AUGUST 2017
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Green Blessings ...
with Susun Weed

Herb Walk


Hypericum


Hypericum on my hands.
Yes. That red staining is from the oil in the plant. That red oil makes both the tincture and the infused oil a deep delicious red.


The harvest brewing.
Here are my St. Joans wort tinctures and my oil. In six weeks it will be ready to use. But I will most likely leave these alone until next year as I am still using last year's harvest. Such beautiful abundance.



Herb Walk at Clef des Champs

Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris)


As we get out of the car at Marie's house, we are greeted by her and by this amazing patch of one of my favorite plants: Lady's mantle. It is the alchemical plant (Alchemilla); not to be confused with yarrow (Alchillea).



This beautiful plant has refused to grow in my stony soil, but is obviously delighted with the soil in Val David. I have also seen it flourish in seaside gardens. It is highly regarded as one of the world's best tonics for women's reproductive health.



The accordion-pleated leaves hold the dew, which was collected by alchemists intent on turning lead into gold, because it was "pure" water, untouched by the earth. Perhaps you sense why I am not so happy about what alchemy did to herbal medicine: Took it away from women. Made the Earth impure. Denied the life of the plant and reduced it to constituents. And started the stampede to drugs. Nonetheless, I love Lady's mantle.

Setting the Scene


As we enter the extensive gardens at Clef des Champes, we are greeted with this lovely trio of useful plants: Bouncing Bet (Saponaria off.), rosehip roses (Rosa rugose), and thyme (Thymus sp.). Wash your hands, your hair, and any antique wall hanging with the soapy foam made by rubbing fresh soapwort (Bouncing Bet) in your hands. Wait a bit and those roses will turn into huge red rosehips ready to help you through the winter. I deseed the hips and boil the flesh with honey for a yummy jam. And what shall we do with the thyme? Dry it to use in soup? Make a wonderful vinegar? Tincture it to help with digestive distress? The bees are making honey from it. Yes. Let's make thyme honey to ward off winter sore throats.



Beautiful Mullein
Mullein is one of the great remedies. It grows just about everywhere except the tropics, and provides the best remedies for anyone dealing with breathing issues.



Yellow thistle
I was struck by the color, the size, and the bees when I approached this planting of thistle. "What an unusual color for a thistle," I remarked to my guide, Anais. With a chuckle, she admitted that they were surprised too. "We think they sent us the wrong seed. It certainly isn't milk thistle." Fortunately for us all, thistles, all thistles, are medicinal, all thistle seeds are medicinal, all thistle roots are edible, all thistle leaves are edible too. Milk thistle has pushed the competition aside mostly because it is so big and easy to work with, but, really, any thistle will do.


Echinacea

This is the flower of Echinacea augustifolia. I could not walk past. I had to sit and drink in the petals as the fluttered in the breeze, like butterflies resting upside down. I depend on echinacea. Ever since I threw over my disappointing relationship with golden seal (which, I noticed, Marie doesn't grow), and found Kansas coneflower in an old, old herbal, I have trusted my life and the lives of my animals to Echinacea augustifolia. (Not Echinacea purpurea.)


"And look at the stalk," Anais instructed me. "When it isn't in flower, you can distinguish the augustifolia from the purpurea by the hairs on the stalk and leaves of the former.



Siberian ginseng
Oops. We aren't supposed to call it that anymore. Now it is Eleuthero (short for Eleutherococcus senticocus). Marie is quite justifiably proud of her accomplishment in growing a stand of this important adaptogen.


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