It has been an interesting foraging year for us. I have found myself feeling incredibly drawn to collecting certain plants – wild rose early on in the year, Mugwort throughout the summer and wild oats as the summer progressed. There have also been other plants that despite their abundance and potential, for one reason or another we didn’t forage many/any this year – elderflower and rosehips stand out as two.
Continue reading “The Intuitive Art of Foraging”
Today – the 22nd August, the Sun transitions into the sixth sign of the zodiac; Virgo. Virgo season runs up until September 23rd, before the sun moves into the sign of Libra, at the Autumn Equinox.
Virgo season spans the height of the harvest when times are busy gathering, processing and storing produce for the months ahead. This practical earth sign is associated with qualities of strength, hardwork, organisation, practicality and determination with high standards for themselves and others.
Virgo season can be a good time to really connect with the earth, grounding ourselves in this abundant season. We may experience more focus for any projects we may have over the month ahead and it can be a good time to assess where we may be overly harsh on ourselves and others.
We create star sign prints for all the zodiac signs using our moon photography. You can browse them in our Etsy shop now.
We have decided to rename our handcrafted herb bundles that we have so far been referring to as ‘smudge sticks’.
We have spent a lot of time thinking about this and wanted to give some background as to why we have come to this decision.
Continue reading “Introducing Smoulder Sticks”
Lammas (also known as Lughnassadh) falls on 1st August and is the midpoint between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox in the northern Hemisphere. By Lammas we are into the second half of the year and may refer to this time as ‘high summer.’ The days are still long and the sun’s energy is strong yet active growth is waning. The earth is abundant and many of our grain crops have ripened and await their gathering, full and golden.
Continue reading “Lammas”
We are lucky to have a huge supply of Bay in the garden thanks to a rather old and beloved Bay tree. I love adding the leaves to our herb bundles for burning.
Did you know that Bay leaves contain Linalool a compound known for its calming properties, also present in plants such as Lavender. Studies have shown that Linalool reduces elevated stress levels to almost normal conditions.
These lovely leaves also contain Eugenol which is known for its antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and pain relieving qualities. As mentioned in our previous post, burning is an effective way to release the therapeutic benefits of a plant into your environment.
You can find Bay in our best selling herbal garden smoulder sticks.
The moon’s gravitational pull influences many things on our planet, but perhaps most notably the rise and fall of the ocean’s tides. It is less well known however, that the same gravitational pull affects groundwater levels. The concept of aligning gardening with the moon phase is as old as agriculture itself. It is believed that as the moon is waxing towards the full moon, groundwater rises up, providing good conditions for planting. No dig gardener Charles Dowding has conducted a number of small studies comparing the yield of crops planted under the waxing and waning moon. So far, he has shown that crop yield in a variety of veg has been higher when planting with the waxing moon.
It is lovely to watch the flowers that you have planted grow, but it is extra special when they find their own way into your garden themselves, which is exactly what happened with some Goldenrod this year.
Goldenrod is known to be richer in antioxidants than green tea. Its Latin name, Solidago translates as ‘to make whole or heal’ and reflects its long use in herbal medicine. It has superb anti inflammatory action and pain relieving qualities thought to help arthritis, cold and flu symptoms and bladder & kidney problems.
Continue reading “The magic of Goldenrod”
We have been busy harvesting our herbs and crafting smudge sticks during the Solstice period. We found it to be the perfect time as many of our herbs and flowers were peaking in tune with the sun.
Continue reading “Solstice Smudge Sticks”
Yesterday we stumbled across the largest patch of flowering Wild Garlic we have ever seen. We have had a few harvests this year already. Most has gone into pesto which is a firm favourite, or chopped and added to soups, pasta and eggs.
Continue reading “Wild Garlic Galore”
Wild Fen 