Hey there, lovely readers,
I hope everyone is well and healthy as we head into winter. This week, I've been thinking about healing - because those winter bugs are all around us now. In our household we've been combatting a few minor, but persistent, health issues - so slowing down and tapping into wholesome herbal ways to take care of ourselves has definitely been forefront of my mind.
Below, I feature one of my all time favourite herbs this week - Yarrow. This is an all round wonderfully healing herb which I'm pleased to say grows wild in abundance in my garden. I have also been on a couple of really interesting courses lately - one on practical herbal medicine, and the other on medicinal mushrooms - which I have featured below too
1) Wild Plant of the week: Yarrow
Yarrow, or achillea millefolium, is one of the first plants I learnt to identify when I started foraging. It's a great beginner's plant because although it has white umbels (which could lead to it being confused for plants in the carrot family, which has some deadly members - ie hemlock!) its is actually in the aster (daisy) family - and leaves are really distinct. Click here for its plant profile.
As per the Latin name, thousand leaves, they are feathery. And, like all Asters, if you look very closely you can see that the middle of the flower head is actually composed of lots of tiny flowers each with their own reproductive parts (this is why dandelions have so many seeds!).
Named after Greek warrior Achilles, who was dipped into a yarrow laced river by his mother as a baby, which gave him protective powers everywhere except... you guess it, his heel. He also was said to have used the herb to heal wounded soldiers in battle.
Yarrow is incredibly powerful - great for staunching bleeding and it is also antibacterial. It has commonly been known as 'nosebleed' - because you can just roll it up and shove it up your nose to stop a nosebleed. I personally turn to it whenever I cut myself cooking (which happens more often than you might expect :)) - I simply chew it to make a makeshift poultice and put it on the cut and bandage that up. It stops the bleeding very quickly.
The incredible thing about plants is that they don't just do one thing - taken internally it actually has the opposite effect and can help to bring down blood pressure. It is also used to regulate periods and even for endometriosis. Its other uses include: bringing down a
fever (combine it with peppermint and elderflower to sweat it out), treating urine infections or to aid digestion. It is not one to be used during pregnancy though as it can have uterine stimulating effects.
And it's so easy to use. I've already mentioned the poultice but you can also use it to make herbal tea, chopped up very finely in a tomato salad, chuck into some home made pesto, or on roasted potatoes and veg like rosemary! I've infused it in vinegar, in gin, and I also want to make a balm for cuts and scrapes - watch this space!
Once you notice this plant, you will see that it grows EVERYWHERE. Let me know if you spot it!
2) Building my apothecary
As the seasons change I have been trying to make a proactive effort to preserve and process the medicinal plants that are in season.
Last Sunday, I attended a practical medicine making course at the wonderful Walworth Garden in Kennington. Check out their instagram.
I've been using herbs and making tinctures for a while, but had never been shown how to do so by a medical herbalist so I was really excited by the opportunity to learn from a pro. We made a tincture, an oxymel (vinegar and honey infusion, and a balm. The teacher, Rasheeqa, was very knowledgeable and inspirational, running her own practice in Walthamstow, where she has also started her own community apothecary. She spoke of a dream of a network of community gardens connecting people to the earth and healing herbs all around them. Wouldn't that be wonderful? More broadly, the event was a great reminder of the importance of a community approach to herbalism and engaging with plants. Walworth garden is open to the public for free and a great hub for local people, who can do their courses for free. But if you're not near a community garden, you can get started on your own very simply by gathering plants you gather in your garden or vicinity and infusing them as I have done in the pic below. For some entry level guidance on where to start check out The Handmade Apothecary, by Vicky Chown and Kim Walker, which is my go to.
3) Mushrooms
Learning about mushrooms has been on my to do list for YEARS. Really, you can't learn about plants without learning about mushrooms because of the symbiosis between the two. Thing is with mushrooms, the best time to learn is Autumn and if you miss that boat then you have to wait another year before there's that level of abundance.
So I decided this was the year. I was really lucky to attend a medicinal mushroom course with rural courses last weekend, lead by Michael who shared an incredible amount of knowledge about how to use mushrooms medicinally and the various methods to extract the goodness. I knew next to nothing about mushrooms so this was really enlightening and inspirational, but I'm definitely taking my time as I get to know these mycelial beauties.
What's fascinating about mushrooms is how much more there is to them than meets the eye. Take the fly agaric (pictured below) - which is probably the most well known and feared mushroom of all... we were all taught that it was toxic and poisonous when we were kids. And
it's true that you wouldn't just want to nibble on it when out on a walk - that would make you sick. But, it can be used medicinally (or a as a psychedelic too!)... and even eaten if processed correctly)
If you are looking to get into mushrooms, I highly recommend Michael's course, which was one of the best I've been on. He combined a classroom element where he gives an overview of why mushrooms are important and how to use them to extract the goodness - followed by a delicious mushroom based meal that he prepared and then a two hour forage. To top it all off we prepare a dual extraction to take home with us.
I'm also listening to a wonderful book called 'Entangled life', by Merlin Sheldrake, which was recommended to me by the guy at the RSPB stand at a recent Christmas fayre I went to (yes, I also signed up to the RSBP - which everyone should do, they do great work for all of nature and if you have kids they get a magazine full of activities to connect them to nature - what's not to love!).
I digress. Entangled life is a seriously fascinating book about the incredible powers of mushrooms and how interlinked they are with all life.
Concluding thoughts
There's something so empowering about connecting with natural medicines growing all around us. They're available to all, for free, and in many ways the fact that we have grown distant from these healing ways is unnatural - as we evolved together. Although it can feel overwhelming to start delving into it (I certainly fee
l daunted by the world of mushrooms!), I think starting very simply is a fantastic way to reconnect with nature. Chewing up some yarrow when you have a cut is such an accessible way to start. At a time when the NHS is under so much pressure, and medicines are so expensive - boosting our health at home in a holistic way has to be a good thing. Happy foraging, and good health to you all
Amanda x