Paptuanuku- Mother Earth and Hawthorn October 2020

This spring we have learnt to truly trust Papatuanuku- Mother Earth. I love this Maori word Papatuanuku for although it means Mother Earth I see Papa there too. In my childhood we didn't have words for a relationship with the land; we took for granted the passing of the seasons, neither did we gaze in awe at the moon. There was a kind of separateness; no one talked about belonging. 

But these days, the more we go out to the land, the more we are learning to truly rest and to trust the provision and support of Mother Earth. It's like any relationship, it takes time to learn the rhythms and the ways of one another. Although, all that's required of us- is simply, that we show up, with respect and openness. This week, as we drove past Pandora I noticed a swathe of pale pink- "Ooh, what are those?", I cried and out we scrambled to see. 

Ah, allium roseum- but why don't you look it up and make quite certain...

And so he did- allium roseum- rosy garlic- isn't that the cutest name. An edible old world species of garlic... for sure- we nearly expired from the smell in the car by the time we got home!

This is a remarkable piece of land here by the tidal estuary at Pandora. The centranthus ruber has made itself right at home. 

It is interesting that the rose pink colour tends to dominate a colony, then comes the red, while the alba is intermittent. The yellow of the hedge mustard (Sisymbrium officinale) is quite startling in a amongst it all.

The flowers are tasty in salads. I'd like to collect some seeds later on and see what we can do with those.

It was quite astonishing to see just how much plantain was there too- made evident by their distinctive feathery flower head.

Having picked a large armful of centranthus recently, I was delighted to find that the flowers are really quite fragrant. 

They last a good long while in the vase too.

We were actually heading to a valley at the back of Taradale that we had stumbled upon last autumn, but just had to check on the Medlar tree at Park Island on our way. I have been hoping to find some red clover (trifolium pratense) soon as we need to begin collecting it for our next year's herbal infusions...and here it was.

Such beautiful blossoms and so wonderfully rich in anti-cancer phytoestrogens and protein and loads of minerals trace elements. Nourishing herbs used regularly help to build health- something that isn't talked about very often- "building health", that is.

The land we walked through to reach the Medlar tree was once an orchard. Look at this glorious kiwifruit growth bursting out of the ground. The resilience of some plants is truly remarkable.

Ah, there you are Medlar! Have we missed your flowers?

No- here they are...in bud.

Taradale continues to surprise us with a huge variety of walkways and wild places that are open and available for people to enjoy. Around Labour weekend a wander in these hills becomes a truly magical experience. 

So wild, in fact, that plants like naturalised hawthorn (crataegus) are left in peace.

They each develop then own particular shape and style.

Their flowers so delicate...

and beautiful in their simplicity.

Walking amidst hawthorns we are always moved and feel very tender and emotional.

A strange sense of murmured gentle welcome and  connection begins to weave itself around us as we wander.

Occasionally in a valley of hawthorns you may spot pale pink blossoms.

They are all so beautiful. 

These wonderful, resilient plants speak to our hearts of belonging.

They love to gather in "families" their roots running deep in to the terrain around them- frequently steep valleys with a little water running through them.

It's no surprise then to find that the leaves, flowers and berries of crataegus provide wonderful gentle medicine that nourish the heart and circulatory system.

Return to Innocence

Way back in the heat of summer I realised that I was in a bit of strife- I was both concerned about myself and pretty miserable. Menopause is an interesting process for many of us, and here I was heading out the other side of it all, but what on earth was going on with my body this time? I think we'd been drifting here for a while, but I was in a kind of denial that my pelvic organs were no longer coping with their living arrangements. I read various posts in herbal groups where people were asking about what to do for one prolapse or another, and mostly that was not a helpful thing- to read it all- the stories of how Aunty Jean was miserable for 10 years before she had the big op and now she's fine, or how mum had surgery straight off (the only way to fix these things according to most) and now she's been in terrible pain for 8 years ever since. I have to say it scared the bejeezus out of me. But, if I kept one eye closed and walked away quick, I also managed to see snippets of useful information along the way.
At New Year, Rob and I both agreed that we would read one book- just one and if we never read another book all year it didn't matter. We both began Robin Rose Bennett's book The Gift of Healing Herbs- he listening to it on the half hour drive to work, and me reading the actual pages each night. I expect to read this amazing book again and again through my life time. There's something about Robin's approach to healing herbs and plants that infuses hope and confidence and courage in to the reader like nothing else I've ever come across before, and of the plants she talks about, we are familiar with almost all of them and better still, many of them grow around us- even in our own garden.
I started taking note of what herbs might be useful to me as I gathered my courage and made plans for what I needed to do. The simplest lesson I've learned from Robin is this: "Herbs work, but you have to use them!" In my past family no one ever knew what to do to sort anything- it didn't matter what it was, they never knew how to fix it. If aspirin or Benadryl didn't work, then you were right out of luck. This is still a huge vulnerability for me- the," What if I don't know what to do and it gets really bad trip.'
So by mid February, in the hottest month, we headed out to visit or son and his lovely partner up in the hills out of Dannevirke. All of our province was in serious drought- so dry, nothing but agapanthus were blooming and the hills appeared to be desert instead of farmland. It's only a hour or so drive, but I was so uncomfortable- feeling every bump and jolt and wondering if I was developing a UTI. As we drove that 20 minutes up Waitahora road to Matthew's place, an amazing phenomena unfolded before my eyes- on both sides of the road swathes of Wild Carrot ushered us the whole way to our destination- right on the harsh edge of the tar seal, yet in full virginal white bloom, unfazed by the extreme conditions that had overcome everything else, some time ago.

Never-the-less, we had a lovely visit and it was here in the garden that I realised that I had found Juliette de Bairacli Levy's beloved Southernwood, for the first time.

Without a teacher here in Hawke's Bay and never having heard of some of these plants before it's a peculiar process discovering them for myself, as I go along.

On our journey home, I was still feeling fatigued and fragile, yet I marvelled again at the miracle of this one road lined with these beautiful white flowers all the way down to the turn off. Especially as everywhere else in Hawke's Bay Wild Carrot flowers had long finished. I pondered this gift of beauty and asked if there was message for me to understand in what I was seeing and in that moment I had this overwhelming feeling that they were offering the promise of a "return to innocence; renewal". And I knew then that I needed to find a way to incorporate Wild Carrot in to my healing plan.

I met Wild Carrot (Daucus Carota) Queen Anne's Lace, sometime ago. She grows wild in various spots around our region. I soon brought her home to live in my garden too. I like to have near near me, she brings me so much joy. One of the delightful distinguishing features of Wild Carrot is this little red spot that sometimes appears in the centre of her flowers, although not always. I always think of them as love hearts.

As the flowers age and gradually turn to seed Wild Carrot gently folds up her apron and encloses her precious cargo in a nest formation, protecting them as they mature in to viability, before eventually flinging wide her arms for their dispersal- a final act of surrender.

This nesting habit is also very womb-like.

Robin Rose Bennett describes Wild Carrots physical actions this way:

"Urinary system tonic; aids conscious contraception; may support conception; thyroid and pituitary stimulant; dissolves gravel and stones in bladder and kidneys; aids digestion; increases breastmilk, carminative."

I have also come to love wild yarrow- achillea millefolium.

I discovered that yarrow is a wonderful regulator- of almost any function in the body that's out of kilter. It may tonify and relieve congestion of the uterus and is used for uterine prolapse. Being an astringent herb it is also beneficial for all kinds of urinary conditions and any inflammation.

Matthew Wood states: Mind, Senses, Nerves, Emotions, Personality 

 The “wounded warrior, wounded healer” remedy; “people that jump in, put out the fires, get cut to the bone, emotionally and physically;” sensitive, delicate persons, easily hurt (Barbara St. Dennis). Ref: 1

Having plenty of yarrow in the garden and down at the community garden I decided that I would add this herb to my tool kit too.

I felt that the Wild Carrot and Yarrow might be most useful as a tonic- small amounts over a longer period of time. So I began to make small jars of these two dried herbs as an infusion- around a tablespoon of each in to 500ml (pour over boiling water, cap and leave overnight)- drinking half a cup or so a day.

Through this time we continued to come across plenty of our beloved red clover blossoms.

The foundation of my plan for healing was to drink daily 1-3 cups of the basic nourishing herbal infusions that include: red clover blossoms, wild raspberry leaf, nettles, oatstraw and sometimes chickweed, violet leaf, comfrey, plantain, mullein or lucerne.

Red clover blossoms

 

 Nettles- Diocia Urtica grow wild and well along the banks of the Karamu stream and down at Pakowhai Regional Park here (when they leave it alone). This perennial nettle is a host plant for our native red admiral butterfly. We gather and dry nettles whenever we get the opportunity. We also use the fresh leaves in cooked wild green mixes. 

Raspberry leaf is a wonderful nourishing herb and is well renowned as an valuable uterine tonic. This article by the Kiwi medical herbalist Richard Whelan is most helpful on the subject.

This particular plant appeared in our garden after an old plum tree was cut down. It turns out it's a Japanese wineberry- Rubus Phoenicolasius.

The vine is very vigorous and the leaves can be used in just the same way as a cultivated raspberry- dried and used in nourishing infusions.  Since I am forever cutting back the wandering canes it's nice to know that I never need to waste such vigour. I just snip of f the leaves with scissors and lay them on a tray to dry. 

The fruits are a happy bonus. There's an interesting article just here about Wineberries.

And so here we are now in mid August and I wonder if it's worth writing in such a way- so scattered and open ended and I think perhaps it is, since I don't write to educate others, but merely to record my own journey of healing and my developing relationship with the healings herbs and plants that I have come to love. As I reflect on these passed 7 months or so, I find myself so grateful for the gift of healing herbs. And I see that my body has been aided, strengthened and balanced, my heart and emotions soothed and supported- washed and woven. There are two other aspects of health that I came to realise I needed to pay attention to- my digestion and my nervous system. So I have added other simple supports that have proven to be most useful, that I will write about in my next post.

Reference:1) http://www.matthewwoodherbs.com/Yarrow.html

The Healing Gifts of Summer

I think perhaps becoming a herbalist is the very best thing I have ever done. I'll never not be a herbalist now, I've gone too far over the line. For me it's a little like falling in love- there's quite a lot of involuntary about it all & a whole lot of serendipity. Once you love someone with all your heart, you can't just unlove them again- there's a bond, an attachment & a loyalty to that love that is made of the strongest fibres on earth. And so it is with my love for healing herbs.

The thing that I never, ever expected was that my life companion & husband would also fall in love with the herbs & flowers & plants, & that this passion would be the learning joy that I know will carry us safely through the rest of our lives here, together- or when the time comes, alone.

At the end of November we celebrated the 41st anniversary of our meeting- we met all those years ago when I was just 17. We love planning what we will do to together to honour the gift of our relationship- this year we decided to have a pretty picnic in the Napier Botanic gardens.

When I opened my door in the car park I found myself enfolded in the welcoming arms of a fully blossoming Linden tree; sweetly feminine, warmly generous & with all her heady fragrance, Linden was there to greet & bless us.

The gardens are not really far from home, but there are various routes that we can take to get there. We decided to visit the Salvation Army op shop in Taradale on our way & so as we passed by Te Kohanga Reo O Waiohiki I spotted a gravelly expanse of flowering St John's Wort (Hypericum Perforatum) just before the bridge. Seeing a car coming out of the driveway I rushed up to ask if I could pick some flowers & so we were able to fill a basket to the brim. 

 I have a pot full growing in my garden but it is slow going harvesting it a little at a time as it comes in to flower.

The smell of this wonderful herb as it dries is amazing- warm & musky & spicy all at once.

 I identified & learnt about Hypericum Perforatum last summer & infused a good lot of the flowers in  olive oil. I love this valuable plant so much & found it so useful, I have done it all again!

 I cut up the flowers & buds & a little of the stems & filled an Agee jar with them, then I poured in the olive oil. I will keep this jar out in the sun (with a lid on it) for a month to six weeks. St John's Wort is all about sunshine. The plants grow in the worst of soils, especially in stony neglected ground & the flowers are sunshine yellow. The whole plant is tenacious & resilient in the harshest of conditions. I learnt from Herbalist Susun Weed & Robin Rose Bennett that they both use St John's Wort oil as a sun "screen"- really it's a sun/skin adaptor oil. I wasn't too sure about this until I used the oil myself, on my face especially, over a period of 9 months or more & I discovered that St John's Wort oil does indeed assist my skin to work with the sun. It doesn't stop me from getting burnt, but it somehow causes a helpful interactive dynamic. I don't use anything else other than a sun hat. The interesting thing that I have noticed coming in to this summer is- that the many, quite large sunspots that were developing on my face have receded, faded & some have fully resolved & disappeared. I am amazed.

The oil is also helpful for easing sore muscles, strains or sprains & a tincture made of the yellow flowers also turns deep red & is useful for anything to do with pain in the body & the mind & can even help to ease depression & SAD. Ah, sunshine again!

 November was a very busy time for me as I gathered seeds already mature & harvested various herbs & plants at just the right time: fragrant roses, yarrow (top third of leaves, stalks & flowers), St John's Wort, red clover blossoms & Linden flowers in early December.

 There is a hedgerow of white rugosa roses along the cycle way down River road that we go to to harvest from each summer- the fragrance of these pure white flowers is truly heavenly.

When we lost our big old plum tree & had to clear a whole area of our garden, the soil was disturbed & the light came in & it was so amazing what spontaneously germinated. We've found passionfruit, cape gooseberries, a tamarillo, wild raspberries & more. This wild raspberry- or Japanese Wineberry is the most fascinating. We harvest the leaves for medicinal teas & should be able to gather the fruits in about a month. 

By the time the 6th of December arrived & with it our wedding anniversary the Linden trees in the Showgrounds were flowering too, so we went to sit with them & drink cider together.

 On a sunny day, at the peak of flowering, there must be quite literally a million bees buzzing through the tree.

 The experience of sitting with a Linden tree is an honour & an unforgettable one- the heady sweet scent & the hum of the bees is deeply affecting.

 Sitting with this wonderful tree is medicine in itself. Especially good medicine for our marriage- experiencing the warm welcome & whole-hearted support from the trees & the gifts that they generously offer to us, helps us to bring healing to the wounds of rejection from our families.

 Where we found ostracism & judgement...

we now find love & kindness, all through the month of December & right through the summer solstice.

We are so glad to be included in the Linden celebration of life & happiness.

 Even the leaves of the Linden tree are heart shaped which gives us a clue as to the healing properties of the tree. Look at Jackie Chan & her friend wearing Linden hearts- thanks to our dear friend Deb for the pic & the spontaneous sentiment.

Linden may help to ease a fever, soothe a cough, calm an anxious heart, lower blood pressure caused by stress, help us move through grief & heartache & enable us to open our hearts to love & life. You can read more about Linden just here.

 It was dull, showery & cool this year on Christmas day, so after spending some lovely time with our David & his wife in the morning we decided to go for a walk just off Norton road to see where the new walk & cycle way might take us to. Sometimes what we think would be ideal is not what was planned for us at all- we both felt ourselves relaxing, our breath deepening & then the gifts began to be offered to us. All along the way we found lucerne (alfalfa) in flower & loads of our beloved red clover.

 You can't stride along fast when you're foraging & looking with your heart, but all that up & down & squatting certainly gets you all limbered up!

 I am still enchanted by the colours in the flowers of this common escapee legume, used mostly to feed stock.

 Our little walk along a country path entirely changed our day. And had it been sunny, we might never have known what had been waiting for us.

It's interesting that most plant medicines also have an emotional component to them, for instance Mimosa (Albizzia Julibrissin, Silk Tree) that grows in many gardens in our neighbourhood is a wonderful botanical known to "improve mood, wellbeing, decrease anxiety & bring a sense of peaceful calm especially to those with a troubled heart & those who have experienced a great deal of stress & trauma" You can read more about Mimosa The Happiness Tree just here.

  If we go for a wander around the block right now we will find a little elderflower (still), Mimosa blossoms & both Linden Americana & Silver Linden flowers.

 I had no idea that there were all kinds of different Linden trees until this week! The first to come out in early December (this year) are the Small Leaf Linden- Tillia Cordata. We have also found & identified Tillia Europea- Common Linden, Tillia Americana,- American Linden, Tillia Platyphyllos- Large Leaf Linden & Silver Linden- Tillia Tomentosa.
 Finding the Silver Lindens was such a surprise. It was Rob who spotted them near Mayfair school & then I went to see this one in Fredrick street & found it in the peak of blooming.

We also discovered- after one wee accident with a bee, that the best way to pick the flowers (& bracts) is standing underneath the tree looking out.

 The scent of the Silver Linden flowers is like nothing I have ever smelt before- has all the classic Linden notes & then this huge jasmine component too. Our whole house smells amazing right now with baskets filled with fragrant flowers drying. I have read many times that Linden honey is just the best honey you''ll ever taste- after discovering the Sliver Linden flowers I knew what I needed to do- since I'll never get to Europe to taste this delicacy I infused fresh flowers in a local Tawari honey & the result is truly heavenly.

Well, that should be enough Linden to float us through in to the New year!