on November 15th, 2023

Joys of the greening

Joys of the GreeningWritten and Photographed by Juliet Blankespoor Blue Cohosh, Caulophyllum thalictroides, Berberidaceae Here is the second set of the greening photos I promised earlier in the week. For those of you who play/learn on facebook with me, you may have already seen some of these. And I figure enough of you do not [...]
Close up of a toad.
Last updated on June 9th, 2023

The greening

The GreeningWritten and Photographed by Juliet Blankespoor Our neighborhood farmers' precious daughter My excitement for springtime is punctuated with the hurriedness of the tending - our nursery, school and gardens. Anyone tied to the land in the northern temperate world knows this springtime reality. And yet it is such a juicy time. In between my [...]
A pollinator visiting passionflower.
Last updated on June 9th, 2023

Passionflower, from seed to fruit and back again

Passionflower: From Seed to Fruit and Back AgainWritten and Photographed by Juliet Blankespoor Passionflower Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata, Passifloraceae) is a short-lived perennial native vine to the southeastern US, with gorgeous flowers and interesting foliage. It is weedy in much of its native range; and fairly easy to grow elsewhere, especially if its given a wall or [...]
Bloodroot
Last updated on June 9th, 2023

Spring Ephemerals and Elaiosomes

Spring Ephemerals and ElaiosomesWritten and Photographed by Juliet Blankespoor Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis, Papaveraceae) Spring ephemerals are perennial wildflowers that take advantage of the early spring sunlight reaching the forest floor. When the temperatures begin to rise in early spring these wildflowers grow quickly, flowering, setting seed, and dying back to their root system when the [...]
Daylily greens
Last updated on October 13th, 2023

Daylily Greens Garlic Butter Sauté Recipe

Daylily Greens Garlic Butter Sauté RecipeWritten and Photographed by Juliet Blankespoor Water droplets on daylily greens. Lime-green succulent spears of winter’s released slumber, daylily greens are a relished early spring wild green. Daylily’s pleasant mild flavor is excellent paired with the more pungent creasy greens or wild turnip. To prolong the season, cut the greens [...]
Partridgeberry in fruit.
Last updated on November 15th, 2023

Partridgeberry Materia Medica

Partridgeberry Materia MedicaWritten and Photographed by Juliet Blankespoor Partridgeberry in fruit My botany professors in Florida first introduced me to partridgeberry, and with excitement I recognized the scientific name as a medicinal from one of my herbal books. This was back in the late 80s when the modern herbal literature was scanty, computers were not [...]
Replanting a meadowsweet divisionling.
Last updated on June 9th, 2023

Root Division: Multiply Your Medicinal Herb Harvest with These Plant Propagation Tips

Root Division: Multiply Your Medicinal Herb Harvest with These Plant Propagation TipsWritten and Photographed by Juliet Blankespoor Planting meadowsweet divisions into pots - Division is the easiest form of vegetative propagation. It involves digging up and severing a portion of the root system of a plant, and replanting it. Depending on the plant species and [...]