Borage for Eczema, PMS, Hot Flashes, and Stress with Bridget Giuffrida

Many gardeners are familiar with borage: those gorgeous, starry blue flowers that bees absolutely adore. But what if there’s more to borage than just a pretty face?

In this episode, I sit down with Bridget Giuffrida to discuss the many virtues of borage (Borago officinalis). During our conversation, Bridget shares how she loves to work with borage as a cooling, soothing ally for the skin, emotional overwhelm, and the changes that come with perimenopause.

We also talk about the simple pleasure of spending time with borage in the garden—and what we might discover when we slow down enough to really pay attention to a plant.

Bridget also shares her recipe for Borage Blossom Honey, a simple and delicious way to work with this lovely flower. Download your beautifully illustrated recipe card here!

By the end of this episode, you’ll know:

► How borage can offer gentle support when life feels like it’s running at full throttle

► What makes borage such a wonderful herbal ally for the skin

► How this plant became associated with courage—and why that reputation has endured for centuries

► Over a dozen ways to bring borage into your kitchen and apothecary (from the prettiest of ice cubes, to tinctures, liniments, and more!)

► What to consider before using borage internally

► and so much more…

For those of you who don’t know her, Bridget Giuffrida is a community herbalist, educator, herbal formulator, and founder of Sweet Herb Medicinals, a handcrafted herbal apothecary in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains. Her relationship with plants began in the foothills of Northern California’s Sierra Nevada, and for 30 years she has studied, grown, gathered, and worked with herbs.

For 20 years, Sweet Herb Medicinals has been a place for herbal education, handcrafted preparations, botanical skincare, and hands-on learning for adults and youth. She is also co-founder of Bella Flora Expeditions, combining her love of plants, travel, food, culture, and landscape to create immersive botanical journeys around the world.

There’s something lovely about a plant that brings so much life to a garden while inviting us to find a little more steadiness in our own. May borage bring you a fresh appreciation for the everyday wonders growing all around you.

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Get full show notes, transcript, and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com

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You can find Bridget at SweetHerbMedicinals.com.

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On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.

Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.

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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients Into Foods & Remedies That Heal and co-author of the bestselling book Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine. She's a registered herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild and teaches many popular online courses. Read about how Rosalee went from having a terminal illness to being a bestselling author in her full story here.