HerbSpeak’s mission is to unravel the mystery of our botanical world by making plant knowledge accessible in everyday life. Whether you live next to the wild unknown, or if you are stuck in big city traffic, plants are a part of daily life. Everything you see on this blog is curated by one nature lover for other nature lovers.
Join author D. K. Berard on a plant journey by browsing your favorite topic.
Don’t see something that you’d like to? This website is community-driven, meaning everything you see here is curated with your input taken into consideration. You might be the reason for the next top article!
Phytochemistry, ethnobotany, and more
guides, care tips, trends and more
Explore the culinary world
Learn about the Earth and our ecosystem
Calathea zebrina in the foreground, and Calathea lancifolia spotted in the background with their own darker leaf-like patterning.
The HerbSpeak blog covers topics from how plants work, to how they shape our environment. Plants are always evolving, growing, and shaping the world around us, and these organisms never cease to amaze, dazzle, and frighten.
Learn about different varieties of plants, how to care for them, how basic plant functions work, and how to identify different plant families, even if you’ve never seen that particular plant before.
In the botanical world, learning never stops. There are up to 400,000 species of flowering plants alone, making it one of the most diverse species of life on the planet, and that doesn’t include ferns or mosses.
HerbSpeak was founded by Destynnie K. Berard (D.K. Berard) based on a love of the botanical world.
HerbSpeak’s mission is to make plants more accessible in everyday life, no matter where you live. We are all a part of one ecosystem, contributing to the cycle of life in our own way. By understanding the vast botanical world, we can better understand our own choices and actions, and how it affects our ecosystem.
The journey to better understanding plants is a long and sometimes personal one. Let HerbSpeak help guide you and give you a voice in this budding community.
Dracaena warneckii “Lemon Lime”
Or visit the Author’s Corner for an exploration of the natural world from a more personal perspective.
Watching grass grow might not sound exciting, but it’s quite incredible when you understand what’s going on. Learn about plant movement and just how much these sessile organisms move on the regular.
Global change happens with local, individual action. In this article, you’ll learn about how inaction hurts and what you can do about the climate crisis today.
There are so many books to read, so many possibilities. But which ones are good? See the HerbSpeak recommendations for the upcoming months!
Millions of years ago, plants were the foundation of life as we know it today. So which ones are still around, and which are extinct? The answers might surprise you.
The routine of modern life can be toxic to human spirituality in any form - no matter what religion you do or do not prescribe to - especially when it comes to our connection to nature. In this HerbSpeak article, you’ll learn how to connect (or re-connect) with...
The first snow of the season drifts down in little white specks, blown about in a dazzling array despite how few and how small they are. It was a surprise, quite frankly. The week had been busy and I rushed to pick up some takeaway dinner as a solution for our...
Anyone who knows me would be able to tell you that New England is home to me, despite the fact that I am a transplant to the region. I grew up in southern United States, and I never felt like it was home. I always felt out of place in the culture, around the...
There is something inherently organic and emotionally recharging about air flow that comes from natural sources versus artificially manufactured airflow. As I sit in the window seat of an airplane for a quick flight from Boston to New York, the view outside turns...
Do carnivorous plants photosynthesize like other plants, or do they get all their nutrients from their prey? After all, a lot of them are green, which means they contain chlorophyll, right? Learn the answer to this question in this article.
Do you know how many carnivorous plants are known? You might be surprised by the answer! Read more to learn about the different types of carnivorous plants discovered in the world so far.
There is so much on HerbSpeak for you to discover.
Gardening is good for the soul, and learning more about the different plants in your life is a valuable way to reconnect with nature.
Whether you are an indoor gardener exploring the world of houseplants or an outdoor gardener looking for some insight, you will find everything you need to know in this section. From plant profiles to nontoxic plants, urban farming, and much more. Discover the best in gardening in this section.
Explore the wild and colorful world around you through the deeper understanding provided by these botanical articles. Learn how your houseplants and wild plants alike move throughout the day, and the mechanisms that makes it possible for them to communicate with each other.
Discover science expirements, connect with flora on an intellectual level, and remember the joys of learning. These pieces dive further into the details about plants, helping foster a better understanding of this lifeform and how it interacts with the world. What will your next discovery be? Find out by exploring topics in this section.
Are you searching for ways to reconnect with your environment, or better understand the changing climate? These articles are not only educational, but are also engaging, spread across a variety of environmental topics. Learn about global water usage, how to identify the bees in your garden, or why pesticides are harmful to an ecosystem’s balance. Explore several environmental topics below:
Microgreens are an up-and-coming nutritional food source that comes from plants that have just been germinated but have not been allowed to grow true leaves yet. You will be surprised at the differences in nutrition, with some microgreens containing 20-40x the nutrition of adult plants when tested on certain micro and macro nutrients.
In this section, you will learn everything you need to know about microgreens, from what they are to how to grow them. Thanks to your feedback, HerbSpeak is currently putting together a full course on how to grow microgreens, and it is continuously being shaped by your feedback. Have something to request or want to add your voice? Leave a comment in this section! Below, you can explore the latest Microgreens related in this area.
In this section, you’ll get an inside look into several different products, from gardening trays, to gardening gifts, bird feeders, and much more. This is a great way to look for a product related to gardening or nature. Have something to say about a product that has been reviewd? Add your voice in the comments – the more reviews, the better! Check out the most recent reviews and learn which choice is right for you.
Enjoy more in-depth information about how to identify, grow, and harvest your own American ginseng crop in HerbSpeak’s new book: How to Grow Ginseng.
In this book, you’ll learn everything you need to know about growing ginseng – specifically American ginseng, Panax quinquefolius – and how to care for this wonderful plant from seed to harvest.
Beyond that, you’ll learn why such a small root has earned such an honorable reputation, and what you can do to help keep this plant in our lives no matter what your motivation for growing ginseng is.
Your journey into the world of ginseng starts here.
By D. K. Berard
