Holistic Wellness

10/08/2026

27/07/2026

From Summer... harvesting Yarrow with my daughter Corrina then drying it in the barn, ... reminders of experiences from her childhood❤️
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is one one of the best diaphoretic herbs, helping the body deal with fevers by promoting perspiration. It lowers blood pressure through vasodilation of peripheral vessels, it stimulates digestion and is a urinary antiseptic indicated in cystitis.
Nosebleeds were treated by rolling up the soft feathery leaf and placing it in the nostril.
In the past it was called Soldiers Wound Wort or Herba Militaris. It has the capacity to stop bleeding and help heal external wounds. It was used during many battles including WW1 to help heal bayonet and sword injuries. The name Achillea is attributed to a wide range of situations.
Achilles the Greek warrior is said to have used the herb to heal the wounds of his soldiers during the Trojan war.
As an infant Achilles was dipped into the magical waters of the River Styx by his mother Thetis, the Sea Nymph and water Goddess. Where ever the water touched him it made him invulnerable. She was holding him by his heel which stayed dry. Hence the significance of Achilles heel ... a vulnerability which later became apparent.
Others say the medicinal qualities of the plant were discovered by a certain Achilles, who was a disciple of the Centaur Chiron who is associated with healing among other things.
This little plant has quite a history through time and is a valuable addition to any Herbal Apothecary.
So this herb here is being dried for tea mixes and tinctures. 🌿💚

19/07/2026

My early morning visitors , a quiet day.

19/05/2026

Harvesting and transplanting this beautiful Lythrum salicaria or Purple Loosestrife. Its not a herb that is commonly used these days but it has strong astringent qualities and mucilage. It has a well established history of use treating chronic diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera, preserving eyesight and as a poultice on wounds and sores, often finding its way into field hospitals on battle grounds in days gone by.
It was given its name purple loosestrife, by farmers who ploughed their fields with Clydesdales and other large horses. They would tie a small flowering bunch of the herb into the forelock of the horse before going out into the fields. It was said to "loosen any strife that maybe in the horse" putting them in better temperament for calmly ploughing straight lines out in the field for the day. Evocative of other times, different relationships with the land, the animals and undersandings with all of life growing around at the time.
Something close to the heart. This herb farm in Emerald and the 4 generations of the family that have been here , have touched into my life and heart. They have been important, occasionally in definable, but more often in undefinable ways. Serendipitous influences through my life and journey with herbs and healing. It feels quite special to be given and transplanting herbs from here, where early on l was planting their parents and great great grand parents , then had my first clinic in the gardens here, many years ago; to be now transplanting them into my new clinic herb gardens in Warragul. 🌿💚

14/01/2025

Beautiful full moon rising over the top of Mt Baw Baw

02/01/2025

A cool 9 degrees as the clouds roll in on top of the mountain for the first day of January. High plains Snow gums and heath type understorey plants, nature's beautiful garden. In winter... my favourite place for cross country skiing and gardens of wild flowers in summer.

29/11/2024

Ingredients for poultice.
Excellent medicine for a broken wrist and a leg injury

22/11/2024

The table is repurposed as a drying rack for now , hawthorn flowers and leaves. Excellent medicine in process for the heart , clearing arteries and the whole cardiovascular system. It is a lighty flavoured tea , potently medicinal .... enhanced with lemon grass, juice, or lemon balm is refreshing .. 🌿💚

13/11/2024

The beautiful Hawthorn (Crateagus oxycanthoides and C. monogyma ) grows easily around here in hedgerows around the fields and laneways. An incredibly generous plant offering many uses . She has been flowering with this stunning profussion of medicine and beauty. One of the most effective herbs for the whole cardiovascular system, strengthening and regulating the heart's rhythm, cleaning arteries, improving the structural integrity of all the vascular system and a gentle calming effect on the nervous systems' functions relating to the heart. The flowers and leaves are the current offerings and then deep red medicinal berries ripen in Autmn. How Nature brings into manifestion this abundance of medicine through here cycles and seasons, takes my breath away. 💚🌿

06/11/2024

a new chapter ... some early morning views and a wander through the garden... such a restorative , restful place to be ..... with an abundance of medicinal herbs growing wild all around.. 💚🌿💜