Hello, and welcome to my messy (and probably covered in dirt) herbalist’s notebook.
A notebook is for sketching ideas, a place to jot down information, thoughts, ideas, recipes, to stash away photos. This is my plant and herbal medicine version of that.
You might be familiar with my presence over on Instagram as @archaichoney, maybe you’ve read my book Earth Witch: Finding Magic in the Land, or perhaps you’re a patron of my shop or a former podcast listener. In whatever way you found me, or know me on the internet — welcome to my notebook.
I wanna keep this space loosey-goosey, but oriented towards the land, plants, our relationship to them, their medicine and finding out what makes us feel good and healthy. That’s what this space is about.
My plant journey began as a young child, but didn’t start humming at a regular pace until 2008 when I moved to Oregon. In 2015 I attended herbalism school at Vital Ways in Portland, OR under the teaching of the late Chris Smacka. Various other folks have taught me along the way. I did a 4 year stint in the sagebrush steppe of NE Oregon, where I spent a lot of time with wild medicinal and food plants. I now find myself back in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon, and I am rekindling my plant relationships here.
What to expect when you subscribe for free
A sprinkling of posts where I muse on life.
Herb of the Month will always be free! This is not going to be your boring traditional plant monograph (we have plenty of herbal medicine books for that). These plants of the month will simply be my own views, opinions, experiences, and explorations with the plant. A touch of folklore, a touch of magic, and a touch of science as well as ecology.
What to expect when you become a paid subscriber
You gain the ability to leave comments, where we can chat, and you can pick my brain, ask questions, etc.
You’ll get How-To’s and Recipes.
A column called Field Notes, which is a seasonal observation piece. This is where I share my latest obsessions, what I am hyper-focused on, what herbs and plants I am currently working with, seasonal and local observations, book of the month, and interesting crafters, makers, writers and creatives whose work I am enjoying.
Notes from the Botanica. You get to peep into the business and creative side of things with me. I’ll show you what I am working on, the challenges I face running a small business and my 15 years of experience doing this work!
Writing takes a lot of time and resources. And your paid subscription helps keep the lights on here!
Do you know of someone who might enjoy and benefit from my writing? You can gift a subscription!
Britton Boyd is a PNW author, herbalist, witch and mother.
