Herb Profiles

Chamomile: Benefits, Growing + Harvesting, and Herbal Honey

by Katheryn Langelier July 23, 2026

Chamomile is well known for being a calming, relaxing and mildly sedating plant, but it’s also a plant that can inspire deep creativity. It’s all in how you work with it. I believe great medicine comes from just spending time with the plants. For me, spending time with chamomile means tapping into my intuition and creativity. It’s like a floodgate gets released and a series of clear, amazing possibilities fill my thoughts.

Chamomile is a fabulous herb for children who are restless or irritable, and for teething, growing pains, colds, fevers, sleep issues and nightmares. It can be used for both children and adults with digestive issues caused by anxiety or stress. Chamomile helps reduce inflammation in the GI tract, relieves gas and calms a nervous stomach. It’s also used to ease symptoms of PMS and menopause, like cramps, anxiety, irritability and sleep issues.

Topically, chamomile can soothe eczema, sunburns, sores and other skin irritations. Here in Maine, it has even brought relief to painful rashes caused by the browntail moth caterpillar.

Lemon Balm: A Cooling, Uplifting Herb for Mood, Digestion & Everyday Plant Medicine

by Katheryn Langelier June 03, 2026

Lemon balm is a cooling, uplifting, aromatic herb that has long been used to support the nervous system, digestion, and emotional well-being.

Herbalists often reach for lemon balm when someone is feeling hot, tense, worried, scattered, or emotionally worn down. It has a way of helping us soften, cool down, and come back into ourselves.

Ashwagandha

by katheryn Langelier March 10, 2021

Ashwagandha, native to India, grows on our farm in Maine as an annual. I harvest the roots every fall to make into tinctures and dry for teas, soup stocks and powder. Ashwagandha is a wonderful adaptogen that can be used as a daily tonic. It is part of the nightshade family, so if you have allergies you may want to avoid this herb. Otherwise, it’s a wonderfully rejuvenating and nourishing herb that I like to use as a brain tonic and to clear up brain fog and poor memory. It helps induce sleep, relieves anxiety and stress and is great for supporting the reproductive system. Ashwagandha is a great herb for rebuilding vitality and overall strength in the body.

Astragalus

by katheryn Langelier March 10, 2021

Astragalus, part of the pea family, is a perennial that we grow here on the farm. We harvest the roots in its third year to make into tincture or dry for teas, soup stocks, syrups and elixirs. Astragalus is a great herb to use when building back strength and vitality. I like to use it as immune support to help prevent colds and flu and help with allergies. Astragalus is a rejuvenative herb for when you are depleted and weak, helping restore vitality and energy. Helps improve digestion, nutrient absorption and cardiovascular function. This is a great front-line herb for immune support and preventive care.

Blue Vervain

by katheryn Langelier March 09, 2021

Blue vervain is a great herb to add to any garden. When we moved to the farm, I found a couple of plants growing wild along the stream. I loved that so much. I like to use blue vervain for nervous system issues such as anxiety, especially associated with PMS and menopause and it can also be used for spasms and tics. As a diaphoretic, it’s been used for relieving fevers and other flu symptoms, such as aching muscles.

Burdock

by katheryn Langelier March 07, 2021

Burdock is a weed that everyone should know and love. I mostly use the roots and will harvest them in the spring and fall to eat fresh, tincture and dry for tea, soup stocks and syrups. I love using this herb for clearing toxins from the gut and supporting elimination and purifying the blood. I like to use it for inflamed skin conditions that are hot and red, such as acne, rosacea, rashes, etc. Burdock is a pre/probiotic and helps support healthy flora in the digestive tract.

Calendula

by katheryn Langelier March 06, 2021

Calendula is such a beautiful little ray of sunshine. We grow rows and rows of this wonderful herb and harvest its blossoms well into the fall. We make it into a fresh tincture and dry it for teas, soup stock and oil. Externally, I like to use calendula on hot, irritated skin conditions and it’s my top go-to herb for rashes, cuts, abrasions and rashes. I love adding this to soup stocks in the wintertime and other immune teas or baths. I add it to teas for soothing the intestinal tract and gut and to support digestion and absorption. I regularly use this herb for any congestion related to the lymphatic system, such as swollen glands, and it makes a great mouthwash for gum inflammation.

California Poppy

by katheryn Langelier March 05, 2021

California poppy is a plant that I swoon over. Every year I try to grow the California poppy patch on the farm to get bigger and bigger. I harvest the entire plant throughout the growing season as it flowers and tincture the entire plant fresh. This is a wonderful herb that I like to use for pain relief, sleep issues and anxiety.

Catnip

by katheryn Langelier March 04, 2021

Catnip is a must on this farm, and not just to keep our four farm cats happy. Their names are Skeletor, Battlecat, Covergirl and Megababy, and they’d for sure revolt if we were to ever stop growing this tasty mint. I love using this herb for colds, flus and especially in children’s formulas. I like to add it to formulas for anxiety, sleep issues, tension headaches. PMS and menstrual cramps for its medicinal properties and for its mild mint taste. It can also be helpful for stress related digestive issues. Catnip is easy to grow from seed and transplants. I harvest the leaves and flowers throughout the growing season to dry for teas and tinctures.

Cayenne

by katheryn Langelier March 03, 2021

Cayenne can be great for increasing peripheral circulation, especially for cold hands and feet. It’s helpful in preventing arteriosclerosis and lowering LDL cholesterol. I love adding a little heat to meals for boosting circulation. I add cayenne to roasted veggies, soups, salad dressings, salsas, chocolates, sauces and just about everything that profiles, flavorwise, with heat. I also like to make a warming circulatory oil with sesame or olive oil, for topical use.

Cinnamon

by katheryn Langelier March 01, 2021

Cinnamon isn’t a plant that grows here in Maine, but it is something that I use often. One, because I love the way it tastes and two, because it’s one of those common kitchen herbs that almost everyone has on hand, so I tend to use cinnamon as often as I can. I like to use cinnamon for digestive support and warming the body, helping to get the blood moving and shaking to my cold fingers and toes. and digestive support. I also like to use it internally for pain and cramps and externally as an oil for joint and muscle pain relief.

Dandelion

by katheryn Langelier February 28, 2021

Dandelion is a deep love, the mascot of my business and the inspiration behind the name Herbal Revolution. It was one of the first herbs I learned to work with on a deep level. I eagerly await the arrival of spring each year, so I can see the fields on the farm turn into a sea of beautiful yellow. I harvest the roots, leaves and flowers in the spring and fall to eat, tincture and dry for tea, soup stocks, oils and vinegars. I love using dandelion for digestive and liver support, lymph congestion, especially in the breasts, and skin conditions.

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