A potpourri of delectable aromas assails the nose. An old wood stove in the center of the room warms hands frozen from the winter chill. Rows of jars displaying fresh herbs, seeds and powders line the shelves, drawing the eye in every direction. As Mary Blue, owner of modern-day apothecary Farmacy Herbs, welcomes customers with a kind greeting, their senses come alive. Only the tongue must wait its turn, but sooner or later, it is sure to be satisfied with sips from one of Blue's herbal teas.
The shop offers teas, tinctures, salves and other herbal remedies which are legally considered food products, Blue said. "Herbs do not treat disease. They support health."
When neither Tylenol nor Health Services could do anything for my chronic headaches, I turned to Farmacy Herbs for help.
Au naturel
After a 10-minute bus ride, I found the small, rustic shop on Cemetery Street, facing the North Burial Ground cemetery. There is a bench on the roof and a sign in the window reading "Health care is a human right." Blue said she appreciates the expansive, quiet location and the beautiful plants abounding in it.
Rather than treat my headaches, Blue offered me products that would prevent them before they start by promoting better overall health in my head. I bought a feverfew tincture, "Unwind Your Mind" tea and lavender essential oil.
My friends were skeptical of the homemade potions with mistyped labels bought on the outskirts of a cemetery.
In the week or so I spent replacing painkillers with herbal remedies, my headaches did not disappear. But they did decrease in frequency and intensity. As directed, I now take a dropper or two of tincture daily — more on stressful days — with a glass of water to dilute the foul taste. The tincture — an alcoholic extract — opens the capillaries in the brain to prevent the onset of headaches, Blue had told me.
The uniquely strong smell is hard to take, but leaves no aftertaste — more tolerable, certainly, than shots of Karkov. The greater challenge to students going herbal might be the recommendations that go along with the products. For greatest efficacy, Blue suggested cutting sugar, coffee and alcohol from my diet. Though I did not take the recommendations to heart, I still found a marked improvement.
Along with the tincture, Blue suggested drinking the tea — a combination of catnip, chamomile and lemon balm — in the evenings for relaxation and, as the package claims, to "reduce occasional stress and frustration."
As a last resort, I rubbed lavender oil on my temples once the headaches set in. I found the practice so pleasing, it has become a part of my daily routine, even without headaches.
Stocking up
Blue grows the over 70 varieties of plants used in her products in the garden and greenhouse surrounding her apothecary. There are teas to promote nail growth and female health, as well as tinctures meant to support well-being in cancer patients.
Blue's two mugwort tea compounds are particularly intriguing. The Smoker's Blend, with mullein and sage, can be used as a "cigarette replacer" to help smokers quit, she said. The Dream Blend combines mugwort with passion flower and chamomile to "help bring on lucid dreams."
"I don't know what part of the brain that works on," she said, adding that the blend works well if used sparingly.
Fraser Evans '11, a teaching assistant for BIOL 0190E: "Botanical Roots of Modern Medicine," said the product can be "quite effective" if you're open to the experience.
The shop also sells a unique first aid kit. Herbal anti-parasite pills, three tinctures, lavender oil, tea, Band-Aids and salve fill the travel-ready compact container. Blue said some of the shop's products can be used by students "to enhance the brain during studying time."
If none of the pre-made products suffice, Blue also keeps a stock of raw herbs ready to be mixed. I watched a regular customer enter the shop and describe her latest ailments. Blue, clearly familiar with the woman's medical history, asked a few questions before confidently pulling several jars from the shelves. She spoke quickly about the recommended preparation and dosage while combining the herbs in a stainless steel bowl.
The combination was based partly on the customer's favorite herbs and partly on Blue's familiarity with similar conditions. If the customer likes the blend, Blue said, it will be added to her "recipe box" for later use.
For any of the shop's products, "she'll tell you why they're good for you, which is really nice," Evans said.
With about 15 years of herbalism experience under her belt, Blue does not keep her wealth of knowledge to herself. She has been teaching herbalism in Providence for a decade in hospitals, schools, garden clubs and nursing homes. Three years ago, she opened the Farmacy Herbs shop. Blue herself studied at the feet of an established herbalist. But she emphasized the fact that herbalism is an informal field. "If someone says they're a certified herbalist, it doesn't mean anything," she said.
Today, Farmacy Herbs has about 20 staffers, mostly apprentices and interns. "Because people want to learn so much about herbs, I don't have to pay anyone," Blue said.
The shop grew from a charitable fund from Jessica Gill, a friend of Blue's. Before Gill died of cancer in 2006, she requested donations to Farmacy Herbs in lieu of flowers. This dying wish allowed Blue to open the store and was the inspiration for the shop's "Care about Cancer" program, which provides cancer patients with free herbs and referrals to holistic doctors.
Brunonian herb-lovers
When Blue was not curing Brown students' ailments, she was putting one up in her home. Bochay Drum '10, a resumed undergraduate education student, lived for two months with Blue at her house, adjacent to the future site of the shop. He discovered Blue by chance, he said, and the two realized they had a number of mutual friends through his herbalist father, but he said he was not involved with Blue's vision of opening an herbal shop.
Since then, several students have frequented the shop for remedies and teas. "I usually just go to see everything. It's so beautiful," Evans said. In the past, she has bought kelp powder and dandelion roots.
Evans introduced Farmacy Herbs to her teacher, Fred Jackson, the director of the Plant Environmental Center. Jackson has been teaching the botanical medicine class since 2003 while running the University greenhouse. This year, he chose to visit Farmacy Herbs on a field trip.
The class is a very "hands-on course," Jackson said, and Farmacy Herbs fits in perfectly with its goals. Students in the class will visit the shop in April when they will get a firsthand look at alternative practices. Jackson said a lot of his students plan to be doctors and he likes to "give them a different perspective."
The U.S. "is lagging behind in the use of these medicines," Jackson said. While these remedies are used regularly in many South American countries, people in the U.S. still rely mostly on pharmaceuticals. The lack of Federal Drug Administration approval can be problematic and lead to confusion over dosages, Jackson said.
Blue's products are labeled with loose dosage recommendations. The herbs are "really safe and gentle" and are no more dangerous than food, she said.
I'm willing to take her word for it. The herbs haven't killed me yet.
