Rose Cottage

   Do you know self heal?  This simple, easy to  find and identify  t onic herb in the mint family has a long history of herbal use in many cultures, including Native, Western and traditional Chinese medicine. Its gentle healing properties and general safety are confirmed by recent research.  This  YouTube clip  by Herbal Jedi gives a great overview on how to identify, harvest and use this mint relative, Prunella vulgaris. Our Western Oregon native variety: lanceolata, is easily found in yards and vacant lots. In contrast to  other mints, self heal's taste is neutral, so it's easy to include in salads, add to tea or cook with other greens.  Prunella is classed as a tonic herb or  adaptogen , which helps the body manage stress, and return to homeostasis or 'reset' itself.  Adaptogens can generally be used on a daily basis, and are easily incorporated into a healthy diet. They are often herbs which need to adapt, often growing in...

 Several years ago whilst going through my spring cleaning and dethughing, I pulled an angel Card from one of my decks ... and a bit later, came upon a fascinating   video  from British healer  Amanda Ellis  , and watched several - Wow!  One was a piece about having been sick with a double whammy virus,  Archangel Metatron   (Pre pandemic) which returned just as she thought she was over it! Amanda works with the Archangels, especially Metatron, and shared a teaching about receiving an  energetic reset , rather like a vaccine for our physical bodies to match the evolution of our spiritual bodies, as many shift from 3-D to 5-D.  Now this concept of illness as a reset is something a one of my daughter Mary's co-workers suggested over a decade ago. Her friend sees being ill as a chance for the body to do a tune-up, basically going through all the systems, tuning them to better efficiency, and often forgoing more serious illness. And it...

 In the 70s, I feel in love with Anne McCaffrey's writing and her fantasy world Pern, with its telepathic dragons and dragon riders! Who doesn't want a dragon (or more practically), small fire lizard in their corner? Map of Pern And throughout these magical books, two drinks figure prominently, wine from Benden hold, and Klah... ' Aleesa herself served him up a cup of Klah . Pellar nodded and smiled in thanks, cupping his hands gratefully around the warmth. The klah was thin and watered down.' (Dragon's Fire,  p 92) So - what's Klah, and how do I make it?  The mythical Pern is the 3rd planet from its system's star, Rukbat, with a similar climate to the colonists home planet Earth.  As they settle in, they miss their familiar coffee. The early botanists find the bark of a native tree to have stimulant properties, and that it tastes rather like a blend between coffee and cinnamon, so begin using it for their daily brew. Klah, book and recipe A decade or so ag...

  As the fall cool weather and rains arrive, the tea camellia are in bloom - I never tire of seeing their pretty white flowers, and am excited to get the larger plants in the ground and growing on.  In Southern Yunnan province in China, there are wild tea trees  600 to 1800 years old, and 15 meters tall! My last tea camellia, at 15, was about 5×5'  Camellia sinensis, Sochi  And - here in the N, is time to plant garlic! My favorite garlic method (zone 8b, so fall planted, hardneck garlic): Forgotten garlic clump Look for some clumps you missed during harvest (since I plant mine in various beds, I usually miss some!) Ease them out of the earth Gently tease their roots apart Poke holes around the garden, drop in the bulb, add compost or soil, and top with a layer of leaves. Strawberry planter with garlic starts   One clump (seperated) went between plants in the cedar strawberry planter, the second into a long planter with more strawberries, and the last into t...

 This morning I decided to make a batch of Elderberry syrup with fresh berries from our black lace Elder mama tree.  Elder tree mother and herbs I looked up several recipe/ tutorials, and decided to add other adaptogens (herbs that protect us from stress and disease) : several large Rose hips, ahandful of Ivan's Belle berries (Rowan/hawthorn cross) ginger, astragalus, Cinnamon and licorice. Adaptogens are tonic herbs which can be used daily, and boost our bodies' general health and immunity.  Elderberries and rose hips Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is high in phytonutrients, vitamin C, flavanoids and fiber, acts as an antioxidant, promotes heart health, lowers inflammation and stress, helps the respiratory system and lungs, boosts the immune system, aids blood sugar and pain management.  Astragalus is an antioxidants that inhibits free radical production, and has long been used in TCM. It can help protect us from colds and influenza, and can help the liver, spleen, k...