To help YOU integrate healing plants into a truly amazing life, the class on “Growing Your Medicine” will be a collaborative experience to explore and investigate the benefits available to all people interested in growing their medicine, whether that be the food that Hippocrates touted, and/or the healing plants from herbalism’s traditions: the people’s medicine as it is called. what a good name... This class will cover: (1) Research-based mental, physical and emotional benefits of working the land, and (2) Easily applicable teachings on easy-to-grow, easy-to-use plants.

1. GROWING
YOUR
MEDICINE
Cassandra Lee Nicholson
Plant Princess Enterprises
www.plantprincessenterprises.com

2. It is the Work of These Hands
Growing Your Own Medicine

3. “No Hands but Our Hands…
…will lead our children.”
-Ayla Nereo, From the Ground Up

4. Thank You for Being Here
Asheville Organic Grower’s School

5. Practical
Accessible
Affordable

6. About My Practice
Plant Princess Enterprises
www.plantprincessenterprises.com

7. About YOUR Practice
Grower? Herbalist?

8. The Growing
Mutual. Specific. Credit where credit is due.

9. The Medicine
What is Medicine?

10. HERE’S
THE
PLAN
• Research, wow! There are benefits just from seeing nature, from working the land!
• Medicine Making 101 - quick and easy
• Easy-To-Grow Plants & Meeting their Medicine

11. The Herbal Tradition
Herbalism: the People’s Medicine

12. THE RESEARCH
• So many benefits!
• How it Began…Ulrich.
• Proximity to Green Space
• Attention Bolstering
• Creativity Enhancement
• Stress Reduction

13. So Many Benefits!Frumkin, H. et al. Nature Contact and Human Health: A Research Agenda. Environ Health Perspect Vol 125, Issue 7, July 2017.
https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1663 (Frumkin et al. 2017)

14. –Healthcare Design Magazine, 2010
“Roger Ulrich, PhD,
is perhaps the most cited and influential
evidence-based healthcare design researcher
in the world.”
Healthcare Design Magazine. “A Conversation with Roger Ulrich.” 31 Oct. 2010
www.healthcaredesignmagazine.com/architecture/conversation-roger-ulrich/
Image: http://naturesacred.org/natural-design-for-better-health-an-interview-with-dr-roger-ulrich/
the most frequently cited researcher internationally in evidence-based healthcare design

15. It Began with a Window…
The Research
• Roger Ulrich
• View through a Window
• 1984

16. View through a WindowUlrich, Roger. "View through a window may influence recovery." Science 224, no. 4647 (1984): 224-225.
SCOPE
46 Cholycysectomy Patients
-23 post-surgical recovery pairs (15 female, 8 male) matched by:
oSex
oAge (within 5 years)
oSmoking
oWeight
oNature of previous hospitalization
oYear of Surgery (within 6 years)
oFloor level
oRoom Color

17. View through a WindowUlrich, Roger. "View through a window may influence recovery." Science 224, no. 4647 (1984): 224-225.
THE SETTING
Brick Wall v. Window with view of trees (with foliage)
CONSIDERATIONS
“with foliage” means assessments only included when seasonally appropriate
(May 1 – Oct 20)
THE FINDINGS…
•Information Taken from each record (with results)
oHospitalization Reduced:: .0.74 days (7.96 v. 8.70):-
oMild Pain Medication Reduced:
-Number/strength of analgesics each day
-Grouped by day and strength (mild, moderate, strong)
▪Day 1: no difference expected
▪Day 2-5: Trees : Mild/Moderate :: Bricks : strong (analgesic dose)
▪Day 5: Only 45% of patients with nature view took analgesics on 5th day
▪Day 6 & 7: no difference expected
oNegative Nurses Notes reduced by over half (2.26 difference = 3.96 v. 1.13)
ALL FINDINGS WERE REPORTED
Use of anxiety prescriptions (tranquilizers, barbituates) did not change.
There was no difference in #/Strength used in 2 different groups.

18. Proximity to Green Space
The Research
• The Lancet
Mitchell & Popham 2008
• Environmental Perspectives
Hart et al. 2016

19. SCOPE:
-4 year Observational Population Study (2000-2005)
>360,000 included (based on criteria)/40m
BACKGROUND
•“Access to such areas [green space] can modify pathways through
which low socioeconomic position can lead to disease.”
POSTULATION:
“Socioeconomic inequalities…less pronounced…w/greater exposure to
green space.”
INVESTIGATION
“Whether the magnitude of income-related health inequality varies
by exposure to green space.”
“GREEN SPACE”
“Open, undeveloped land w/natural vegetation” : excluding gardens
-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Healthy places terminology, 2008. http: //www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/terminology. htm (accessed July 17, 2008).
Mitchell, Richard and Frank Popham. Effect of exposure to natural environment on health inequalities: an observational population study. Lancet 2008; 372: 1655–60.
(Mitchell and Popham 2008)

20. Mitchell, Richard and Frank Popham. Effect of exposure to natural environment on health inequalities: an observational population study. Lancet 2008; 372: 1655–60.
PATHWAYS TO HEALTH
“There is a causal pathway on which green space might plausibly
exert an effect.”
DATA
•Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR)
•Changed with Green Space: All-cause mortality (1.93/1.43);
Circulatory Disease (2.19/1.54)
•Didn’t Change with Green Space: Lung Cancer, Self-Inflicted Harm
•Independent Promotion of Physical Activity (enhanced by outdoor
pairing)
•Psychological and Physiological Restoration
•Reduction of Stress and Blood Pressure
•Promotion of Healing
(Mitchell and Popham 2008)

21. Mitchell, Richard and Frank Popham. Effect of exposure to natural environment on health inequalities: an observational population study. Lancet 2008; 372: 1655–60.
INTERPRETATION
“Populations that are exposed to the greenest environments also have
lowest levels of health inequality related to income deprivation.
Physical environments that promote good health might be important
to reduce socioeconomic health inequalities.”
CONCLUSION
“in all-cause and circulatory disease mortality related to income
deprivation is lower in populations who live in the greenest areas than
in those who have less exposure to green space.” 6%
IT GETS BETTER:
This study could not estimate exposure to green space over time (see
next slide)
(Mitchell and Popham 2008)

22. (James et al. 2016)James P, Hart JE, Banay RF, Laden F. 2016. Exposure to greenness and mortality in a nationwide prospective cohort study of women. Environ Health Perspect 124:1344–1352;
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1510363
SCOPE:
-8 Year Prospective Cohort Study (2000-2008)
-108,630 women
CONTEXT:
Given shortcomings of body of literature examined, time-varying
green- ness and mortality in a nationwide prospec- tive cohort of
women while accounting for important potential confounding factors
and addressing potential mediators.
FINDINGS:
•12% lower rate of all-cause mortality (non-accidental) in those that
lived nearest the greenest areas.
•Strongest associations in
•Respiratory Disease (Smokers were excluded, unlike Mitchell &
Popham)
•Cancer Mortality

23. (James et al. 2016)James P, Hart JE, Banay RF, Laden F. 2016. Exposure to greenness and mortality in a nationwide prospective cohort study of women. Environ Health Perspect 124:1344–1352;
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1510363
MEDIATING AFFECTS OF GREEN SPACE ADDRESSED
•Air pollution
•Physical activity,
•Social engagement,
•Mental health improvement
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES:
•Time-varying measures of exposure to greenness
•Generalizability restricted as study covered only all nurses, 90%
White Non-Hispanic
•Confounders Excluded, such as smoking status and individual- and
area-level Socio-economic status

24. –A Mystic Garden
by Gunilla Norris
“How full of invisible life
is the garden
you’ve been given.”

25. Creativity
The Research

26. Creativity
• Transplanting for 10 minutes
• Increased alpha waves in
brain.
• Stronger correlation with
flowering plants.
• 119 participants
K. Yamane, M. Kawashima, N. Fujishige and M. Yoshida. Effects of Interior Horticultural Activities with Potted Plants on
Human Physiological and Emotional Status. Acta Hort. 639, ISHS 2004

27. –Dominique de Menil, upon the dedication of the Menil Collection, Houston
as quoted by William Middleton in his book Double Vision
“The gifted artists are the great benefactors of the world.
Life flows
from their souls, from their hearts, from their fingers.
They invite us to celebrate life and to meditate on the
mystery of the world.
They bring us back to the essential.”

28. Attention & Focus
The Research
• Attention Restoration Theory
• Rachel Kaplan and Stephen Kaplan
• “Soft Fascination”

29. –The Nature Fix,
by Dr. Eva Selhub MD & Dr. Alan C. Logan, ND
“In the modern world
any intervention that
improves ones’ ability to
eliminate distractions
and stay on task with accuracy
is invaluable.”

30. Stress Reduction
The Research
• Stress Recovery Theory
• Shin Rin Yoku
• Horticulture Therapy

31. –Dr. Doni Wilson, ND
“Your body is built to recover from stress
when you give it the right support.”

32. THE RESEARCH

33. MEDICINE-MAKING

34. MEDICINE PREPARATIONS
The Herbal Tradition
• FOOD: Grow your medicine. Eat it fresh! Ooooh so good! Like a fresh carrot, yum!
Eating the plants is my favorite way to practice, currently. It’s the closest we can
get as growers to receiving from the research-based benefits I feel just from being
with the land AND the specific support each plant can give.
• INFUSION: “Tissane” not tea (for everything but Camellia sinensis) Hot but not-
boiling water. Fresh or dried leaves/flowers. 1-2TB/cup fresh. 1-2tsp/cup dry.
• DECOCTION. Cook it up like rice. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, simmer for 20
min. minimum. Root, bark, flower, seed. 1-2TB fresh. 1-2tsp dry.
• TINCTURE. Alcohol extraction of medicinal plant. Use “folk or ratio method.”
• GLYCERITE: Glycerine is a natural vegetable byproduct, the fatty acid backbone
of a molecule that can grab onto compounds in the plant and preserve them.
• TOPICALS: Salves, oils, poultice, compress.
• HONEY: So yum, especially for coughs.
• VINEGAR: great for extracting minerals and alkaloids. Shrubs are getting popular
• POWDER: yup, what it sounds like. You can make at home with coffee grinder!

35. MEDICINE-MAKING GUIDES
• Materia Medica: Michael Moore’s Southwest School of
Botanical Medicine. Suggested prep for 500+ plants.
www.swsbm.com/ManualsMM/MatMed5.pdf
• Ratio Tincturing: 7Song. 1:2 @ 95% (one ounce herb to 2 mLs
liquid @ 95%, which is 180 proof. 40% = 80 proof, minimum for
preservation.
• Study Herbalism: An herbal school or program around you is
the best way to take your journey further. An experienced
teacher guides you through the nuances of medicine-making
and more specifics than we can cover today.. Suggestions for
herbal schools at American Herbalists Guild.
• Journal Your Journey:: a Medicine-making journal helps you
look back and see how your practice has evolved, even at the
very beginning, especially when you make something really
good!
The Herbal Tradition

36. THE PLANTS
• Cayenne*
• Dandelion
• Garlic Chives
• Heartsease
• Plantain
• Yarrow
Easy to grow. Perennial (1 exception*).
Multiple Medicinal Uses you can start practicing right away.

37. CAYENNE PEPPER
Capsicum annuum, Solanaceae

38. CAYENNE PEPPERCapsicum annuum, Solanaceae
• ANTIMICROBIAL
• STYPTIC: no true hemostatic in
nature, but cayenne is the closest we
have outside of Chinese patent
formula Yunnan Baiyao.
• STIMULATING: interesting because
topically it stops blood and internally
it moves blood. Cool huh?
• THERMOGENIC: fancy word for
metabolism boosting. Applications for
weight loss.

39. CAYENNE PEPPER
Capsicum annuum, Solanaceae
• CLASSIC
COMPANIONS:
• Basil
• Marjoram
• Oregano
• Carrot
• Borage
• Dill.
• Example of temperature
in balance.

40. DANDELION
Taraxacum officinalis, Asteraceae

41. DANDELION
Taraxacum officinalis, Asteraceae
• BITTER: Root
• DIURETIC: Leaf (applications:
edema, puffiness, urinary tract
infection: pair with antimicrobial
herbs specific to urinary tract like
Juniper or Uva Ursi)
• SPRING & FALL ROOT HARVESTS
• INULIN

42. GARLIC CHIVES
Allium tuberosum, Amaryllidaceae

43. GARLIC CHIVES
Allium tuberosum, Amaryllidaceae
• Aggressive Spreader - a
problem or benefit?
• Tonic Seeds. ADAPTOGEN
• Sulphur Compounds in
leaves: MUCOLYTIC.
• Year-round pungent
flavoring. CORRIGENT.

44. VIOLA
Viola tricolor, Violaceae

45. VIOLA
Viola tricolor &V. odorata Violaceae
• By any other name…Johnny
Jump Up; Heartsease
• MUCILAGINOUS: moisturizing.
As they bloom and look most
beautiful in the spring and fall,
they are preparing the body
with deep lubrication.
• AERIAL PARTS: entirety of
above-ground plant can be
eaten.

46. PLANTAIN
Plantago lanceolata / P. major, Plantaginaceae

47. PLANTAIN
Plantago lanceolata / P. major, Plantaginaceae
• DOCTRINE OF SIGNATURES: looks like
what it does; mnemonic w/some accuracy.
Use creatively not exclusively.
• VULNERARY: wound-healing
• ANTI-MICROBIAL: wow, it feels like
infection is coursing through my veins and
being pulled to the plantain like a magnet!
• FOOD: Seeds provide fiber (psyllium); diced
leaves are yum.
• SPIT POULTICE: best thing for fire ant bites
on the farm.

48. YARROW
Achillea millefolium, Asteraceae

49. YARROW
Achillea millefolium, Asteraceae
• ANTI-MICROBIAL. Tea
of aerial parts.
• DIAPHORETIC: flowers
especially. Prepare fresh
or dried infusion.

50. CASE STUDY
• Cayenne
(Powder pack)
• Yarrow Rinse
(infusion, dry leaf)
• Plantain Bandage
(fresh plant)

51. CASE STUDY

52. CASE STUDY

53. CASE STUDY

54. • AERIAL PARTS: all above-ground parts of a plant (leaf, stem, flower.
• DOCTRINE OF SIGNATURES: when a plant resembles how it helps
the body heal
• MATERIA MEDICA: the material of medicine, a compendium of
information
• MUCILAGENOUS: ooey-gooey gloopy goop that moisturizes the body
• SPIT POULTICE: chew up a fresh plant and slop it on an insect bite.
• VULNERARY - wound-healing medicinal property
VOCAB: lexicon of herbalism

55. RESOURCES

56. RESOURCES
Research

57. RESOURCES
Research

58. RESOURCES
www.growingyourmedicine.com
Growing

59. RESOURCES
www.strictlymedicinals.com
Growing/Medicine Making

60. RESOURCES
www.botanicalmedicine.org
Herbalism

61. RESOURCES
www.americanherbalistsguild.com
Herbalism
Annual Symposium
October 25-29, 2018
Helen, GA

62. RESOURCES
http://www.swsbm.com
Herbalism

63. RESOURCES
www.7song.com
Herbalism

64. Thank You for Being Here
Grow Your Medicine with Your Own Hands

65. I Love to Hear from You!
EMAIL cassandra@plantprincessenterprises.com
SLIDES www.slideshare.net/CassandraNicholson3
WEBSITE www.plantprincessenterprises.com
@plantprincessenterprises
@adurableheart
Plant Princess Enterprises
Cassandra Lee Nicholson
@aplantprincess
@adurableheart