I am very pleased to share that the new year brings a new herbal journey. I have been accepted for the Springfield Sanctuary apprenticeship program with Sarah Jean Head of the Tales of Kitchen Herbwife blog.
The first thing Sarah asked us to do was to pick 20 herbs to study this year, with one of those being our herbal ally. These are the ones I chose:
angelica Angelica archangelica
bergamont Monarda fistulosa
burdock Arctium lappa and Actium minus
calendula Calendula officinalis
chamomile Matricaria discoidea
cleavers Galium aperine
comfrey Symphytum officinale
dianthus Dianthus armeria in wild and Dianthus
caryophyllus in garden
evening primrose Oenothera biennis
hyssop Hyssopus officinalis
lavender Lavandula angustifolias
meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria
milk thistle Silybum marianus
nettle Urtica dioica
self heal Prunella vulgaris
st. john’s wort Hypericum perforatum in garden
Hypericum punctatum in wild
vervain Verbena officinalis
violet Viola striata, Viola sororia and numerous others native and Viola odorata in the garden
with Rose being my herbal ally choice. Rosa ssp. (the different types I have available are just too great to list at this time!)
Rosehip Fairy by Cicely Mary Barker
I have included more than one Latin name in places, as I use both garden and the wild plants when medicine making. I will attempt to differentiate between the different types when doing the tasks this year. Perhaps doing the assigned tasks with each of the different species and seeing if I can discern any difference.
For those of you with interest, I have linked on my side bar to some of my fellow apprentices blogs. Sarah sent us several tasks to start out with already! It will be such a pleasure to be working with an herbalist that is so knowledgeable and eager to share that knowledge with us! What a beautiful way to start 2012 :)
Big Herbal and Honey Hugs to all who visit Comfrey Cottages xxx
