by Rose Casey Harvest the flowers by simply plucking them easily off the stem. One flower tops one stem. If you don’t want all of the flower-less stems sticking up, just clip the stem back to the main stalk. I haven’t bothered to do that. I can tell you though that your hands will be […]
Calendula
by Rose Casey I can’t think of an herb that is so easy to grow and offers color to the garden and multiple healing elements from an antiseptic wash or soak to a fabulous moisturizing cream! If you ever doubted that you could grow an herb, start with growing Calendula. Some authors refer to […]
Elecampane
by Rose Casey This is one herb I wouldn’t want to be without. In fact, I consider it a primary herbal medicinal in my pantry. It has a long history and was commonly cultivated in the medieval times. Elecampane easily grows in a garden. Just provide it some fertile soil, part shade to full sun […]
Elder
Several years past I was driving along Saginaw Road in Midland, Michigan near Dow High School when suddenly I spotted a huge Elder bush partly hidden due to a deep dip in the landscape where she stood. I quickly parked my car and with basket in arm went to meet and greet her. I climbed […]
St. John’s Wort
When you hold a leaf to the sun you can see tiny little “dot-like specs” that make the leaf appear perforated. Note the broken dark lines on the closed buds. It’s not evident in this photo but if you look at the stems under even a 5 x magnifying glass you can see two raised […]
Making a Gobo Box
The photo depicts my first ‘gobo box’ . I wood burned the door with the enchanting Burdock image found in Susun Weed’s book, Healing Wise. Her chapter on burdock gives one a whole new way of looking at burdock! Basically, you are making a tall, wooden , open-ended box. One side is hinged. I secure […]
Welcome to my blog!
It seems like it’s been a long time coming, but I finally got on board with it. I used to think that doing this would take away valuable time from working with the plants. But, to the contrary, I think I’ve discovered an adjunct to my plant passion! One that allows me to share almost […]
Skullcap
Official or Common Skullcap belongs to the Lamiaceae (mint) family. The leaves are gently toothed and opposite each other on a square stem commonly found with mints. Pale blue flowers bloom in pairs on 2″ long stems that jut out from the leaf axils. Skullcap is an erect plant that tends to arch a little […]
Wood Betony
Wood Betony is a perennial mint. The leaves are scalloped, soft and supple to the touch and not hairy. The leaves form a dense rosette before shooting up the flower stalks. The leaf stems have a defined groove on only one side of the stem. The flowers are a showy lavender color that adds to […]
Moon Elixir ‘when the shine begins to fade’
So now what? You’ve opened yourself to new beginnings, you’ve left behind what no longer serves you, and you embark on a journey into the mist into the unknown. All of a sudden you get this overwhelming feeling that somehow you’re not prepared, you’re not as courageous as you thought when you stated your intentions […]
Dandelion Empowerment Balm
Dandelions greet us in the spring with their showy, bright, yellow flowers. And yet sadly disdained at their arrival by many. Dandelions aren’t neat or controlled. They go where they want, traverse difficult terrain, rooting even between rocks only to breath forth its golden rays of hope and strength.Imagine then encountering the spirit of the […]
Burdock “Drawing from the Depths’
Many of you may already be familiar with Burdock, the plant whose leaves remind one of rhubarb, the plant that grows a tall stalk its second year with purple flowers that turn to burrs and cling to everything! Several years ago during an herbal intensive class, the teacher asked us to go and sit with […]
