Saw Love , Harvest Beauty

Sometime early in March I bought these Hyacinth bulbs in a glass vase from the supermarket. They bloomed on my window seal smelling heavenly and easing my winter blues.

When their time passed I put them in a Hypertufa planter I made some time ago.

As I laid them to rest  in the fresh soil  I said a prayer and loved them once more for their presence and without any expectations kissed them goodbye.

Few days ago I watched them in awe blooming in despite the freezing temperatures we have experienced lately.

I felt as if Nature was gifting me for a good deed . According to Tess Whitehurst   Hyacinths  represent” Abundance and Luxury, Attracting Gifts, Charm and Irresistibility, Glamour, Influence” . Just in time for the Holidays.

In another description of these flowers I found out its pink color  invites one to playfulness and recreation. And oh yes after a hard working summer I so needed to hear this. It never ceases to amaze me how Gaia delivers the medicine you need, always. I craved playtime for months and just when I forgot to smile the cycle of Gratitude bloomed with wisdom and beauty in my heart again.

What messages are you getting? Do you listen ? Nature is in constant dialog with us.

It is time we pay attention.

 

Burdock . Lessons & Inspirations

Burdock Loves community . It grows in patches and is abundantly found almost everywhere. Considered a weed , it taught me to never judge anything or anyone from word of mouth but from direct experience.

In my garden Burdock has a place of honor. It is allowed to pop up wherever she wants. A Venus plant with many talents it is considered one of the best blood and lymph cleansers . The leafs can aid rheumatic pain and skin conditions. The stalks harvested before flowering make a delicious meal and flowers and seeds are used as well in tinctures and tasty meals. Its tap root grows deep into the soil breaking up compaction and is used as well , medicinally and culinary .

A grounding and protecting plant offers its leaves to the sun and in dried form can be used as smudging bundles. And I love its leaves because they are my source of artistic inspiration .

 

 

 

We found Burdock when we first moved in and we tried to get rid of . She intimidated us . Her persistence showed up every year not taking NO for an answer. Few years into our journey I needed its medicine and I cried with gratitude when it came back in the garden. Then the Bees showed me it is also food for them and other pollinators .

Burdock tells me abundance is everywhere around us. Nature is generous and gives wholeheartedly . It is just up to us to recognize and value the treasures she puts at our feet .

We need to preserve all this abundance and we must see Nature with completely new eyes. In the process we may see each other with more compassion .

We are One . And we are One with ALL

A simple meal .

 

Just around the corner the Nettle patch is looking up with new ,young leaves . I reach down and grab few with bear hands allowing the prickly contact to awaken me into a new day.

In Gratitude I fill my basket feeling so loved and so abundant . Earth , The Mother is gifting us with her first bounty , in turn I give her my Soul’s songs and dreams .

I dry some of the fresh Nettle  and the rest I rinse and start preparing for a simple meal I have learned from Grandma . It used to be our Spring feast and to this day I crave its taste. Besides , when we come out the winter and we feel weak , Nettle comes to the rescue . Its  health benefits made this humble plant into a superstar .

The recipe is simple . Boil water with a pinch of salt and throw the rinsed nettles in for two three minutes . Drain and chop but save the broth. You will use some later in the recipe and the rest you can drink , rinse your hair or dye your favorite scarf with .

Saute’ one onion and few cloves of garlic in two -three tablespoons of olive oil. When the onion looks soft and shiny throw the chopped nettle in and mix gently . Let it simmer for five to ten minutes and add some broth ( a ladle or two ) . Let it simmer at medium heat for another ten minutes and is ready .

You can pair it with some golden polenta or just bread and sunny side up eggs . I like it either way with some extra fresh garlic and without eggs .

Dandelions

Joy!

Star magic and Faerie dust: the sky mirrors itself in the Dandelions blooms.

I am watching in wonder : A Bee in every flower.

Alchemy enfolding right in front of my eyes. 

When I was a child I believed these resilient Jupiter ruled perennials are stars and constellations trapped in the grass.

Little did I knew then how my fascination with  this amazing plant would perpetuate. Dandelion is a staple in biodynamic gardening and farming.

The roots are medicine for the liver and a powerful detox. Leafs can be added to salads or sautéed like spinach.  You can make wine with its blooms, substitute coffee with its roasted roots, and so much more.

It builds soil.

Bees LOVE them.

They are a living lesson in Sacred Geometry.

And blowing its seeds in the wind is the simplest moment of happiness anyone  of any age can experience .

Where they grow it feels like the entire cosmos concentrates in one tiny spot.

“The innocent yellow dandelion! In what ever district it grows, it is the greatest boon…It [BD #506] will give the soil the faculty to attract just as much silicic acid from the atmosphere and from the Cosmos as the plants need, to make them really sentient to all that is at work in their environment. For they of themselves will then attract what they need.” — Rudolf Steiner,  Agriculture, page 99 (Adams translation)

 

 Dandelions are powerful healers and teachers . Go outside and gaze at their sunny faces.

And celebrate tomorrow’s Full Moon , Earth Day and Buddha’s Birthday  (next day, on Friday April 22nd) by picking up a seeded Dandelion and making a wish .

Mine is to see a world with more compassion for all living beings and each other.

 Love, Peace and Bliss

 

From the Void

I have lost my words through my footsteps into the garden.

The preferred language in between the Bee Balm, Marjoram , Mints and all else is Silence.

For the last few weeks I have been cleaning  and caressing every blade of Sage , Rue , Lavender ,or Thyme  sticking their heads out of the winter.

I use the debris , wood and grasses to weave a fence at the far end of our property . A slice of left over woodland  we are working to restore . If we had to dig wholes for a wooden fence there  we would destroy the trees on the border.Instead we put up a wire fence and we piled up against it our weaving material. As a bonus for this labor of love we get some nice leaf compost at the bottom every year.

I also like to tuck in Mountain Mint cuttings for extra fragrance on humid days.

The Rabbits and the Foxes love to sneak in and rest. One Fox comes every year around this time to birth her litter in our back yard. They stay with us until the babies are three-four month old.

The reward for hosting them is we get to watch the cubs  running wild over the gardens in total delight.

Our dream is to create a forest like  wedge around our property. It is actually our food forest version of the very popular permaculture  feature. We planted every year  Birches, Persimmons , Hawthorns, Mountain Ashes, Walnuts, Maples , Elderberries, Viburnum  , Pines , Pussy Willows , Serviceberries and Nettle Trees .

And here I will stop and dream :what would it take instead of fences to have borders of espaliers and fruitful hedges? 

This year we are making room for more Serviceberries , Common Witch Hazel , Filberts , Currants and maybe some PawPaws

Almost everything we plant has to feed the Bees first, wildlife and then us.

The trees we choose are part of our allies , protectors and helpful plants community.

And of course I always like to look at the Tree Lore. Since i am learning to live in partnership with the land it makes total sense. I see the house and the garden as an extension of ourselves ; outer layers rooted in our subtle energy layers and helping us live a wholistic life.

I found out when I am drone to a particular tree or plant the meaning , healing powers and lore are a total fit for our situation.

Not coincidentally I am just reading Sacred Agriculture: The Alchemy of Biodynamics by Dennis Klocek.  A must read for all Earth lovers and gardeners alike, even if you do not practice biodynamic gardening or farming.

We live in times when we must remember how to tread on Earth in such ways that the next seven generations will thrive and take care of their next seven generations.

And it will be possible through reverence for everything surrounding and all our resources . We must bring our hearts in unity with our minds.

Many will say “but I do not have a garden” . Even if you have one potted plant on your windowsill will count. And every choice we make counts.

Nettle

I first heard of Nettle as a toddler  when my Grandma used to tell us stories with enchanted Faeries weaving magical garments out of nettle’s fibers. She also used to feed us Nettle soup in Spring and rinsed our hair with a Nettle infusion .

To this day Nettle is one of my favorite companions and teachers. When the first tender leafs appear I collect some and make soup. It is the greatest thing one can do after winter.  This unassuming  plant is rich in minerals and iron.

Late spring I collect more for tea and make some tincture too. Also it makes a great tea for other plants in need . I leave handfuls of nettle in fresh water , covered for few days. It will stink but the result is an amazing picker upper for veggies and flowers alike .

As a biodynamic gardener I use various preparations of nettle for the compost or the Barrel Compost , a mixture of eggshells, cow manure , nettle and crushed basalt , which later I dilute in water and use when I transplant or for young trees , or in any place nurturing is needed.

When I first started to garden seven and a half years ago , my first thought was to invite powerful allies for healing, protection  and soul nourishment.

I grew Nettle from seeds purchased from Turtle Tree Seed . And then every fall and spring I replanted the roots around the perimeter of our back yard and in the center of my veggie garden. It took off spreading fast and healing the  clay dirt beneath.

Rheumatism , anyone? Try some fresh nettle : brush it with your hands or let your knees touch it. The formic acid contained within it is a great cure although it will give some a skin rush. 

At first i thought she could be invasive . Gently she taught me otherwise. All plants do great in her vicinity. Competition into cooperation. This is what I have learned. A Mars influenced plant acts like a true worrier but with a very compassionate heart.

And the fresh leaves make a green dye for natural fibers ,the stems harvested , softened and carded will give a beautiful , strong fiber which can be weaved into a very fine fabric or twisted in a rope.

So next time you meet some in a garden or out in the wild befriend it and honor it for its humbleness and the awesome gifts.