In The Bleak Midwinter... book an herbal course!

A homegrown Christmas

Well, It's been three months since my last post.  The garden is put to bed for the winter except for my parsnips, kale, chard (which has survived three good frosts) jerusalem artichokes and a couple of beets.  All my herbs and perennials are covered with straw in case we get a long hard deep freeze and pretty soon it will be time to prune the apple trees.

I'm ready to join my plant companions (in the words of Clement Moore) in "Just settling down for a Long winter's nap".  I don't see the fading of green and loss of leaf as dying; but, as a sinking down into our roots nestled deep into mother earth.  In the spring, after a blessed dormancy, the sap will rise again.   But, for now, a little R&R and perhaps a little contemplation of some of the experiences this past year has yielded.  

The Herbalist's Apothecary

After being prompted by my friends to ring the number on the sign outside the Herbalist's Apothecary, I signed up for Steffen Jorgensen's  Introduction to Herbalism Course.  And I'm still marveling at how much I've learned and continue to retain and expand upon from that experience. At my age, to  retain anything for more than 20 minutes is a feat.    Steffen is truly a gifted Herbalist and teacher.   It's one of the best gifts I've ever given myself.

I was the kind of girl who loved to read historical fiction.  Often they would include "An old woman who lived at the edge of a wood".  I loved words like "poultice", "carbuncle" and all manner of wild medicines.   I was fascinated that these women were in possession of such knowledge at one time.  In my day, such remedies were referred to as, "folk medicine" or "home remedies", a kind of "back-up" form of treatment, if you can't get your hands on the "real stuff", like a bottle of aspirin.  These books instilled a longing to know what these women once knew.   I remember my Grandfather telling me to use cobwebs to stop bleeding.   And for my teenage years, I converted a ski hut that he had built at the edge of our wood to my summer dwelling and read survival books by the likes of Euell Gibbons.  I was lucky that my best friend's mom was a naturalist and taught us just about every conceivable edible wild plant as well as the ones that were likely to poison us.   But, there was no one around who knew how to make a poultice.   I could eat in the wild; but, if I had a headache or burned myself at the firepit, I'd need a bottle of aspirin and a tube of Lanacane.

Edible Plants

Poisonous Plants

Meanwhile, there was a renaissance taking place in herbalism; but, I had no idea until many years later when books by Rosemary Gladstar and Susun Weed began to appear in the book section of my local health food store.   They were the first books I owned and these pointed me to older sources, like Jethro Kloss and the Eclectic's.  Eventually, I signed up for Rosemary Gladstar's home study course; but, never completed it as I moved to Ireland and had a whole new landscape  to get to know and while most of the herbs are the same or in the same families, (most were introduced to New England from this part of the world) they have their own history and tradition here.  The only herbalists I'd heard of before I moved here, were also blow-ins from other countries, like Germany, England and America.  I didn't know any native herbalists.

Rosemary Gladstar

Steffen was born and raised here in Sligo and bought his first mortar and pestle and the age of 12!  AND he studied with one of Rosemary Gladstar's early students who has her own school and practice here in Ireland.  So, I was thrilled to pick up where I left off--with Rosemary Gladstar's course as interpreted through the lens and experience of a native herbalist.

Steffen and the wonderful women on the course

But, all that being said, this was no ordinary course.  It was an immersion--body, mind and spirit. Our first Sunday began with a steaming cup of nettle and rosemary tea while we introduced ourselves to each other and then off we went with our notebooks and pens on a lively herb-walk.  Steffen lives on the banks of the Bonet River and just down the lane from "The Abbey", A Franciscan Priory and burial ground.   His cottage is surrounded by just about every species of medicinal herb in the Materia Medica of Ireland.

The Abbey -- Dromahaire

At last I was able to ask about many a plant I'd seen poking out of hedgerows--plants I could identify with a guide book; but, wouldn't want to "sample" without a "hands-on" evaluation.  I mean hemlock grows among the Hogweed and Queen Anne's Lace and Angelica and while I think I can tell the difference...when they grow that close together...?    We came back and sampled a tincture of Feverfew that he had made and discussed some of the properties of the plants we'd been introduced to and ate dandelion leaves to prepare our tummys for a scrumptious lunch prepared by Steffen of  Nettle soup, followed by a cheese, onion, pepper and ham Quiche, a salad  of baby lettuces with an array of fresh and wild herbs with a beautiful herbal vinegrette and homemade brown bread and baby potatoes.   After lunch we spent time in his herb garden sheltered by a bank of Rosa Ragosa in intoxicatingly fragrant bloom.   There we harvested the herbs that we would later make into alcohol and Cider Vinegar tinctures.    By the end of the three Sundays, we had learned how to make Tinctures of Dandelion root, Meadowsweet, Cleavers and Nettle.  From infused oils of St. John's Wort and comfrey, we had the bases for salves.  We made heavenly rose water,  and learned recipes for making our own household cleaners from vinegar and essential oils.  We tried out a Fennel eye treatment, and a natural oven cleaning technique with Baking soda and water paste.   All this was accompanied by two more scrumptuous meals, lively questions and loads of fun while the herbs quietly imprinted upon our hearts.   And this is just a wee taste of all that we experienced at Steffens Apothecary.

There is nothing quite like learning through doing.  And it's just beautiful to be able to grow my own food and medicine.  There is a vitality to herbal medicine-- a true transubstantiation.   And this brings me back to Mully.   She finished her two year cycle as a biennial and is now going back into the earth from whence she came; but, her children live on and her spirit is powerfully healing.   Frank had a fierce earache and infection and two doses of mully's flower oil took care of it.  I miss her, though.   The Polytunnel feels diminished without her.  

R.I.P. Mully

Thanks to Steffen, I was inspired to add some medicine to my homegrown gifts this year-- Burn salve, lip balm and Mullein ear oil as well as Rose Hip Cordial for my family and friends.  Here's to a Happy, HEALTHY, New Year and if you want to give or receive the gift of a lifetime.   Sign up for Steffen's Course--this is truly a gift that keeps on giving on a cosmic level.    He also has  perfected a whole line of natural organic cosmetics available at the colooney Round About.   Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!