The quality of the herbs of herbs you purchase is of the utmost importance!  The best ingredients make the best medicine.  When buying dried bulk herbs to make your creations there are a few important guidelines to follow.  Look at the plant material, it should have a vivid, bright and appropriate color.  It should not appear faded and it should be fragrant.  Over time, with experience, making these observations will become easy and enjoyable.  Make sure you are buying the correct botanical.  It is important to identify the plant material you are purchasing by it’s Latin name because so many plants have the same or similar folk names.  Every herb has it’s own unique Latin name.  For example, if you are searching for nettles, you can verify that you are getting nettles by looking for it’s Latin name Urtica dioica.  Herbs can be purchased at most natural food stores or online.  My favorite place in the whole wide world to buy herbs is Rebecca's Herbal Apothecary in Boulder, Colorado.  Rebecca and her team are committed to sourcing the absolute best for their customers!  If you are in the Boulder area you are lucky indeed to have direct access to this amazing shop.  Otherwise they also offer their products online.   Mountain Rose Herbs also has wonderful herbs and products for sale.  Their site is interactive with lots of information about the herbs and raw ingredients they sell.

For a more in depth look at using herbs safely please visit my guest post "Herbal Medicine Safety Considerations" over at Natural Living Mama.