5 TO FORAGE IN OCTOBER We’ve been so lucky this October to have some bright sunny days making it great to be outdoors. While the number of fruits, flowers and leaves to gather is reducing, it’s a good time to prep for winter months by bringing a few herbs indoors to be cared for on…
We’ve had a few blasts of on-coming winter in the past couple of weeks leaving a decidedly autumnal tinge in the air but still summer clings on and we’re able to gather ripening fruit on sunny days. There’s nothing quite like sitting outdoors stoning plums or coring apples in an effort to preserve the year’s…
August is the lazy peak of summer, a time when a little disarray seems to be order of the day. Lush growth is now either scorched or squashed, depending on whether you’ve had the searing heat or the overwhelming rain. This season of peak everything can also mean peak exhaustion if you’re a parent juggling…
Buddleja and butterflies Buddleja davidii is known as the ‘butterfly bush’ because butterflies so often flutter around it gathering nectar. It’s also attractive to bees and moths. It’s possible that the nectar is so good because its packed full of benefits from the buddleja – what is it that those insects instinctively know? Another name we…
5 TO FORAGE IN JULY Summer is rolling along now and most of us in the UK have at last had a sight of sun. A wet and cold June paid havoc with the early summer blooms but everything seems to be on catch up now so there’s plenty to get out and forage for…
5 TO FORAGE IN JUNE June is a fantastic month to forage for natural skincare ingredients. There are many flowers and leaves in both hedgerows and gardens. If you can, pick in full sun and then use fresh right away, or alternatively dry for later use. To dry your plant material, either hang in bunches…
Grab the opportunity of any sunny spells between the storms to explore locally and see which new skincare plants you can find. You might stumble upon a new favourite. All the sunshine and rain has encouraged luscious new growth so you may need to forage a bit deeper among the greens to spot these five…
Bathtime relaxation Here’s how to create a jar full of loveliness to destress, ease and delight. Make it for a special friend, or as a gift to yourself. This is so simple to make, but requires a little forethought in macerating the herbs to create your own blend herbal oil. It’s an especially thoughtful gift…
Witches or wise women? Having seemingly super-natural powers could get you condemned as a ‘witch’. But, viewing these historical characters with a modern, less superstitious eye, we can see the practices of some really wise women who truly knew their herbs. Modern understanding We recognise that our body absorbs the food we consume, ingesting, digesting,…
Blackberry leaves for brightening the skin The blackberry plant scrambles through hedgerows putting on enormous growth each season, seemingly stretching out more and more each day. All this growth is fuelled by the powerhouse of energy contained in the blackberry leaves. Use these leaves in creating your own skincare and see that plant power taking…
