Author: Laura P
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May Herb Walk
For May we returned to Cam’s Vale Hospital, there is so much to see in the beds around the carpark, the quiet garden beside the hospital, and the healing allotment beds. We were here last year in July, wanting to enjoy the lime trees, but catching them just after their best. This year, we arrived…
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Lemon Balm
To soothe, enliven and restore. There’s a duality in many plants, with lemon balm it’s her ability to both calm and enliven. She will soothe the mind, ease the ache of a broken heart and enable a clarity of thinking, coming to you as a ‘breath of fresh air’. Lemon balm is recommended as an…
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Herbal trip to London
by Dr Viv Rolfe On Wednesday 22nd April I was invited to speak at an event in London about Arnica montana – the tiny yellow flower in the daisy family that is one of nature’s miracles and contains compounds that relieve bruising, swelling and pain when applied topically. Arnica grows in the Alps and in…
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April Herb Walk
April marks the true awakening of the herbal world with new treasures blooming at our feet and blossoms overhead. Since the days of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales it has been considered a month of sweet showers (‘shoures soote’) and rejuvenation. Following the lead of the Medieval pilgrims, who set out as the sap started rising, for…
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Herb in a Vase – May
Creative ideas crafted and shared by our local florist, Sophia Mason. This month we’re displaying: Lilac In the garden of the first house I ever owned, there lived a huge lilac tree. It wasn’t a big garden and the very mature tree, as tall and wide as the little terraced house, made it difficult to…
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Understanding Herbs and Singing their Songs
By Dr Viv Rolfe In Robin Wall Kimmerer’s beautiful and amazing book “Braiding Sweetgrass” she talks of her indigenous culture and the deep wisdom held by her people regarding their caring for the nature and the environment. People lived in harmony with nature and the seasons, taking just enough but no more, being thankful for…
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Hopping Down in Cam
Words by Dr Viv Rolfe I was joyed to see the tips of my hop plant coming through this week. The plant was kindly provided by the Hoptician Pub in Dursley last year, but my plant did not grow well enough to create any ales for them. So I’m excited that it is shooting as…
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Herb in a Vase – April
Creative ideas crafted and shared by our local florist, Sophia Mason. This month we’re displaying: Cornflower Wild and wonderful Once upon a time, Centaurea cyanus grew like weeds in cornfields – that’s where cornflowers get their nickname. It grew happily throughout the UK since the Iron Age, sprinkling the landscape with its soft bluey purpleness…
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March Herb Walk
Our last walk before the Spring equinox, nature’s start to spring, when the unfurling begins. A visit to the Rackleaze Nature Reserve (behind Tesco’s in Cam) was a chance to catch the awakening in action! Promise of Spring Appropriately, our first plant was Primrose (‘the prime rose’ or ‘first flower’) – an embodied promise, heralding…
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Coltsfoot
Early in the year, round about late February or early March, especially if you’re wandering alongside a stream or river, where there is moist, heavy soil, you may see a yellow flowerhead looking, at first glance, like a dandelion. Take a closer look. You may find, instead of the toothed leaves and smooth stem of…