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.
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!
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