Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a beloved culinary staple around the world, and an ancient herbal ally for common modern ailments.

Want to learn more about the healing gifts of fennel?

Follow along with herbalist Sorrel Hartford to learn about 3 medicinal benefits of fennel.

And after learning these 3 benefits of fennel you might be wondering how you can learn more about other common herbs.

Here’s the easy way to learn more about our favorite common herbs: download a FREE deck of our top 12 Herb Notes. You’ll learn all about popular herbs like catnip, aloe, elderberry, and more.

Get your FREE Herb Notes printable flashcards here: https://herbnotes.cards/

In this episode of HerbMentor Radio, we begin our journey through National Geographic Herbal with the chapter that opens the entire path: Sensory Herbalism.

To guide us into this deeply relational way of knowing plants, we are joined by Kat Maier, author of Energetic Herbalism and founder of Sacred Plant Traditions. Kat has spent decades helping students and practitioners understand the energetic language of plants, not just through theory, but through direct sensory experience.

Together, we explore what it truly means to be in relationship with plants through the senses. Kat helps us understand that energetic herbalism is, at its heart, the study of patterns. This awareness allows us to more skillfully match people and plants in clinical and everyday practice.

We also spend time with marshmallow root (Althaea officinalis) as a sensory teacher. Through taste and direct experience, marshmallow reveals its signature moistening softness and quiet strength, offering a clear example of how energetic qualities can be felt in the body, not just studied in books.

Throughout the episode, we return to a central theme: sensory herbalism is relational herbalism. Every culture has cultivated ways of knowing plants through the senses. When we slow down enough to listen, the plants are already speaking.

In this episode, we explore:

• What energetic herbalism really means in practice
• How the senses guide us into deeper plant relationship
• Using plant and human patterns to make better herbal matches
• Kat’s vision of a botanical sanctuary and land stewardship
• The practice of soft gaze and peripheral awareness in the forest
• Marshmallow root as a powerful sensory teacher

Learn more about Kat Maier and her work here.

Are you ready to take your herbal learning to the next level?

Sounds like it’s time to check out HerbMentor!

HerbMentor offers a wide variety of rich herbal content — including an in-depth course on food as medicine — that gives you the opportunity to choose your own herbal adventure, take your time, and connect with other herbal learners and experts whenever you login.

You can join HerbMentor for just $1 to see if it’s part of your own herbal path.

• Get a special offer on HerbMentor at https://HerbMentorRadio.com

Are you just starting to make herbal remedies?

• Build your natural first aid kid with our free Herbal Preparation Cards: https://Herbal.Cards

Sage (Salvia officinalis) is a familiar garden plant with a long history as both a culinary staple and a revered herbal ally.

Want to learn more about the healing gifts of sage?

Follow along with herbalist Tara Ruth to learn about 3 benefits and key contraindications of sage.

And after learning these 3 benefits of sage you might be wondering how you can learn more about other common herbs.

Here’s the easy way to learn more about our favorite common herbs: download a FREE deck of our top 12 Herb Notes. You’ll learn all about popular herbs like catnip, aloe, elderberry, and more.

Get your FREE Herb Notes printable flashcards here: https://herbnotes.cards/

Big news at HerbMentor Radio! We open this episode with an exciting announcement that Mimi Prunella Hernandez is joining HerbMentor Radio as a co-host alongside Kimberly Gallagher.

From there, we take time to get to know Mimi a bit better, her journey as a lifelong herbalist, author, and mentor, and what has shaped her herbal path. Mimi shares her excitement and joy about what she calls her new herbal playground, and what it means to step into a deeper role within the HerbMentor community. As a new co-host, Mimi will be popping into the HerbMentor forums, participating in community meetups, and offering her guidance as a true herb mentor, curious, generous, and grounded in science, tradition, and into the kitchen.

We also take a peek inside Mimi’s books, beginning with sensory experience and moving outward through weeds and forests to the global landscape of herbalism. We highlight the velvet soft cues of peach leaf, the tart brightness of hibiscus, and other beloved herbs featured in National Geographic Herbal and Backyard Guide to Edible Wild Plants.

• In this episode, we explore
• Mimi’s journey as an herbalist, author, and educator
• What excites her most about joining HerbMentor Radio as co-host
• The role of mentorship and community in modern herbalism
• How herbalism lives in everyday life, from the home to the wider world
• And what’s ahead for HerbMentor Radio with Mimi on board

Learn more about Mimi and her work at www.herbalandhome.com, and follow her on Instagram @herbalandhome.

Are you ready to take your herbal learning to the next level?

Sounds like it’s time to check out HerbMentor!

HerbMentor offers a wide variety of rich herbal content — including an in-depth course on food as medicine — that gives you the opportunity to choose your own herbal adventure, take your time, and connect with other herbal learners and experts whenever you login.

You can join HerbMentor for just $1 to see if it’s part of your own herbal path.

• Get a special offer on HerbMentor at https://HerbMentorRadio.com

Are you just starting to make herbal remedies?

• Build your natural first aid kid with our free Herbal Preparation Cards: https://Herbal.Cards

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) is a sweet, warming spice used in Ayurvedic medicine and beloved in kitchens around the world. It’s treasured in herbal medicine for its aromatic, stimulating gifts.

Want to learn more about the healing gifts of cardamom?

Follow along with herbalist Tara Ruth to learn about 3 benefits and key contraindications of cardamom.

And after learning these 3 benefits of cardamom you might be wondering how you can learn more about other common herbs.

Here’s the easy way to learn more about our favorite common herbs: download a FREE deck of our top 12 Herb Notes. You’ll learn all about popular herbs like catnip, aloe, elderberry, and more.

Get your FREE Herb Notes printable flashcards here: https://herbnotes.cards/

Gut health isn’t just about digestion: it’s the foundation of whole-body balance. Clinical herbalist and author Maria Noël Groves brings a practical and deeply empowering perspective to the conversation, helping demystify gut health and showing how herbs can gently and effectively support digestion and long-term vitality.

Maria is the author of several books, including but not limited to Body into Balance and Herbs for Gut Health. She is a clinical herbalist and herbal medicine teacher with more than 2 decades of experience and a registered professional member of the American Herbalists Guild. Her business, Wintergreen Botanicals, is based in Chichester, New Hampshire.

In our conversation, Maria shares…

• Why gut health matters—and why it’s about so much more than digestion
• Key signs your digestion is out of balance (and signs it’s healing)
• Common root causes of gut issues and what realistic healing timelines look like
• How herbs support gut health and the microbiome
• An herbalist’s perspective on heartburn, GERD, leaky gut, and food sensitivities
• And so much more!

You can learn more about Maria Noël Groves and her work here.

Are you ready to take your herbal learning to the next level?

Sounds like it’s time to check out HerbMentor!

HerbMentor offers a wide variety of rich herbal content — including an in-depth course on food as medicine — that gives you the opportunity to choose your own herbal adventure, take your time, and connect with other herbal learners and experts whenever you login.

You can join HerbMentor for just $1 to see if it’s part of your own herbal path.

• Get a special offer on HerbMentor at https://HerbMentorRadio.com

Are you just starting to make herbal remedies?

Build your natural first aid kid with our free Herbal Preparation Cards: https://Herbal.Cards

Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) is a pungent culinary delight that makes for a wonderful spice and herbal ally.

Want to learn more about the healing gifts of clove?

Follow along with herbalist Tara Ruth to learn about 3 benefits and key contraindications of clove.

And after learning these 3 benefits of clove you might be wondering how you can learn more about other common herbs.

Here’s the easy way to learn more about our favorite common herbs: download a FREE deck of our top 12 Herb Notes. You’ll learn all about popular herbs like catnip, aloe, elderberry, and more.

Get your FREE Herb Notes printable flashcards here: https://herbnotes.cards/

Ginger (Zingiber officiniale) is far more than a spicy addition to your meals. This beloved plant has been used for centuries across the world as a powerful herbal remedy.

Want to learn more about the healing gifts of ginger?

Follow along with herbalist Tara Ruth to learn about 3 benefits and key contraindications of ginger.

And after learning these 3 benefits of ginger you might be wondering how you can learn more about other common herbs.

Here’s the easy way to learn more about our favorite common herbs: download a FREE deck of our top 12 Herb Notes. You’ll learn all about popular herbs like catnip, aloe, elderberry, and more.

Get your FREE Herb Notes printable flashcards here: https://herbnotes.cards/