I finally had time to read this post this morning with a cuppa and my knitting! I am enjoying this series very much and feel it deserves the time for a "proper" read and not a skim. Thank you Susan, it was so interesting especially about the medical uses of Thyme, Rosehips, Cranberry and Goldenseal.
I've been interested in how well the traditional medical uses of these plants align with the modern research, Lynn--and how the ancients learned to use them. Turns out that other primates self-medicate using plants, so perhaps we learned from our animal relatives? Thank you for spending some serious reading time with this post. There's a lot here to explore, and we're still just skimming the surface.
I enjoyed this new writing assignment... Growing Green with the Zodiac. I have been a fan of this type of gardening for years. Thank you for bringing me back to a favorite form of gardening.
Sometimes our practices need a reboot, don't they? And when we come back to something we've earlier enjoyed and learned from, we return with a store of experience and connections that help us see that practice differently. Happens to me, anyway. 💚
I look forward to these monthly Growing Green with the Zodiac posts more than any other on Substack. I wanted to dig in yesterday all day but kept myself on-task with my writing goals and rose extra early this morning just to have time for this newsletter. Naturally, you did not disappoint.👏🏼Without even realizing the significance, I kicked off Libra season with a visit to my favorite local herb growers in preparation for the indoor gardening season and the primary herb I went for was....drumroll, please...Thyme! I got six new varieites and each has a unique scent and taste. I'm super excited to experiment with them all. I love Thyme in the kitchen and my favorite sore throat remedy is Thyme Honey.
M. Grieve (Hilda Leyel) is one of my all-time favorite herbalists and I still go to my collection of her books for reference on one thing or another practically daily. So thorough and so enlightening. I even have a couple of extra special first editions I treasure.
The Astroseek Gardening Moon Calendars are wonderful. I've printed both September and October. My plan is to move some of my generously growing and flowering Passionflowers to an arbor and along a fence, and move some Mugwort away from a fence line and into a garden bed of their own. I will check on the Apothecary Rose (Rosa gallica) bed, which ran riot a bit this year. Almost time to gather Rose hips. And just by way of a token of memory and affection, I ordered a Rose charm for my herbalist's charm bracelet representing my gratitude for the teachings and friendship of my beloved herbal mentor, Jeanne Rose. I look forward to adding this to my very personal jewelry that is a kind of "scrapbook" of my herbal journey that I can wear. The Goldenseal patch is growing well and will soon get a blanket of leaves for her winter's rest.
The Botany of Desire is one of my all-time favorite books and I've read it many times. The first time I read it a chord of truth resonated within me. For several decades it was my practice to lead wild plant walks all around my community and in nearby states. Once a year I offered an invitation-only field to table wild foods luncheon. All of these were by way of sharing my passion for the wild foods and medicines, not as resources to be used but as co-creators of the place and time we share and the interspecies dance of life. When COVID hit in 2020 so many things were disrupted, including my wild herb walks and talks, and writing (herbally) replaced those. I haven't returned to those activities but I might spend some time journaling and meditating on that during the Libra season. What form does my relationship with the plants and my fellow humans take now? How can I bring grace, beauty, and health to my community now in a way that serves life? 💚
Leenie, you're an inspiration! I admire the way you search out the resources you need, especially people and books. For me, both are teachers and I can mark chapters of my life by people and books who appeared just when I nearly ready to turn the page and helped me learn the lessons I needed.
It's also lovely that you've been in a place where you have time and energy to share what you know, as a teacher and guide. And now in your Substack and book--I'll be eager to see how you pull all this together, as I'm sure you will.
I just finished my final line editing of the manuscript and honestly, my brain is mush and I just want to have a good cry and soak in a hot, scented, herbal bath. Reading this lifted my spirits. Thank you for the encouragement! After some rest I know I will be ready to carry on. 💚
Lindy, welcome! So glad to have you in our community. To find that post, go to my home page https://susanwittigalbert.substack.com/ Use the top menu bar to find Growing Green and you'll see all the posts in that section. Plenty more to browse, too.
I celebrated Mabon by switching to my oracle deck for that cycle. And am leaning into the colors orange and yellow (mums, tiny pumpkin, crystals). I love this time of year. It's not quite time for fresh cider.... but close! I'm off to open the workbook.
Jude, thanks for reminding us that incorporating the quarters and cross-quarters enriches our understanding of the wheel of the year. I love orange/yellow/red, too--miss those wonderful maples you have, but am looking forward to the Virginia creeper on the oak outside my window. She'll soon be the most wonderful russet red.
Susan, there is so much good information in this Libra Growing Green post! Thank you, thank you! I am in agreement with it at every turn! My Monday is quite full of must do chores, but I am looking forward to opening the work book later today.
On a side note, everything that is said towards the last of the post about there being more to plants than is generally thought of, or spoke of, rings very true to me. When one can observe an area undisturbed by man or one of nature's fits of upheaval, even an untrained eye like mine will see the 'choosing' of certain locations by various plants. Initially one may think it is just the best soil and light for that type of plant to thrive in, but over time other things reveal themselves. The insects and critters and other plants and fungi that it seems to 'want' to be near. As much as I appreciate what we know of eco-systems, this is something more which relatively few humans seem to have glimpsed. Luckily, though who knows if it is in time to save these treasures, with todays technology people are documenting and sharing what they do observe. I am glad to see that.
Sandy, I love your insights about plants choosing place, not only for practical, observable reasons. I have a number of plants that have made themselves at home near me and it is not at all the "correct" environment according to the textbook definitition. Moisture and cool, rich soil loving plants like Stinging Nettles and Violets showed up on our high and dry, rocky ridge (We live on Stoney Mountain and it is aptly named!) and have flourished. Of course, I welcomed them enthusiastically and feed them with my finest compost, suggesting the shadiest spots I could create for them under a big Maple (for the Stinging Nettles) and in the Elecampane patch (for the Violets). Mind you, I didn't physically plant either of these, just welcomed and appreciated them when they showed up, inviting the "Grandmothers" of each tribe to bring her children and grandchildren, making sure I allowed them plenty of room. There are lots of logical reasons for their presence, like me carrying the seeds back to my home on the soles of my feet and shoes when I'm rambling through many different habitats. But I don't need logic to understand that I am being honored to be asked to share a home with these wonderful green beings. Lots of other stories like these with plants like Yarrow, Chickweed, and more. So much abundance and opportunity to relate to the good, green Earth. 🍀💚
Had to smile at this, Sandy and Leenie. Morning and evening, I hang and then take down the bird feeders (deer raid them, if I don't). Under one of the feeders was a young mystery plant. I watched it daily, wondering--then when it put out its bloom stalks I realized it was a goldenrod. I've written about them and have casually known many out in the pastures and along the lane, but I'd never become acquainted with one up close and personal. A very different experience. 🙂
Nice to hear about your plant visitors Leenie! 🙂 Though you may live on a stoney mountain that would seem a less likely site for certain plants, your spot may benefit from ages old earth that has not been disturbed by bull dozers and the like. A little crevice in a rocky wall can be a welcome nest for a seed or two. As to how seeds/plants show up seemingly out of the blue, I know birds have a good deal to do with that. Whether on their feathers or in their droppings. This is also the way seeds hitch rides with deer and the like. I have an acre of field that regularly provides me with plants that have some times come from great distances. A favorite is this giant yellow scabiosa or pin cushion plant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalaria_gigantea
Unlike our usual purple pin cushion plants, this relative grows up to 5 ft. or more and is a wild looking fellow! But the flowers are very long stemmed and perfect for bouquets. They are long lasting and the bees love them, too! As long as one has a place for this plant to take up space, it is a keeper! Perfect for a natural garden with native plants. Love thinking about where it truly came from.
Sandy, most of the scabiosas have traditionally been used to treat scabies--an itching condition. Since you have one (the plant, not the itch) you might be interested in this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10180103/ The research is over my head but the abstract tells the basic story.
Well! Isn't that all very interesting!!! Thank you so much for the link. (The whole site is a keeper!) I bet Leenie is eating this up like candy! 🙂 I might look into how to use scabiosa as an insecticidal spray!
Sandy, thank you. If you have suggestions for the workbook, please do share.
There is so much interesting research these days into plants within their ecological communities--and an increasing awareness of how much damage humans have caused to the long-stable plant communities. I agree that the research and the new practices offer hope. I recently found this, for instance https://www.kosu.org/2024-09-23/prairie-strips-soil-water-wildlife. Just hope it's not too little, too late.
Thank you for the link to that very encouraging story! I will be passing it on. May be tomorrow before I get back to the work book. But I am still looking forward to it…. with visions of native plants being encouraged!
Such a life affirming post! I can feel the lush wholesomeness of the Libra garden between the lines of your descriptions. My hope is that our country and culture will begin to harmonize this season in the zodiac sign of Libra ♎. Libra on the rise!
Thank you, Kate. This archetypes of the zodiac give us so much to work with, whatever materials we choose to work with. But for us, now, at this crucial time in the planet's history, the environment (plants, gardens, wildscapes) is something we can all agree is important. Hope that's not too abstract. I'm feeling my way through new territory here.
Your post today is wonderful! I'm amazed and delighted to see you lean towards your "Ruby" side of mystery and knowing, drawing from the older traditions to inspire and—possibly anchor us in these critical times.
I've been eagerly awaiting this and preparing by reading Alice Bell's Libra report and checking in with Maria Luz's astro page. I'm getting ready to dig into my final (!) line editing of my manuscript and start formatting it for self-publishing, which is a huge, ambitious undertaking for me. I've already printed out both the Growing Green with the Zodiac and the workbook for Libra so I plan to read them during my breaks and in the evening. Oh, I can hardly wait!!!🍀💚
I'm still debating about the art inclusion in the story. My original manuscript has lots of herb journal pages and I guess I thought that would be something I would be working out with a publisher eventually. Instead I am opting to self-publish. My protagonist (Tommie) has a side-kick/apprentice (Nell) who is always doodling in her herb jounrals and she's the artist of the pair. I toy with the idea of a companion book of Nell's Herb Diaries. But I would still love to have some herb journal illustrations, recipes, and such in the herbal mystery. I guess what I am waiting to find out is how everything looks once I finish formatting. That is the work I am focused on right now so maybe I will have clearer answers after learning this new skill. 🤞🏼💚♎
You mentioned Michael Pollan’s book The Botany of Desire in your column today. I also would recommend to you and others The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger. The discoveries being made about plants by scientists these days are mind-boggling. As one description states: “In recent years, scientists have learned about their ability to communicate, recognize their kin and behave socially, hear sounds, morph their bodies to blend into their surroundings, store useful memories that inform their life cycle, and trick animals into behaving to their benefit, to name just a few remarkable talents.”
Carol, I love that book! I read The Light Eaters last month and my brain is still processing it. Currently, I am listening to The Overstory by Richard Powers and the awe and wonder of the Plant Kingdom continues.
Thanks, Carol. I agree, wonderful book, especially for the skillful way Schlanger traces the paradigm shift. I said: "Satisfy Virgo’s yen for outstanding science reporting. Read The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth, by Zoë Schlanger. You’ll be amazed. I was." https://susanwittigalbert.substack.com/p/growing-green-with-the-zodiac
But it certainly wouldn't have hurt to list it again. And the book is worth another careful re-read!
I finally had time to read this post this morning with a cuppa and my knitting! I am enjoying this series very much and feel it deserves the time for a "proper" read and not a skim. Thank you Susan, it was so interesting especially about the medical uses of Thyme, Rosehips, Cranberry and Goldenseal.
I've been interested in how well the traditional medical uses of these plants align with the modern research, Lynn--and how the ancients learned to use them. Turns out that other primates self-medicate using plants, so perhaps we learned from our animal relatives? Thank you for spending some serious reading time with this post. There's a lot here to explore, and we're still just skimming the surface.
I enjoyed this new writing assignment... Growing Green with the Zodiac. I have been a fan of this type of gardening for years. Thank you for bringing me back to a favorite form of gardening.
Sharon Roloff
Sometimes our practices need a reboot, don't they? And when we come back to something we've earlier enjoyed and learned from, we return with a store of experience and connections that help us see that practice differently. Happens to me, anyway. 💚
I look forward to these monthly Growing Green with the Zodiac posts more than any other on Substack. I wanted to dig in yesterday all day but kept myself on-task with my writing goals and rose extra early this morning just to have time for this newsletter. Naturally, you did not disappoint.👏🏼Without even realizing the significance, I kicked off Libra season with a visit to my favorite local herb growers in preparation for the indoor gardening season and the primary herb I went for was....drumroll, please...Thyme! I got six new varieites and each has a unique scent and taste. I'm super excited to experiment with them all. I love Thyme in the kitchen and my favorite sore throat remedy is Thyme Honey.
M. Grieve (Hilda Leyel) is one of my all-time favorite herbalists and I still go to my collection of her books for reference on one thing or another practically daily. So thorough and so enlightening. I even have a couple of extra special first editions I treasure.
The Astroseek Gardening Moon Calendars are wonderful. I've printed both September and October. My plan is to move some of my generously growing and flowering Passionflowers to an arbor and along a fence, and move some Mugwort away from a fence line and into a garden bed of their own. I will check on the Apothecary Rose (Rosa gallica) bed, which ran riot a bit this year. Almost time to gather Rose hips. And just by way of a token of memory and affection, I ordered a Rose charm for my herbalist's charm bracelet representing my gratitude for the teachings and friendship of my beloved herbal mentor, Jeanne Rose. I look forward to adding this to my very personal jewelry that is a kind of "scrapbook" of my herbal journey that I can wear. The Goldenseal patch is growing well and will soon get a blanket of leaves for her winter's rest.
The Botany of Desire is one of my all-time favorite books and I've read it many times. The first time I read it a chord of truth resonated within me. For several decades it was my practice to lead wild plant walks all around my community and in nearby states. Once a year I offered an invitation-only field to table wild foods luncheon. All of these were by way of sharing my passion for the wild foods and medicines, not as resources to be used but as co-creators of the place and time we share and the interspecies dance of life. When COVID hit in 2020 so many things were disrupted, including my wild herb walks and talks, and writing (herbally) replaced those. I haven't returned to those activities but I might spend some time journaling and meditating on that during the Libra season. What form does my relationship with the plants and my fellow humans take now? How can I bring grace, beauty, and health to my community now in a way that serves life? 💚
Leenie, you're an inspiration! I admire the way you search out the resources you need, especially people and books. For me, both are teachers and I can mark chapters of my life by people and books who appeared just when I nearly ready to turn the page and helped me learn the lessons I needed.
It's also lovely that you've been in a place where you have time and energy to share what you know, as a teacher and guide. And now in your Substack and book--I'll be eager to see how you pull all this together, as I'm sure you will.
I just finished my final line editing of the manuscript and honestly, my brain is mush and I just want to have a good cry and soak in a hot, scented, herbal bath. Reading this lifted my spirits. Thank you for the encouragement! After some rest I know I will be ready to carry on. 💚
Hi Susan, I just upgraded to a paid subscription. I would like to read the first in the Libra series but am unable to find it. Thank you.
Lindy, welcome! So glad to have you in our community. To find that post, go to my home page https://susanwittigalbert.substack.com/ Use the top menu bar to find Growing Green and you'll see all the posts in that section. Plenty more to browse, too.
I celebrated Mabon by switching to my oracle deck for that cycle. And am leaning into the colors orange and yellow (mums, tiny pumpkin, crystals). I love this time of year. It's not quite time for fresh cider.... but close! I'm off to open the workbook.
Jude, thanks for reminding us that incorporating the quarters and cross-quarters enriches our understanding of the wheel of the year. I love orange/yellow/red, too--miss those wonderful maples you have, but am looking forward to the Virginia creeper on the oak outside my window. She'll soon be the most wonderful russet red.
Susan, there is so much good information in this Libra Growing Green post! Thank you, thank you! I am in agreement with it at every turn! My Monday is quite full of must do chores, but I am looking forward to opening the work book later today.
On a side note, everything that is said towards the last of the post about there being more to plants than is generally thought of, or spoke of, rings very true to me. When one can observe an area undisturbed by man or one of nature's fits of upheaval, even an untrained eye like mine will see the 'choosing' of certain locations by various plants. Initially one may think it is just the best soil and light for that type of plant to thrive in, but over time other things reveal themselves. The insects and critters and other plants and fungi that it seems to 'want' to be near. As much as I appreciate what we know of eco-systems, this is something more which relatively few humans seem to have glimpsed. Luckily, though who knows if it is in time to save these treasures, with todays technology people are documenting and sharing what they do observe. I am glad to see that.
Sandy, I love your insights about plants choosing place, not only for practical, observable reasons. I have a number of plants that have made themselves at home near me and it is not at all the "correct" environment according to the textbook definitition. Moisture and cool, rich soil loving plants like Stinging Nettles and Violets showed up on our high and dry, rocky ridge (We live on Stoney Mountain and it is aptly named!) and have flourished. Of course, I welcomed them enthusiastically and feed them with my finest compost, suggesting the shadiest spots I could create for them under a big Maple (for the Stinging Nettles) and in the Elecampane patch (for the Violets). Mind you, I didn't physically plant either of these, just welcomed and appreciated them when they showed up, inviting the "Grandmothers" of each tribe to bring her children and grandchildren, making sure I allowed them plenty of room. There are lots of logical reasons for their presence, like me carrying the seeds back to my home on the soles of my feet and shoes when I'm rambling through many different habitats. But I don't need logic to understand that I am being honored to be asked to share a home with these wonderful green beings. Lots of other stories like these with plants like Yarrow, Chickweed, and more. So much abundance and opportunity to relate to the good, green Earth. 🍀💚
Had to smile at this, Sandy and Leenie. Morning and evening, I hang and then take down the bird feeders (deer raid them, if I don't). Under one of the feeders was a young mystery plant. I watched it daily, wondering--then when it put out its bloom stalks I realized it was a goldenrod. I've written about them and have casually known many out in the pastures and along the lane, but I'd never become acquainted with one up close and personal. A very different experience. 🙂
Nice to hear about your plant visitors Leenie! 🙂 Though you may live on a stoney mountain that would seem a less likely site for certain plants, your spot may benefit from ages old earth that has not been disturbed by bull dozers and the like. A little crevice in a rocky wall can be a welcome nest for a seed or two. As to how seeds/plants show up seemingly out of the blue, I know birds have a good deal to do with that. Whether on their feathers or in their droppings. This is also the way seeds hitch rides with deer and the like. I have an acre of field that regularly provides me with plants that have some times come from great distances. A favorite is this giant yellow scabiosa or pin cushion plant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalaria_gigantea
Unlike our usual purple pin cushion plants, this relative grows up to 5 ft. or more and is a wild looking fellow! But the flowers are very long stemmed and perfect for bouquets. They are long lasting and the bees love them, too! As long as one has a place for this plant to take up space, it is a keeper! Perfect for a natural garden with native plants. Love thinking about where it truly came from.
Sandy, most of the scabiosas have traditionally been used to treat scabies--an itching condition. Since you have one (the plant, not the itch) you might be interested in this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10180103/ The research is over my head but the abstract tells the basic story.
Susan and Leenie, thought you both might enjoy this audio (with transcript that I hope Susan will like) on the importance of silence. It takes about 12 minutes. I found it very worthwhile. https://open.substack.com/pub/fearlessgreen/p/forests-cant-survive-without-silence?r=2l04ge&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Well! Isn't that all very interesting!!! Thank you so much for the link. (The whole site is a keeper!) I bet Leenie is eating this up like candy! 🙂 I might look into how to use scabiosa as an insecticidal spray!
Sandy, thank you. If you have suggestions for the workbook, please do share.
There is so much interesting research these days into plants within their ecological communities--and an increasing awareness of how much damage humans have caused to the long-stable plant communities. I agree that the research and the new practices offer hope. I recently found this, for instance https://www.kosu.org/2024-09-23/prairie-strips-soil-water-wildlife. Just hope it's not too little, too late.
Thank you for the link to that very encouraging story! I will be passing it on. May be tomorrow before I get back to the work book. But I am still looking forward to it…. with visions of native plants being encouraged!
Such a life affirming post! I can feel the lush wholesomeness of the Libra garden between the lines of your descriptions. My hope is that our country and culture will begin to harmonize this season in the zodiac sign of Libra ♎. Libra on the rise!
Thank you, Kate. This archetypes of the zodiac give us so much to work with, whatever materials we choose to work with. But for us, now, at this crucial time in the planet's history, the environment (plants, gardens, wildscapes) is something we can all agree is important. Hope that's not too abstract. I'm feeling my way through new territory here.
Your post today is wonderful! I'm amazed and delighted to see you lean towards your "Ruby" side of mystery and knowing, drawing from the older traditions to inspire and—possibly anchor us in these critical times.
Oh, I love this description, Kate! Inspiring and anchoring us are maybe the twin forces that Libra offers and invites us to balance. 💚♎
I've been eagerly awaiting this and preparing by reading Alice Bell's Libra report and checking in with Maria Luz's astro page. I'm getting ready to dig into my final (!) line editing of my manuscript and start formatting it for self-publishing, which is a huge, ambitious undertaking for me. I've already printed out both the Growing Green with the Zodiac and the workbook for Libra so I plan to read them during my breaks and in the evening. Oh, I can hardly wait!!!🍀💚
MS prep is a huge job, yes! Will you be including your art? How much of it are you carrying over from your Substack? Tell us more!
Glad the Libra material engages you! (I'm a little behind on my replies and I owe you one on another topic. I took yesterday off (mostly 😋).
I'm still debating about the art inclusion in the story. My original manuscript has lots of herb journal pages and I guess I thought that would be something I would be working out with a publisher eventually. Instead I am opting to self-publish. My protagonist (Tommie) has a side-kick/apprentice (Nell) who is always doodling in her herb jounrals and she's the artist of the pair. I toy with the idea of a companion book of Nell's Herb Diaries. But I would still love to have some herb journal illustrations, recipes, and such in the herbal mystery. I guess what I am waiting to find out is how everything looks once I finish formatting. That is the work I am focused on right now so maybe I will have clearer answers after learning this new skill. 🤞🏼💚♎
You mentioned Michael Pollan’s book The Botany of Desire in your column today. I also would recommend to you and others The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger. The discoveries being made about plants by scientists these days are mind-boggling. As one description states: “In recent years, scientists have learned about their ability to communicate, recognize their kin and behave socially, hear sounds, morph their bodies to blend into their surroundings, store useful memories that inform their life cycle, and trick animals into behaving to their benefit, to name just a few remarkable talents.”
Carol, I love that book! I read The Light Eaters last month and my brain is still processing it. Currently, I am listening to The Overstory by Richard Powers and the awe and wonder of the Plant Kingdom continues.
Oh, yes, Overstory! It's on my list for both Capricorn and Scorpio. And have meant to write a review of it.
I’m curious about your thoughts on the pacing in The Overstory.
Thanks, Carol. I agree, wonderful book, especially for the skillful way Schlanger traces the paradigm shift. I said: "Satisfy Virgo’s yen for outstanding science reporting. Read The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth, by Zoë Schlanger. You’ll be amazed. I was." https://susanwittigalbert.substack.com/p/growing-green-with-the-zodiac
But it certainly wouldn't have hurt to list it again. And the book is worth another careful re-read!