We have lovely sunshine to welcome in April and there is a
feeling that spring might just be round the corner after all.
Today is all about one of my favourite topics – herbs. I talk about them as often as I dare on this
blog as I try and wave the flag for these most magical of gifts from
nature. I have grown herbs forever and I
still have so much to learn. When we
lived in Derbyshire I took herb growing beyond culinary and craft uses and into
medicinal. With the help of my lovely family
I created a herb wheel which was designed along the principles of herbs as
healing. Interestingly, it was the most
successful herb growing I have ever done.
I am a huge fan of companion planting in the vegetable garden but in
this herb wheel the plants were left to speak to each other. The wheel was based on the four elements of
fire, earth, air and water. The premise
was that each of these elements offers challenges to the mind and body and that
the herbs planted in each section can support the healing process. I wasn’t sure I believed some of it to begin
with but I am always up for a bit of an experiment.
The wheel was constructed with relation to the compass
direction associated with each element, for example the fire sector faced due
south and included the Mediterranean herbs that thrive in that
environment. I built both the
construction and the subsequent growth into the herbal courses I was running at
the time and that allowed me to make detailed observations and keep careful
records. At the time other practitioners
used the farm as a venue for offering courses and they too used the herb wheel
in their offerings. This included a
nutritionist, a Reiki master, an herbalist and a meditation teacher. I was completely fascinated by their interaction
with both the wheel in its entirety and the individual sectors and herbs. The overall consensus was a strong belief
that planting herbs in this way offered new ways of seeing connections between
plants and their uses became more vivid.
Recent years have seen us concentrate on establishing the
potted herb and cut flower business on Arran
but I am now ready to return to that work.
So, my bank holiday Monday has been spent researching where this might
take me on Hazelbank. We are removed
from the beach as we are up a hill but we do have a wonderful view of the
sea. The soil is heavier than I would
like but no matter because I can adjust that as required. I have decided to design and make a coastal
medicine wheel this time to reflect where we find ourselves at this time. We do get strong coastal winds that drive
across the smallholding so low lying creeping herbs will be particularly
useful. Using shells from the beach as a
mulch will also enrich the soil with lime that leaches away so quickly when we
try to cultivate. Dividing my wheel into
the four sectors that face north, south, east and west will be my familiar
starting point. Beyond that I am
focusing on the colours that I now know, from experience, to be associated with
each compass direction.
North – white or silver
South – blue or purple
East – yellow or gold
West – red or magenta.
Planting then becomes fairly straightforward except for the
fact that this time I want to push the boundaries of my knowledge further. I want to source and grow some of the more
unusual plants such as Skullcap and Moneywort.
I can’t really see the point of repeating what I did in Derbyshire when
the context is so different. As is my
way I have set myself quite a challenge because rare plants are much harder to
locate and I may well have to grow quite a bit from seed. The reality of that will mean that this
becomes a two season project rather than achieving it all this year. One of my biggest failings is that I am not a
patient person so this will be a bit of a challenge but I am confident that it
will be worth it.
It is really important to know what you are doing when
dealing with the medicinal properties of herbs and other plants. I rarely make a move without consulting my
herbalist friend but I can tell you that this approach to healing is incredibly
rewarding. It is, perhaps, about
completing the circle as medicines were traditionally plant based until
chemical matches were established. I am
just taking us back to the start of the circle.
Some of the herbs that we use on a regular basis might be a useful
starting point to illustrate the impact they can have on positive health.
Echinacea is a must for our family. I grow it as a cut flower but we also use the
plant as an aid to our immune system. It
is widely considered as the most important immune boosting plant available to
us. As I have an autoimmune condition I
am not advised to take it but the rest of the family all take capsules during
the winter months to help fight off colds and flu.
There might be only two females in our family of six but we
both swear by Evening Primrose. For
women this herb is a real ‘must have’ as it supports the hormonal surges that
our gender must endure. It is also very
good as an aid to healthy skin and hair.
Sage is a fabulous plant and I can not sing its praises high
enough. We use it for a wide variety of
purposes but as a tea it is great for clearing the mind and stimulating
thought. I don’t much like the taste but
I add a little honey and then it is fine.
As an aside sage is an excellent insect repellent so put a sprig behind
your ear when working in the garden and the little pests will give you a
miss.
You just knew I was going to mention strawberries somewhere
in this blog. Alpine or wild strawberries
are in the top drawer for usefulness.
Used in tea form the wild strawberry is an excellent aid to
digestion. The tea can also stimulate
the appetite so is a good option for someone recovering from an illness.
I could go on but better not! I will recommend a book though because I
usually do. It is a book that was given
to me by a dear friend years ago and I revisit it all the time. The book is called ‘The Medicine Wheel Garden’
and the author is E. Barrie Kavasch. It
will introduce you to the whole concept of the medicine wheel and suggest
different options depending on your location.
It also lists all the plants with their medicinal properties and even
includes some recipes. I would just
stress that you should consult an expert before using plants as medicinal
remedy. Just pop into your local health
food shop as they will offer advice for free.
I end with a little ritual that I anticipate some of you
might find a bit ‘out there’ so feel free to ignore this one if you like! At this time of year when we are hoping to
welcome spring it is a good idea to cleanse your space. Traditional communities that include North
American Indians do this by burning smudge sticks which are made from dried
sage leaves wrapped in cotton and tied with natural string. You light one end and it will instantly let
off smoke. You then move around your
home cleansing as you go. I know some of
the readers of this blog very well and I can’t quite see some of them doing
this! I don’t always do it either but
whenever I do I always wonder why I don’t do it more often……
Until tomorrow xx Picture is of my beach fragments that I collected today. I am obsessed with collecting from beaches. I probably need therapy. xx
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