"Underdog" yang Ampuh Percantik Taman

Taman identik dengan warna-warni bunga dan hijau sebagai pigura yang melengkapi keindahan warna bunga. Bisa dibayangkan, satu warna lain yang mampu membingkai berbagai warna bunga di taman dan memberikan dimensi pada nuansa hijau.

Warna tersebut, bisa jadi, adalah warna abu-abu. Warna yang terkesan kelam dan menjadi warna underdog atau kurang diminati di taman, ini justru mampu menonjolkan warna-warni bunga.

Tanaman abu-abu
Sebenarnya, warna abu-abu yang dimaksud bukan warna abu-abu sempurna. Beberapa orang menyebutnya sebagai "hijau berdebu". Stachys byzantina atau lamb's ear adalah tanaman yang memiliki warna ini.

Lamb's ear
Lamb's ear memiliki daun lembut. Tanaman ini terasa "hampir berbulu". Selain warnanya khas, bagian terbaik dari tanaman ini adalah kemampuannya hidup di lingkungan yang keras. Anda bisa memanfaatkan ini untuk membatasi antara jalan setapak dan sekumpulan tanaman di taman Anda.

Astilbe
Selain lamb's ear, tanaman lain dengan warna hijau berbeda adalah tanaman astilbe. Astilbe atau Astilbe chinensis juga dikenal dengan nama false spirea. Tanaman ini cocok ditempatkan pada tanah lembab. Sayangnya, tanaman ini tidak tahan terhadap sinar matahari terik.

Sea Holly
Demi menghadirkan efek visual, Anda juga dapat menambahkan Sea Holly untuk mempercantik taman dengan warna peraknya yang menonjol dari antara tanaman lain.

Sea Holly atau Eryngium maritimum sebenernya telah beradaptasi untuk tumbuh di daerah berpasir. Tanaman sejenis yang lebih mudah ditanam di taman adalah Eryngium bourgatii, E. giganteum, E. x oliverianum dan E. x zabelii. Tanaman-tanaman ini dapat ditanam dalam kondisi normal. Sea Holly terkenal mampu bertahan di berbagai iklim.

Warna yang cocok untuk abu-abu
Setelah menambahkan dimensi pada hijaunya taman Anda, kini tiba waktunya menambahkan pemanis bagi taman. Warna oranye kekuningan misalnya, tampak cantik dengan warna abu-abu di taman Anda.

Selain itu, magenta juga menjadi pilihan tepat untuk disandingkan dengan warna abu-abu. Ungu dan abu-abu saling membantu menonjolkan warna masing-masing.

Filled to the Brim

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The Women's Herbal Conference is kind of like eating a humongous feast after starving. And after three days of it you are so full that you just check out for a while. I've been in a daze all day, happy, stuffed, and of course wondering how I can change the world.

Returning to reality with new perspectives is wonderful - an agent of change - but also very hard. At least for me. Returning to the guzzling cars and obnoxious facades that people wear is hardening to the spirit and saddening to my body of hope. Retreating and being slow on this beautiful August day, tinkering through the Lemon balm and Rue, is exactly what I need before embarking on the new year.

One of the most remarkable things about the WHC is the fact that my Mom and I go together. I think this was our fifth time. It's truly a blessing to strengthen our bond and to carry the lineage of herbal wisdom. Not to mention - we have a blast. Next year, we will be a clan of three generations, when my daughter joins us for the adventure!

Of the nine workshops I took, I realized that only two of them were herbal. Ha! But hey - a good herbalist is an empowered one, right? Yeah! Plus, in previous years I have taken many of the herb classes already. So I took the really juicy ones from my most favorite teachers.

I took two with the incredible, transformational ALisa Starkweather, on 'Becoming Butterfly Woman' and 'Feeding the Fire to Move Mountains'. YES they are as powerful as they sound and incredibly meaningful. GO to any of her workshops if you ever have the chance.

Susan Grimaldi, Shaman and Native Elder, taught a class on Trance-Dancing (where I had the honor of merging with frog) and a beautiful class on The art of seduction - which was very deep and reverent (not a come hither class) and included a shamanic journey where we created our true vision of ecstatic union. Absolutely empowering and luscious. And applicable!

I also shook and shimmied myself sore in two classes with Ann Marie Licari {I can't find a website for her, sorry! She's out of Vermont} who totally rocks. I'm usually disappointed when I go to a belly dancing class because I just can't seem to find the range of motion I need for it. But I think I got some good basics of it down and my wag started to look a bit more sparkly. Yay for me! I might be able to belly dance after all! I can't wait until I can ripple my stomach like a deep see jellyfish. ooohhhhhh.

Now the Mead Making Workshop given by Desiree Cohen was really a hoot. The mead's just seemed to keep coming around ... blueberry, rose petal, dandelion, pear, cranberry wine, and anything after that I can't remember! I know there was a lot of laughing, ye-hawing about Cowboys, (which turned out to be carboys but you see Desiree has a Boston accent) and long syphoning contraptions with delicious liquid flowing from it. It's a really good thing the class came with a detailed instruction booklet. Now I just need to check my hive again to see if the honey flow is ready!

And what two herbal medicine classes did I take, you ask? Ahhhh, yes.

Well, one was a tincture making class with Jill Frink Thompson (scroll down) who now practices out of Vermont not Asheville - and I loved her class. It cleared up a few simple things that I had been confused on. Jill is an exceptional teacher - articulate, high spirited, relaxed and down to earth, ready with fantastic knowledge and understanding of plants and people. I will definitely take more classes with her in the future. (And Jill if you happen upon this blog - let me know how I can update your web link! XO)

And I ended it with a BANG - a Triple Goddess Herbs class with the One, the Only, the Green Goddess herself, Susun Weed. My favorite Teacher of all, full of sharp insight, hilarious animation, deep rooted wisdom, and thorough, rich, applicable herbal knowledge. She starts and ends her classes in a chant which we all participate in joyfully, a tradition I'm thinking about taking on for my own classes. We learned about Cronewort, Motherwort, and Maidenwort, and about ourselves at the same time. These are three plants I love and use regularly, so it was nice to go deeper into them. And I got to thank her in person for her empowering work, and I got to slather her gorgeous Maidenwort oil (chickweed; Stellaria Media) oil all over my hands, which has to be the most erotic, slippery oil I've ever tried. Ohhh, yes, waiting for the fall flush of fresh Chickweed to arrive ..... pounce!

I also got to acknowledge some of my other favorite teachers .... like Kate Gilday, Tina Marie Wilcox, Rosemary Gladstar, Rocio Alarcon, and the Omnipotent Mz. Imani.

Now ...... given I can get over my grimacing reactions to biblical references, topics, or vocabulary, I need to go and Read the RED TENT. But really ..... I need to START A RED TENT.

Anyone else???????

Decanting magic

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Blog Party ~ Harvesting for winter

Yesterday and today I've been going through my jars of tinctures that have not yet been strained. I have a lot of tinctures that I put up, and then just left ......... decanting them now means they will have extracted for thirteen moons :). I missed quite a bit of harvesting this year. The St. Johnswort was scarce, and mugwort, yarrow, and Goldenrod I have in plenty.

The little jar in the photo that is empty, was filled with wild oregano and vodka. It grows in abundance around my home. I made it to stave off colds and viruses. I expected it to be very hot and spicy, like the fresh plant tastes, but to my surprise, it's exquisitely sweet! Very much like my Red Bee Balm (Monarda Didyma) in fact. I can see clearly how herbalists would liken them to each other. The tincture is so lovely to take, and carries a gentle yet determined medicine; opening the throat and relieving start up congestion. I could also see it being helpful for an earache.

I strained two quarts of beautiful crystal green Yarrow blossom tincture. In the past I have often put the yarrow and alcohol into the blender, yielding a potent, cloudy green-brown tincture. This time I had carefully cut all the blossoms and little leaflets off of the stalk and tinctured them whole. I am curious if it carries any difference. It *feels* like fairy tincture. This is a medicine my whole family uses quite often. It's my daughters main herbal ally - she uses it for cooling and toning herself down (she is your classic Pitta-Kapha) especially in the Spring season. She gets flooding nosebleeds, stomach fermentation, and hot feet. If she can't throw herself into cool water to swim, Yarrow does the trick. We also use it for colds, flu, sore throats, and muscle injury, and topically for wounds if needed. Susun Weed recommends a spray to repel mosquitos, which I have tried somewhat but can't vouch entirely because I can't resist adding other ingredients - so I don't really know which one is working.

Mugwort tincture was even older - I found a tincture I made two years ago! Sheesh! That got strained too. I love this Artemisia for right before my Moonflow, when my womb swells with pressure and tension. It warms and releases muscle tension in the uterus, while toning the blood and digestion. Not to mention it's lunar energy helps! A mugwort pillow helps to deepen already potent dreamtime during menses - but be sure to ask the plant for guidance or she may just get into mischief!

And a big beautiful quart of pinky-hued red clover blossom tinctured in brandy. Yum! We love this for it's life nourishing properties and for keeping the libido healthy. I recommend the nourishing infusions on a regular basis - but the tincture has it's merit too. It's lovely when I am feeling too masculine - and the world is wearing me down. It reminds me that *soft* is strong, and seems to beautifully restore my resilient nature and femininity. Not to mention that red Clover is a bosom buddy .... a superb breast tonic. I love the entry on Red Clover in my beloved book: Herbal Rituals by Judith Berger .

Last but not least, Wormwood tincture. This is a valuable staple for us, if anyone has terrible stomach pains or indigestion, 4-5 drops of tincture does the trick. Great for long car rides. I also use it as part of a lyme protocol, as an anti parasitic and alterative, again at a very low dose, about 3-4 drops 2-3x a day. It seems also to help keep joints cool, taking down low grade swelling or aches. And I wouldn't be surprised if she helps with fertility - she seeds and sows prolifically! I had one plant last year - and thirty this year! A bundle of this luminous plant, makes a lovely silver wand for the mantle or altar. Athena would be proud.

Echinacea ~ post #2

type='html'> Fall has begun dressing herself for the season. The golden plumes lay heavy on high heels and long green legs. The Russian olives dangle like earrings. The leaves are showing off their streaks of green/gold, green/yellow.... green/red, as if the wind came by overnight with a hairdressers bag and made-over the trees that lined up for her along the road. The sun is comforting and warm by day, and the moonlight cool at night, conducting the orchestra of insects and the dance of the winds and tides.
The harvests are here, peaking with all her splendor; tomatoes, lemon balm, basil, parsley, and so many more, satisfying our hunger for abundance and beauty. Yet once it is all picked - it starts to wane. The last of the good weather, the last of the longer days, the last of the garden fresh vegetables. The herbs dry and get packed away into jars or various preserving liquids until the annual viruses knock. Reaping also means sacrifice. It reminds me that whatever I collect must be properly stored and cherished. I am grateful for the intellectual harvests of the last year, which I have internalized deeply in order to pick from it what I need when I need it. I am grateful for my emotional harvests, the lessons I've learned and the friends I have gained. For my healthy, happy family. I'm grateful for my herb harvest, albeit smaller this year than previous, what I didn't harvest is what flourishes strong in my garden only to grow heartily on into next year.
And I let go.
Things are changing for me. And although they are changes I have requested, it is still a change. Which means letting go of old expectations, habits, patterns, and allowing new ones to thrive. But when those old patterns show up - expecting to be obeyed - it's only human nature that I react with a sense of grief. Saying goodbye to ways that once brought immense joy, self-actualization, and success, is hard. In the moment it's hard to remember that good things are on the horizon and will serve me well. Changing relationship to career, work patterns, and most poignantly my self-identity has struck a chord of mourning in me.

So as I lay, sobbing uncontrollably in the middle of a sleepless night, I sob deeply into the roots of my Echinacea plant. She called me into the garden from my dark porch step, asking that I shed my tears into her lap and let it all out, into the soil, into the arms of Mother Earth and daughter of the stars. And so I did, my back to the cool night air and my face cradled by the large green leaves. Her flowers are so tall, I felt completely protected. She seemed to drink in my wretched potion of feeling like a fertilizer.
I think about mourning, how it really means "to remember". I give thanks for the good things I remember from before. And I remember my new goals, new wishes, and new ways.

In the morning, my throat hurt terribly. I knew I was coming down with a cold. So I collected some roots and leaves from her and have been drinking the infusion of it throughout the day, along with some other cold fall allies, Osha (which I use rarely - but I could use some bear energy right now), ginger root, and licorice root. And I am taking my lovely oregano tincture. I don't think my cold will last more than a few days ...... if I take care enough to grieve properly and allow change. It is annually a hard time for me anyway, as I vehemently despise winter and become resentful that I have to suffer through so many weeks of cold weather before my green friends and warm sun return.

And so, I feel Echinacea is a tremendous ally for grief. Personal identity crisis, and seasonal adaptability.

Blessed be.

Nuptial Flight

type='html'>Beauty the Herbal Way .......

This week I've been a busy bee, making very special gifts for my Niece and her Bridal Party. These have to have the best of the best ingredients ... and ones that will please any woman since I don't know any of the ladies there (she lives far away). So, here's what I've done. A very seductive "Lakshme Bath Crystals", with Rose petal powder to give it a pink hue. It smells amazing, my infamous Cocoa-spice blend that makes you smell like a mug of Chai. Plus, it's great for both sexes .... so go on! Preserve water - bathe together! (now, I may have to go back and re-do these labels. Most people spell Lakshme with an "i".... we'll see.)

The little vials are my all-time favorite perfume blend. Simple, yet complex and utterly perfect, it's Turkish Rose Otto and Indian dark patchouli. There's nothing like it in the world I'm convinced. So the bride and all her ladies should have some.

What's a lifetime ahead of luscious smooching without a Ruby pout? So of course I had to make up a special batch of my Crushed Rubies Lip and Cheek Glow - which I've been making for near ten years now and it's still a classic must have. I think I have one in every room and every bag, it's just yummy stuff.

Then there's the beauty cream, a French Lavender recipe with extra cocoa butter of the unrefined kind. Soothing and feminine.

The Bride gets extras. She gets the bigger size of the perfume and bath salts, and she also gets a beautiful body oil and a Nuptial Flight Sacred Yoni Balm. Happy Honey Moon :)
I took special joy in this order, since it's my most favorite to make the really sensual, seductive herbals, but also because of the nature of the order I could opt-out of writing ANYthing on the label other than the name and a pretty picture. This alone makes the product look way more elegant. The struggle of forcing an ingredient list much less business info or user instructions/disclaimer stuff onto little bitty labels from a stone age computer program is NO FUN. So I like these prettier, more mysterious labels. They all know I spare no expense on ingredients - natural and best!

Book of Shadows

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This is my Sacred recipe book. My third one, actually, and it's almost full too. It doesn't really have spells, or strange languages, or rites. It's full of herbal recipes, and most of them are for applying to your body, not taking internally. For me, this really is my book of shadows. It's where I put my magic concoctions for health and beauty, healing, and recipes I make to put out to the world in exchange for goods or money. Recipes that I've used only once, say, for healing from a vasectomy or a neighbor with a herpes outbreak. And even recipes that I legally don't even own, such as for my private labels.

I Love this book. I treasure it like an heirloom jewel. It's indispensable. It's proof that I live my life in love with the plants and life as a sensory, self-loving journey. And in service to myself, my Gaia, my family, and any who may take something I make and remember the wisdom of our Grandmothers by it. It's my way of keeping the lineage alive.

We'moon Date Book

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Finally - this year I sprang for one. I've been coveting this incredible work of art forever and never got one. Then, last year, my close friend bought me an awesome calender and so I didn't need one.
This year I wasn't about to let it go ... so I ordered way early and got the early bird deal. Can I tell you how excited I am? SO excited! It has to be the most amazing, beautiful, moving, and empowering book to date. (pardon the pun) I love the poems, the art, the colors .....
mm. It's not '08 yet but I take it out to peek sometimes anyway.
To get one of your own (and you WILL want one) ..... go HERE and since the website does not do it justice, I may have to take a few photos of my own to post. (is that legal? probably not.)