NEWSLETTER - SUMMER

Summer's here! You can't really tell by our overcast cool weather, but the plants are saying it's so!

This is the time for harvesting St. John's Wort and arnica flowers for our Canoe Puller's Massage Oil (and Dolly's Arthritis Cream). Today (30 June), I drove 15 miles up one of the mountain roads in the Mt. Baker National Forest. I went up so high that the firs were all bent over, stunted and gnarly. There were scads of arnica flowers for the picking and that is exactly what I did! The desert sage, valerian root and balm of gilead have been steeping in olive oil for weeks now and we have been waiting for the flowers to mature to add to the brew. I will be adding dandelion flower oil this year to the massage oil, which will enhance the muscle relaxing effect.

The St. John's Wort was farther down the mountain and not as abundant. Years ago, livestock ranchers of Klamath County in Oregon imported a beetle from Japan that feasts only on the St. John's Wort plants as their response to poorly thought-out overgrazing practices. The St. John's Wort is a plant that knows how to take advantage of a situation and did its best to fill in the empty spots left by the cattle and sheep. Some of the newly shorn sheep and cattle with white spots became sun sensitive in reaction to eating the St. John's Wort. The ranchers' plan was to kill the St. J.'s instead of amending their grazing practices and allowing natural growth by the plants edible by the livestock. The beetles spread up to Washington and have had field days for years feasting on St. J.'s. I have found over the years diminishing stands of this plant, which is a pity as it has so many advantageous uses.

Thanks go to my darling apprentices for their help in harvesting. They work hard for no pay and don't complain (too much!). Their help is so appreciated, as this is the time when there is so much going on in the herbal world that it is easy to miss a harvest.

I tell my students this: if you are wishing to become healthier, then eat healthy wild plants. The old adage: "you are what you eat" is true. Ask yourself; do you want to take in healthy foods or deficient foods? Do you wish to be healthy, vital, and full of life or kind of deficient in nutrients or health?

I show them the difference between plants with a healthy immune system and those who are struggling. It is a real visual thing in most cases. Sometimes the unhealthy plants are easier to get to, harvest, plentiful, etc....yet it is well worth the time to seek out the healthiest stands of plants.

Sometimes we go out with the purpose of harvesting a certain plant and just don't find them to be what we need at the place where we are looking. So.... we go somewhere else.

It's a choice, for sure. I have peers who make products similar to mine and time and time again they tell me that my quality is better and how do I accomplish that? Well, it's simple...I use the most vital plants. If I don't find the quality I want.... I go somewhere else or just don't make that product until I can find just the right plants.

For instance, when I went the 15 miles up the mountain looking for arnica, I found it all right. Lots of it. From a distance, all the flowers looked beautiful and I can tell you, it seemed like easy pickings for me. The closer I came to the stands, however, the more I was able to see that some of the flowers were already pollinated, some were not at all vital and some were indeed, exactly what I was looking for. I picked and chose the best. It would have been easier to just take all I could see, but there are two problems with that. The first and most important is that I would not be harvesting in a sustainable or ethical way. Take all the flowers.... no seeds for future plants. Secondly, I would be adding bulk to my oil without real medicinal substance. My picking and choosing was well worth the effort. I was able to spend more time up in the mountains enjoying the exquisite views and my customers will be getting a much better quality product.

Lavender is blooming, filling the air with a heady aroma so soothing! I have bunches hanging in my home. Every time I pass one, I inhale the rich aroma. Consider visiting a lavender farm...there are so many in our area and everything is blooming! There are many varieties to choose from and most of the lavender farms let you pick your own bunches and take home plants to grow. Lavender does best in the ground, but with a big enough pot will send up beautiful blooms each year.

The trick to harvesting your lavender flowers for the best and longest-lasting scent is to pick them just as the flowers are mature, but not yet fully opened. Hang them in small bunches upside down so that when they are dried, they will stand up straight in pots and vases. Myself, I like using old timey canning jars with the glass lids as vases. I'm a country gal at heart wherever I live.

Mt. Baker Lodging is adding wild plant walk packages to their list of year round offerings. I will be leading these walks. With miles of hiking trails, streams and exquisite views, hundreds of species of flowering plants, trees and ferns in varying ecosystems, these wild plant walks will delight and educate families and groups to the bounty of nature. Look for their website on our links page.

New herbal articles and recipes have been added, along with the summer workshop schedule! Looking back over what I've written for various herbal magazines, I realize I wrote quite a bit about magical uses of herbs. Look for more on this subject as the months progress!

Bellingham Farmers' Market....

is open for business and has it ever grown! We have gone from 54 farmers and crafters last year to 91 this year! Same great location - Corner of Cornwall and Railroad Aves. 10 am - 3 pm.

Stop by our booth...we are there most Saturdays with the exception of second Saturdays of the month for the apprenticeship weekend. The wonderful aromas coming from our booth are always a big hit for all!