Walk With Us: Memoirs & Meanderings

"It sounds like a bunch of bull, meant to make people spend more money on fancy crap." Despite being raised by a wise herb lady, I actually said these words when I watched a deluge of TV commercials advertising the newest trends in body care products years ago. I'm sure you will remember the flawless faces filling the screens for the latest wrinkle cream or long manes of hair whipping around or ladies grinning near hysteria while lathering brightly colored body washes. "Paraben free!" all the beautiful people exclaimed...

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a curious person. Growing up, I was often labeled, with much chagrin, the black sheep or was called a modern hippie by family members. Perhaps… But what I know to be true is my journey was a very unlikely one. I grew up in a conservative waspish family, and was raised by a single mother who struggled with stability and mental illness. I became very independent, finding solace in computers and technology, and camaraderie from people I met online, eventually growing to become an accomplished designer, writer and photographer...

“It’s just tea. What does it matter if it’s in a bag, or a silly ball? I can’t live without my Lipton’s iced tea,” said the lady in the grocery. “What’s the difference?”

Well… It may not seem like it, but there’s a world of difference in big box store tea brands versus organic loose leaf teas. The win is that they are in bright packaging, they’re easy to use and can be a little cheaper in price, but the loss is huge when you consider that convenience isn’t always what’s best...

Summer days spent in the grass under a shade tree, barefoot firefly chasing, and joyously soaking in the heat and sunshine never fails to remind me of my Mamaw. When little, I spent many lazy hot days with my grandparents in Cambridge, Ohio. In their words, their little house was, "deep in the holler," surrounded by forest, ponds, fields, and streams. All the wonderous things that call to a child on warm days.

My Mamaw Keith was a tiny woman...

Barbara (Lanning) Keith, aka Mama and Nana, is the matriarch of our herbalist family and the reason we are passionate about the green path. While our family tree contains many healers, our own herbal story begins with her.

Raised on a farm in Cambridge, Ohio, Barb grew up tending gardens, raising and showing cattle, canning harvests, and sewing clothing. Her deep love of herbs was sparked after the birth of her first child, me, in 1981. She was determined to give me a good, clean, and wholesome start to my life. That same year she planted her first herb seedling...

A common question we receive is how long do our products last, and how can I tell? We offer some insights on how to tell when our products have expired on our FAQ page, but the point of this article is to breakdown what we look for in our ingredients.

Do you want to make a new recipe on your own? Did you hear about a herb that sounds interesting and you would like to try it? Have you ever wandered down an aisle of a store and saw loose leaf tea on the shelf, or found a little shop selling herbs in...

For many new to it, herbal medicine can feel like an intimidating subject, and rightfully so, for without proper respect, knowledge, experience and technique, one can wrought much damage. But when it comes to our beloved little people, you shouldn’t scare yourself off, because while bodies of children are sensitive, their systems respond wonderfully to plant medicines. The key is to be informed, be safe, start slow, and trust in the intrinsic wisdom of mother earth...

Your health is a serious matter. We herbalists dedicate our lives to understanding medicinal plants and how they affect the body. In today’s age of modern medicine, it can be a struggle to get real answers, guidance, and clarity when it comes to how we feel and why. It can be difficult to even find an educated ear willing to listen.

We are here to offer some clarity and point you in the right direction to do your...

Our family spends a lot of time answering questions. Friends, neighbors, co-workers, emails, and website messages inquire about our thoughts on a wide variety of health issues and ailments. We are not doctors and we are always careful to encourage people to seek advice from their family practitioner. We do listen, and we do help when we can. Over the years our conversations have covered many things, but one tops them all in sheer numbers. Stressed, anxious, overwhelmed, and feeling blue? It seems most of us are.

We were featured in the Ohio Cooperative Living magazine in May 2023:
Woodland Herbal is a family business based in Warsaw, Ohio, who specialize in plant-based medicines, traditional remedies, and natural body care products like teas, salves, tinctures and extracts, beauty care, and more. Their products are handmade and crafted by their family of herbalists, resulting in a quality you can’t buy in stores. They employ great research, time, love, and positive intent in all of their recipes, using only the highest quality of natural ingredients known to man.

In Woodland Herbal we often mention the many generations of healers in our family. Our Wild Lettuce Tincture is an extract originally created by Jeff and Barb Keith at their Ohio home, The Twisted Post Ranch. They are the parents of Jenni, grandparents to Leah, and Great Nana and Pap to little Rowan.

In early spring the couple carefully prepared the soil in their herb garden to plant wild lettuce seeds. While many types of lettuce grow wild in the area, they were careful to plant Lactuca Virosa, the strongest medicinal lettuce.

It’s spring, the most wondrous time of the year, where rebirth is upon us and green things are sprouting. Among our favorite pastimes is wandering the wild wood and foraging for medicinal plants, edible herbs and mushrooms. If foraging is something that sounds fascinating to you, but you don’t know where to start, this article might serve as an ignitor for inspiration.

You might be feeling as though the forest is such a mysterious and strange place to wander, but...