Many years ago when I first started studying to be a medical herbalist my husband badly injured his little finger at our shop; it was almost cut right through and only had a small amount of flesh still holding it together. He phoned me at home and told me he’d hurt his finger. Not realizing how bad it was I told him to go across the road to the ambulance and I’d drive straight to our shop, which was only a minute or so away.
Back then the ambulance used to dress wounds and attend to minor injuries but they haven’t done that for quite some time now. When I got there the ambulance officer on duty had told my husband it was too bad an injury for him to do anything with it and to go to the hospital. When I realized that it wasn’t just a deep cut but a severed finger I felt terrible; I should have told him to go to the hospital not the ambulance!
I had to mind the shop so my husband drove himself to the hospital where he was admitted straight away and taken into surgery as soon as the surgeon could get there. Refusing to follow my husband’s wishes and amputate the finger, the surgeon pinned the severed half back on to the remaining stump.
Two weeks later my husband had to go for a check-up and have the pin removed. When the surgeon pulled the pin out the finger came apart! So he pushed it back together and sent my husband away telling him to give it another two weeks to heal.
When I was told what happened I suggested we rub the comfrey ointment I had made in to the finger. We did this for the two weeks and when the surgeon pulled the pin out the finger remained intact. He was totally amazed so my husband told him that we had applied comfrey ointment to the finger. At that stage comfrey had been banned for internal and external use in Australia. There was such an uproar over this that the ‘powers-that-be’ eventually allowed us to use the herb externally. Anyway, getting back to the surgeon, he couldn’t get over how well the comfrey ointment had healed the finger and said to my husband, “How were you able to get it?” To which my husband laughingly replied, “Can’t tell you that.” “Well anyway,” said the surgeon,” just keep using it – it’s a great healer.”
One of comfrey’s common names is Knit Bone and this story certainly adds credence to such a name. If any of you have stories about using comfrey we’d love you to share them with us.
Once a month when the popular Nanango Markets are held it’s very difficult to find a parking space. People come from a widespread area to purchase all manner of items but one of the most popular stalls is the one selling medicinal herbs and garden plants. This stall is usually my first port of call, I just cannot resist buying more herbs and they are usually of very good quality.
This morning I bought Pet Grass for my little elderly feline and eight year old cockatiel; I have written about it in a separate article. I also bought some beautiful quartz crystals to use for making orgonite, which is a project for next week.
Other items of discovery were a couple of books about gardening and herbs (of course), and a beautiful enameled dress ring I bought from an Asian lady who ran after me when I left the stall; she gave me a complimentary CD of Buddhism chants. To receive such an unexpected gift really made my day.
Below are some more photos of the herbs for sale at the markets. Market stalls selling herbs like these give those interested in herbalism the chance to have a very useful herb garden.
Over the years I have tried many herbal teas, I call them teas because they are tea substitutes made the same way as tea. Herbal infusions are used to extract the medicinal properties from herbs so they can be used therapeutically while herbal teas are used for a ‘quick fix’ or just to have a refreshing drink.
Lemon balm tea is great when you’ve had a big day and need to relax and unwind. Add a little mint to it to help you rejuvenate if you still need to prepare dinner and so-on. Taken just before bed, lemon balm will give you a restful sleep.
Chamomile will help ease an upset tummy caused from stress or nervousness and it will help calm nerves as well as help you sleep. It’s also very good for children and you can add honey and milk to it if they prefer.
Sage tea made with hot milk and sweetened with honey is excellent for those sleepless nights and it’s also another good one for restless children.
Cinnamon tea is delicious and is very warming when feeling chilled or feel the need for comfort. It will also help warm the stomach and digest food after a heavy meal.
Ginger tea is great for a bloated and/or a nauseous tummy and for warming the body. It’s also a good pick-me-up and helps with morning sickness.
Lemon grass tea tastes delicious and is very refreshing. I like it on its own or added to tea leaves in a pot. It’s also very refreshing on a hot day and is useful when feeling a little tired.
Mints make lovely refreshing and cooling teas. They are particularly good in summer for refreshing and rejuvenating a tired, hot body.
Rosemary tea gives a clearer head when doing bookwork, studying, or anything that needs a great deal of concentration. It’s also warming and calming.
Parsley tea is great if you feel that you’ve eaten or drunk too much of the wrong thing as it helps to flush out toxic material from the body system. It’s also very refreshing and nutritious.
Sometimes I like to blend my teas, for instance, I will add mint to parsley tea if I feel my digestion is sluggish and need a general pick-me-up. I also like to combine ginger and cinnamon when I feel chilled – I wouldn’t have them on a hot day as they are very warming.
Milky tea with a good sprinkle of cinnamon is a delicious night-cap that helps give a relaxing sleep; it’s also very good throughout the day to help calm the nerves.
Dill is another herb that can be taken as a tea to help expel gas and relieve a bloated stomach.
Parsley leaves combined with chopped shallots and made as a tea will help flush out and cleanse the urinary tract when suffering from cystitis.
Pregnant women should be careful of how much herb tea they drink; always check to see if any particular herb is safe during pregnancy before having too much of it.
Even before I became a medical herbalist I was interested in wild plants not only for their medicinal properties but also for food. Throughout the years I’ve searched for wild plants wherever I’ve lived or been in my travels.
When my husband and I moved on to our 6 acre property it was very overgrown and the only cleared area had been constantly slashed by the previous owner so there wasn’t much in the way of wild medicinal and culinary plants to be discovered. The area that was overgrown was so thick with dried vegetation and cleared timber embedded in dirt that had been pushed up against the trunks of trees that it wasn’t safe to pick my through it.
It would have been a mammoth task to clean it up and the wildlife such as goannas, lizards, skinks, snakes and birds nests would have all been disturbed if not destroyed in the process so we just left it as it was. However, in January last year a careless neighbour lit a fire on a day of extreme fire weather conditions and needless to say a fire tore through our property only just avoiding our buildings thanks to the prompt response of the wonderful and very efficient rural fire brigade.
The clearing of this area on our property was taken out of our hands and the only wildlife that we could see was affected was a small skink under a piece of partly charred wood; the skink hadn’t been burnt so must have died from the smoke and fierce heat. It was a sad sight indeed.
After the Rain
When what remained stopped smouldering and we had the first shower of rain after the fire we had a machine come in to clean the place up. Now, after an incredible downpour of rain for our area we have lush green fields and plants I haven’t seen growing here before are springing up.
To date I have found green amaranth, pigweed (purslane), dandelion, sida retusa, wild tobacco, and another plant that looks very interesting but is yet to be identified. Edible plants from this list are amaranth, pigweed, and dandelion.
Herbalism isn’t all about healing with herbs, it also involves using herbs in everyday life – for cooking, eating, drinking, cleaning, decorating, and so on. There isn’t a day go by that I don’t use herbs for some reason or another and I get great pleasure from gathering wild herbs.
While they are plentiful I’ve been gathering amaranth leaves, pigweed, and dandelion leaves to make a delicious salad. Wash, rinse and chop them then add chopped tomatoes and red onion. Add sea or celtic salt and allow to sit for a little while to let the juice from the tomatoes and onions soak through the salad. It’s so delicious that it doesn’t need any salad dressing.
Now I must get on and mark more assignments but I will post more wild plants as I find them.
This is a little late, however, I would like to share this lovely and easy Pavlova recipe that I make every year for my family’s Christmas dinner.
4 egg whites
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Preheat oven (140°C/275ºF). Grease a Pavlova tray ( I use a pizza tray) and line with foil or baking paper. Beat egg whites until stiff . Gradually add sugar, beating constantly, then continue beating at medium speed until very glossy. Gently fold in remaining ingredients and spoon or pipe the mixture on to the prepared tray. Bake for 1½ hours or until cooked. Turn off the heat and allow to cool in oven. Carefully remove foil or baking paper and fill as desired. My family’s favourite topping is lots of whipped cream topped with tropical fruit salad.
It grows as a common weed in Australia, and is pulled out by the roots and left to die near garden beds or thrown on to compost heaps yet this incredible herb has been accredited with saving the life of a baby.
Sida Retusa
Such ignorance only exists because we don’t know enough about weeds and this saddens me. This weed grows at my place and it’s common names are Sida retusa and Paddy’s Lucerne yet I only learned of its usefulness a couple of weeks ago when talking to a friend about herbal medicine. We were standing under the shade of the trees in her garden when she told me a true story that happened about sixty years ago.
A baby was suffering from diarrhea and had been taken to the doctor several times but was unable to be cured. Every attempt the doctor made failed to produce the desired result so he told the mother there was nothing more that could be done for the baby and it would die as a result of the diarrhea. When the heart broken woman went home she told an old aboriginal woman what the doctor had said. On hearing this the woman gathered the herb, Sida retusa, and gave it to the mother telling her to make a drink from it and give it to her baby. The mother followed the instructions and the baby lived.
While telling me this story my
Sida Retusa Flower
friend bent down to show me this nondescript weed growing at the edge of her garden and I recognized it immediately as a herb that grows at my place. I have pulled it out as weed too but always felt a tug in my heart as though it was the wrong thing to do. My friend gave me a leaf to chew and it turned to jelly in my mouth so I knew straight away it was high in mucilage. This is indicative of the mallow family that includes marshmallow root, a herb that herbalists use to soothe irritated and inflamed tissue. As soon as I returned home I looked the herb up in a precious reference book (see below) that my youngest daughter bought me some time ago and to my delight, found it in there.
Native to Australia and other warm countries Sida retusa is a tough fibrous plant belonging to the same family as Hibiscus and mallows. The toothed leaves are variously shaped and are often gray underneath while the flowers are pale yellow and 1.5 cm in diameter. Stamens are united in a central column and the ten-ribbed calyx is helpful when identifying the plant.
According to this book the herb is widespread and is one of the best known native plant remedies that many people still swear by as a cure for diarrhea and claim that its action is far superior to that of any patent medicine. Because of the plant’s high mucilage content it was known as jellyleaf in colonial times.
Usually the young tips are chewed or the plant is taken as a decoction. In other countries the herb has been used to treat chest ailments including tuberculosis and it’s been claimed that it contains ephedrine, which is used in the treatment of asthma.
In Malaysia Sida retusa is used in folk medicine. The extract of roots and leaves are used for fever and the pulped leaves or roots are used as a poultice for a variety of sores and ulcers. It is also used for toothache and headache and has magical attributes including protection when hunting elephants.
Now I know how beneficial this herb is I will let it grow undisturbed and when the time is right make a tincture from it.
In my previous post I wrote about how plants can benefit from our understanding of nature spirits and how we can learn by observing them and listening to them. Those of us who understand and work with these spirits have our own way of doing so. It’s something that’s come naturally to me since I was a little child and it’s very simple. To explain the process to you I have inserted a small excerpt from this subject in The Home Herbalist full course:
“Many people don’t understand that everything existing in our universe has energy; even stones or rocks that just seem to be sitting there contain energy because solids are made up of atoms, which are constantly moving so therefore solids are in fact liquid.
If we open our hearts and minds we can ‘feel’ the energy of nature all around us. In this way we can communicate with plants and animals so we have a better understanding of their needs and desires. The way we can communicate with plants or herbs is through the Nature spirits, known as Devas. They are souls who are appointed to any living thing, even the soil, and live on a higher frequency than the physical plane where we live. These spirits look after the energies needed for health and growth and by allowing ourselves to communicate with them they will be able to convey to us what our herbs require to have health, vitality and abundance. Have you ever ‘felt’ that a plant was unhappy, hungry or thirsty? If so then the plant’s Deva has conveyed those feelings to you through energy.
Choose a time when it’s quiet without too much noise – during the evening when the full moon has risen is a good time but any quiet time will do. Stand beside a tree, place your hand on its trunk and look up into its canopy. Take a deep breath, exhale, and close your eyes for a moment. What do you feel? Do you feel happy, sad, hungry, thirsty, weary, or worried? Usually what you feel at that moment is what the tree, plant or animal is feeling. After some practice you will be able to pick up on their feelings at any time and you will be able to connect with them at any time of the day.”
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this and, if you’re so inclined, begin connecting with these helpful and gentle spirits.
It doesn’t matter what we call ourselves – medicine women, wise women, herb women or herbalists, we all work and live close to nature. Some of us live in beautiful, bountiful and lush green areas while others live in harsh environements with barely a drop of water to waste.Wherever we live we adjust to our environment and work with the plants and materials the nature spirits give to us.
Working with these spirits helps us to blend with and become one with our natural surroundings. We become a part of our private natural world and it becomes a part of us. To work with nature all we need to do is listen to its whispers, look for the signs we are shown, and feel what the wild creatures, trees, plants and insects feel. Every environment has its own nature spirits all we need to do is become aware of them and what they teach and tell us.
My environment is harsh with very cold winters and hot, dry summers. This year we’ve had an unusually dry and hot spring and it’s been very hard on my herbs and other plants yet when I had to relocate the gardens because they were in the area where our house is going to be built they handled the process very well.
It’s only been a few days or so since I transplanted yarrow and now it’s flowering while the Echinacea, valerian and soapwort have new leaves. Plants as large as a passionfruit vine on a trellis have all transplanted well with only a day or so of wilting.
In some places our soil is rich and friable while in other areas it’s rocky with some clay. It never ceases to amaze me how wild plants grow with good health and vigour in the poorer soil. We have almost six acres and I frequently explore it in search of plants that may prove to be medicinal or even ‘bush tucker’.
On one such excursion I was delighted to find stinging nettle growing wild, paper daisies, and native jasmine. Near the house site and scattered throughout the paddocks, purple and white wild verbena grow in great splendour. They are so pretty that we mow around them. In January we had a bush fire come through our property and while it was quite devestating the native trees, shrubs, and vines began to regenerate quite soon and the native grasses grew back lush and green as did the stinging nettle.
Just today the machinery came in to excavate the house site and while we’ve designed the house to fit the site so no trees are destroyed there was one wattle tree that was right in the middle. Our solution was to move it so my husband and the excavator operator carefully dug it out leaving a large root ball around it and carried it down in the bucket to its new location where a large hole was dug. I’ve watered it in well and so far it seems fine. This tree grew at the edge of the old vegetable and herb garden providing shade and shelter when needed for the smaller plants. I listened to it and understood that it still felt it had a purpose and of course I didn’t want to see it ripped apart by a machine. Thankfully, I have a very understanding husband and the excavator operator has been here before so he knows my love of trees and has previously gone out of his way to avoid hurting them. Some men in the area don’t understand why I would want to save a wattle tree, “They’re just rubbish trees,” they say, but I know differently. They do have a short life but they provide shade, pretty yellow flowers, protection to other plants and they are a legume so they condition the soil by adding nitrogen.
When we transplanted the passionfruit the dirt fell away from its roots leaving them bare. I listened to it and knew what it needed. We placed the bare roots in to the new hole and I covered them with water then as my husband tossed dirt in to the hole I watered it so it would easily go down around the roots. I’ve never planted anything that way before; I usually dig a hole, fill it with water, place the plant in and fill it with dirt then give the plant a good watering. I wouldn’t recommend planting every plant the way I did the passionfruit but it has worked for it.
We can also learn from wildlife and insects too. There are many meat ants here; they have quite a few nests and while they can be a nuisance they can also be beneficial. Any left over meat scraps that can’t be put in the compost are left out for these ants that consume every bit of them. This is much better for the environment than sending the meat to the local tip. While cleaning up some rubbish I found a piece of timber that was being eaten by white ants and within seconds of pulling it away from the old garden edging the meat ants converged on it. Curiosity made me look closer and to my amazement the ants were carrying the white ants back to their nests. We have major problems with white ants destroying houses in Australia and here we have meat ants that eat them but they don’t usually get much of a chance to help us out as so many people posion their nests.
Being in tune with nature not only helps our planet but helps us as well. By working with nature spirits, listening to them and observing the signs they show us we bring harmony into our lives and a greater understanding of the world around us.
People often ask me what is the best way to transplant herbs. Recently I had to move my herb garden because it was in the area where we want to build our house. This was quite a big job but all of the herbs have been moved to a new area and they haven’t turned a leaf or shown any signs of stress.
When it comes to transplanting, herbs are no different to any other plant. Just because most herbs are hardy and can tolerate harsh conditions doesn’t mean they don’t like good conditions; the better the conditions the more healthy and productive the herbs will be.
Before I transplant a herb from the garden or a pot I always prepare the new garden bed well by digging the topsoil. I never turn it over but loosen it with a spade so the topsoil stays on the top rather than being turned under. Removing all weeds and grass is essential. After this is done I add good compost to it and mix it in well. Adding fertilizer depends on the herbs I’m transplanting; some don’t like rich soil such as sage and rosemary while others like comfrey are heavy feeders.
When the new bed is ready I carefully dig the herbs out of the old garden making sure I allow plenty of room around the plant so as not to hurt the surface roots and I dig down deep enough so the tap root isn’t damaged. If I’m transplanting potted herbs I wet the soil well so they come out of the pot easily. I always take the herbs I’ve dug out and the potted herbs to the new garden bed before I’ve dug any holes for them. This is so I know how big the holes need to be.
After the hole has been dug to a size big enough for the plant I fill it with water and put the plant in. For potted plants I remove them from pots and gently tease the roots out. When the plants are in the holes I sprinkle dirt through the roots until they’re all covered then add the remaining dirt up to the original line on the trunk. I water them in well and cover the surrounding dirt with mulch that’s no more than 4 cm deep and away from the trunk.
There’s one more thing I do to ensure the health and vigour of my plants are not compromised when they’re being transplanted and that is I always do it when the moon is waxing (increasing) and close to the full moon. This is when the plants are most vigorous. It’s very rare that I lose a transplanted herb. My new garden that contains transplanted herbs such as Echinacea, soapwort, valerian, aloe, comfrey, lemon balm, and lavender, is thriving even in the unseasonal hot and dry weather we’re experiencing at the moment.
“Bring me then the plant that points to those bright Lucidites swirling up from the earth, And life itself exhaling that central breath! Bring me the sunflower crazed with the love of light” Eugenio Montale
Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are a favourite of mine and when my new herb and vegetable garden is ready to plant I’ll have rows of these happy and bright flowers along each side. I love the way their heads follow the sun. Not far from where I live farmers grow fields of sunflowers for their seeds; when we drive past the farm in the morning their heads are turned east toward the sun and on our return in the afternoon they have followed the sun and are facing west.
Do you know that their petals can be added to salads and a decoction of the seeds can be taken as a tea to relieve dysentery, coughs, and inflammation of the kidneys? Eating sunflower seeds is said to remove radiation from the body; a woman researcher in the Soviet Union, Dr Dr. A. A. Rubanavskaya, used sunflower seeds to bind and eliminate radiation from the system.
First cultivated around 3,000 years ago by the American Indians, this beautiful large flower is dedicated to the Greek sun god, Helios. Because of their colour and appearance they’ve continually been associated with the sun. In the fifteenth century sunflowers were used to crown the heads of Aztec sun priestesses who also carried them in their hands and even wore gold jewellery adorned with sunflower motifs. They became popular in Europe after they were introduced by Spanish explorers in the sixteenth century and in Russia large scale cultivation began that resulted in the seeds being offered in large bowls at railway stations and sold on street corners.
Every part of this remarkable flower can be used. The Chinese have cultivated the plant for thousands of years and have used it for making coarse ropes, as a moxa in acupuncture, and in the making of silk. Because the pith is one of the lightest substances known it is used in scientific laboratories but one of the plant’s most interesting uses is its ability to absorb water from the soil. So successful is this process that the plant was used in the reclamation of marshy lands in the Netherlands.
Cultivation
Grow in full sun and any well drained loamy soil. Sow seeds in their shell in spring and avoid planting near potatoes otherwise their growth becomes stunted. Place seedlings or thin plants to 30 to 45 cms apart ( 12 to 18 in). Harvest leaves and flower buds as required, and stems in the autumn. Cut flower heads when they droop and hang until the seeds fall. Preserve by drying the leaves and seed; petals wont’ dry well so use while fresh.
Uses
Sunflowers can be grown as a windbreak or an attractive focal point in the garden such as a central ciruclar bed or background. Shell and eat the kernels roasted or raw; make nibbles or a snack by browning 25 g (1 oz) of seed in 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) oil, drain well then toss in salt. Sprout seeds and when they’re about 6 mm (1/4) long add to salads and sandwiches. Raw buds can be eaten in salads or steamed and served like globe artichokes.
Grow sunflowers near the house to drain wet ground or help deter rising damp. Flowers can boiled and used as a yellow dye, and whole seeds fed to chickens will increase egg laying. Ashes from the burnt plant can be used as potash fertilizer. The pressed oil contains Vitamin F, which is very beneficial for the skin so use it in home-made skin care products.
To treat the above conditions eat a handful of seeds or boil for 20 minutes and take as a tea, alternatively take 15 drops of sunflower seed oil three times a day.
Magical Properties
Use for protection and fertility. Grow flowers in the garden to bring blessings of the Sun. For help with conception women often eat the seeds during the waxing moon.
Many years ago when I first started studying to be a medical herbalist my husband badly injured his little finger at our shop; it was almost cut right through and only had a small amount of flesh still holding it together. He phoned me at home and told me he’d hurt his finger. Not realizing how bad it was I told him to go across the road to the ambulance and I’d drive straight to our shop, which was only a minute or so away. 
It would have been a mammoth task to clean it up and the wildlife such as goannas, lizards, skinks, snakes and birds nests would have all been disturbed if not destroyed in the process so we just left it as it was. However, in January last year a careless neighbour lit a fire on a day of extreme fire weather conditions and needless to say a fire tore through our property only just avoiding our buildings thanks to the prompt response of the wonderful and very efficient rural fire brigade. 
Preheat oven (140°C/275ºF). Grease a Pavlova tray ( I use a pizza tray) and line with foil or baking paper. Beat egg whites until stiff . Gradually add sugar, beating constantly, then continue beating at medium speed until very glossy. Gently fold in remaining ingredients and spoon or pipe the mixture on to the prepared tray. Bake for 1½ hours or until cooked. Turn off the heat and allow to cool in oven. Carefully remove foil or baking paper and fill as desired. My family’s favourite topping is lots of whipped cream topped with tropical fruit salad.
In my previous post I wrote about how plants can benefit from our understanding of nature spirits and how we can learn by observing them and listening to them. Those of us who understand and work with these spirits have our own way of doing so. It’s something that’s come naturally to me since I was a little child and it’s very simple. To explain the process to you I have inserted a small excerpt from this subject in The Home Herbalist full course:
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