Return To Our Roots
Welcome to the outdoor Apothecary
The Outdoor Apothecary inspires naturally minded people to live with the seasons, become self-reliant, connect with nature, and protect their health through herbal living. We love celebrating “the old ways” of living to bring blessings to ourselves, our families, communities and to Mother Earth. We offer articles, tips, recipes and ideas on practical self-reliance, simple herbal remedies, foraging, gardening and reconnecting ourselves to our natural world and sacred ancestral traditions.
About Me: Barbi
I’m a bookish “earth mother” who loves to read and walk in the woods. I’m a wildcrafter & herbalist, avid gardener, collector of nature specimens, and field guide enthusiast.
I spent most of my childhood exploring our natural world and I’m now devoted to reviving the ancestral wisdom of plants as medicine and healers. I love spending hours outside tending to my gardens, gathering plants and herbs, being in nature,and learning skills of self-reliance like homemade soapmaking.
I give deep thanks and gratitude to my Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck family for inspiring me to honor our Mother Earth by dedicating myself to studying and sharing ancient lifeways and reviving the wonderous arts of plant medicine and nature connectedness. I sincerely hope you’ll join me on this journey.
Rewild Your Life
Connecting with nature is more than a walk through the woods. It’s about being conscious of seasonal changes, becoming attuned with the plants around us, and relearning the nature-language we’ve forgotten through our modern lives. We believe that incorporating the “old ways” of doing things, growing and harvesting our own food, and having a do-it-yourself spirit, promotes self-sufficiency and is an important part of leading a healthier lifestyle, closer to nature.
We hope to provide you with a foundation to rewild yourself through aligning with the cycles of the seasons and to help you in discovering the energies of the seasonal cycles.
Nourish Yourself with Nature
Free 29-page Guidebook to Celebrating the Seasons
A Guided Workbook to help you celebrate nature’s seasonal cycles with mindfulness and meaningful intentions – our gift to you! Learn how to live a mindful nature-connected life.
Recent Posts
Foraging Wintergreen: Tips For Finding And Using This Delicious Herb
Identifying wintergreen, as well as its benefits and uses. Learn the challenges in foraging for this herb and tips on how to avoid common mistakes.
Bare Root Fruit Trees—The Cheap Way to Grow Your Own Fruit
Bare root fruit trees are cheaper than container-grown trees, easier to plant and the first-year survival rate is much higher. In this article, we explain what bare root trees are, how to plant them, and how to care for them after planting.
Quick And Easy DIY Disinfectant Spray Using 3 Common Kitchen Ingredients
Make your own all-natural DIY disinfectant spray. It’s cost-effective, smells great, and is better for your health.
Most Effective DIY Sleepy Time Tea Recipe
If you’re like me and strugle to fall asleep and stay asleep, then this DIY sleepy time tea recipe might be just what you’re looking for.
How to Make a Ginger Bug for Healthy Homemade Sodas
There’s no need to buy store-bought sodas when you can make your own homemade fermented sodas at home with ginger bug. This free-range culture is easy to catch and maintain so you can make probiotic sodas all year round.
Usnea Tincture Recipe: Discover How this Medicine Can Stop a Cold in Its Tracks
Make this dual-extract Usnea tincture recipe to have on hand when you feel a cough or cold coming on or In times of acute immune response. Usnea is most effective when taken in the form of a dual-extract tincture.
100+ Links for the Beginner Herbalist: Resources and Educational Opportunities
A (url) list of essential tools, resources, and educational opportunities for the beginner herbalist.
12 Easy Herbal Bath Tea Recipes to Elevate Your Bath to Therapeutic Heights
Elevate your bath by taking a relaxing soak with these 12 simple herbal bath tea recipes.
30+ Best Field Guides & Plant Identification Books
Today I want to share a list of my favorite field guides on plant identification as well as some useful tips on using field guides and other resources to identify different species.
Elderberry Syrup for Incredible Immune Support
Learn how to make elderberry syrup for seasonal immune support to strengthen the immune system and treat colds, flu, cough and sinus infections.
How to Make Salt Dough Ornaments or Gift Tags
Salt dough ornaments are a great, easy craft project that you can do in an afternoon. Salt dough ornaments are a fun activity for the whole family and make for wonderful homemade gifts for loved ones.
Milkweed: Identifying, Harvesting and Preparing this Delicious Edible Weed
One of my favorite wild spring edibles is milkweed. You heard that right…milkweed is edible and delicious! When cooked up, they taste and have a similar texture to asparagus, and yes, you can harvest them sustainably without any harm to the Monarchs.
Root Tinctures: Powerful Earth Medicine
Making root tinctures is a low-tech and ancient practice that can yield potent plant medicine.
The Magical Time of Nature Awakening and the Celebration of Imbolc
Learn about the magical festival of fire with us as we celebrate Imbolc and nature awakening.
Wildcraft a Feast of Invasive Edible Weeds: 25 Recipes
I’ve gathered twenty-five recipes from people around the country who are using wild edible weeds in ways that will surprise and delight you.
Self Care Sundays: 25 Easy Ideas for Getting Through Winter
Self Care Sundays is the idea to take time each Sunday to practice self-care. Here are 25 ideas for taking care of yourself.
10 Natural Simmer Pot Recipes for a Fresh Smelling Home
Ready to make your home smell divine? 10 Natural Simmer Pot Recipes for a Fresh Smelling Home is packed with delicious, easy-to-follow recipes that fill the room with beautiful scents.
Northeast Winter Foraging: 10 Wild Plants That You Can Eat
While there aren’t as many options of wild plants that you can eat during this time, there are at least 9 plants that I’ve had good success in foraging during a long New England winter.
8 Amazing Benefits Of Rosehip Oil for Your Face Plus DIY Moisturizer Recipe
There are many benefits of rosehip oil for your face. Today we will learn 8 amazing benefits of rosehip oil which will definitely have you wanting to make this incredible DIY moisturizer.
Surprising Health Benefits of Juniper Berry Tea
Juniper berry tea is a wonderful herbal tea that can be used to treat a variety of ailments. This article will reveal some of the health benefits of juniper berry tea and how you can use it to improve your health.
5 Easy Juniper Berry Recipes to Try Today
Enjoy these juniper berry recipes. Juniper berries are a wonderfully aromatic spice, that’s easy to collect in the wild and can be added to many recipes for amazing added flavor.
Shop Seasonal Guides & Workbooks
Digital DownloadsSamhain Celebration Guide
$8.99 Add to cartThis lovely and functional Samhain Celebration Guide bundle is perfect for planning your days throughout the Harvest season. Includes 49 pages to connect you with the energy of the season of Samhain. Reflections. Rituals. Magical Correspondences.
Digital DownloadsMabon Celebration Guide
$8.99 Add to cartThis lovely and functional Mabon Celebration Guide bundle is perfect for planning your days throughout the Harvest season. Includes 49 pages to connect you with the energy of the season of Mabon. Reflections. Rituals. Magical Correspondences.
Digital DownloadsLughnasadh Celebration Guide
$8.99 Add to cartThis lovely and functional Lughnasadh Celebration Guide bundle is perfect for planning your days throughout the Harvest season. Includes 49 pages to connect you with the energy of the season of Lughnasadh. Reflections. Rituals. Magical Correspondences.
Digital DownloadsLitha Celebration Guide
$8.99 Add to cartThis lovely and functional Litha Celebration Guide bundle is perfect for planning your days throughout the Summer Solstice season. Includes 50 pages to connect you with the energy of the season of Litha. Reflections. Rituals. Magical Correspondences.
BeltaneBeltane Celebration Guide
$8.99 Add to cartThis lovely and functional Beltane Celebration Guide bundle is perfect for planning your days throughout the Beltane season. Includes 50 pages to connect you with the energy of the season of Beltane. Reflections. Rituals. Magical Correspondences.
Digital DownloadsOstara Celebration Guide
$8.99 Add to cartThis lovely and functional Ostara celebration guide bundle is perfect for planning your days throughout the Ostara season. Includes 49 pages to connect you with the energy of the season of Ostara. Reflections. Rituals. Magical Correspondences.
Digital DownloadsImbolc Celebration Guide
$8.99 Add to cartThis lovely and functional Imbolc celebration guide bundle is perfect for planning your days throughout the Imbolc season. Includes 47 pages to connect you with the energy of the season of Imbolc. Reflections. Rituals. Magical Correspondences.
Digital DownloadsYule Celebration Guide
$6.99 Add to cartThe Yule Celebration Guide is the perfect companion for celebrating the winter solstice, the dark half of the year. In it, you will find history, rituals, recipes, and journaling pages all related to this holiday. In this guide you’ll find herb and crystal correspondences, planner pages and lots more.
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