Newsletter Signup »
HERBSTALK
  • Home
  • Mission + Values
  • Event Info
  • About
  • Press
    • Kind Words
  • Blog
  • Community Partners
  • Contact

Resilience and Beauty in Unexpected Places

2/23/2016

 
by Patrice Green

This is a different kind of blog post than my usual entry, but this topic has so fired my imagination that I had to write about it.  There is current speculation that the annual spring bloom in Death Valley this year has the potential to become a “superbloom.”  Yes, flowers do bloom in the desert, but superblooms are rare occurrences, perhaps happening once in a decade. During a superbloom the seeds that have lain dormant, sometimes for many years, have the perfect conditions and bloom simultaneously and for an extended period of time, with the plants often getting quite large.  For a superbloom to occur, there needs to be enough sunlight and warmth, the absence of drying winds, and enough rainfall spaced at regular intervals throughout the winter and spring.  El Nino conditions are required to keep the plants growing.  There is a terrific article on the subject here.

As an herbalist I’m constantly amazed by the power, resilience and beauty of the plants we work and live with on a regular basis.  As a flower essence practitioner, I know that plants will communicate with those willing to receive their messages and teachings.  These teachings are different than the lessons learned when taking a tea or a tincture.  I often liken it to a different facet of the plant’s personality.  Herbs taken internally will work on your physical body as much as your emotions.  Flower essences, however, well - those teachings in my experience are much deeper, going directly into the psyche and spirit.  Flower essences work energetically and do so quite quickly, generally speaking. So, given that background, you surely can see where I’m going with this. 
Picture
Photo credit: Wikipedia
The temperatures in Death Valley drop below 100 in mid October until rising again to triple digits in the middle of April. The temperature range this past several days has been as low as 42 in the mountains and as high as 86 at Furnace Creek. This is considered chilly winter weather here in the hottest spot on the planet. The record temperature at Furnace Creek was 134°F on July 10, 1913.  January 8th of that same year the temperature was recorded at 15 degrees. That’s quite a spread in seven months. Imagine some version of that being repeated for many, many years until finally the perfect conditions for transformation arrive, allowing the dormant seeds to crack, sprout and seemingly suddenly appear in full bloom.

What do these specific plant spirits have to teach us mere mortals? What does it take to survive, and ultimately thrive in that environment? What knowledge is gained from living in such adverse conditions?  After a superbloom the seeds of the plants return to their dormant state and await the next perfect storm to bloom again. What lessons lie within that time frame?  What inspiration and lessons are here for those of us dealing with a challenging cycle of life experiences?

Even the most seemingly fragile creatures have hidden resources that allow them to survive and even thrive in harsh environments. 

It is illegal to harvest plants in Death Valley because it would disrupt the re-seeding process, however flower essences are often made without harm to the plant, so it is possible to make essences from superbloom plants.  You may not see me for a while, as I might need to take a trip out west.  I hear our desert friends calling to me!...

Picture
Patrice Green is an Herbal Educator, Certified Aromatherapist, Energy Medicine and Reiki Practitioner and founder of Green Aromatics. She is also the Assistant Director at the Boston School of Herbal Studies. She received her herbal training at the Boston School of Herbal Studies, and shamanic training from Isa Gucciardi, Ph. D. at the Sacred Stream in Berkley, CA. Inspired by time spent among the coastal Redwoods of Muir Woods and its beach, Green Aromatics strives to imbue its products and services with the same resilience, joy and equanimity of these majestic beings. Patrice may be reached through the Green Aromatics website.

Seeds

4/14/2015

 
by Jenny Hauf

My hands, each of its creases and wrinkles illustrated in fine germination mix, hold the tiny promises. We cradle hundreds of them in our palms, keep thousands in vest pockets. Tenderly, carefully, we lay down the thick stubs of echinacea, the slivers of arnica, and the many shades of mad dog skullcap brown. Like all promises, not all of the potential within this myriad of seeds will be realized. However, I sow them and dream of the future that I’ll give to those that sprout.

In this season of spring, as buds are slowly bulging and I am shown my first blooming snowdrops, the birds are singing again. My day is filled with the sweetness of sounds and discoveries which, like some favorite words, I always forget until they sneak up on me and thrill me with their textures, their singular tones, the richness of their meanings.
Picture

Read More

    Archives

    October 2021
    July 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Angelica
    Anxiety
    Aromatherapy
    Artichoke
    Autumn
    Ayni Institute
    Ayurveda
    Bath Salts
    Becoming An Herbalist
    Beltane
    Bitters
    Black Cohosh
    Blue Vervain
    Botanical Crafts
    Botanical Dyeing
    Cacao
    Calendula
    Cancer
    Canine Nutrition
    Cannabis
    Chaga
    Chamomile
    Chickweed
    Chinese Medicine
    Cleavers
    Climate Change
    Community
    Connection
    Cultivating
    Curandismo
    Dandelion
    Deserts
    Digestion
    Doshas
    Earth Healing
    Ecological Herbalism
    Eco-printing
    Educational Gardens
    Elder
    Eleuthero
    Elixirs
    Energetics
    Essential Oils
    Ethnobotany
    Events
    Evergreens
    Fall
    Farming
    Flax
    Flower Essences
    Folk Traditions
    Food Plants
    Free Clinics
    Fungi
    Gardening
    General
    Gentian
    Ghost Pipe
    Gifts
    Goldenrod
    Groundwork Somerville
    Growing Herbs
    Guide To Herbstalk
    Hawthorn
    Healer's Path
    Herbal Education
    Herbal Energetics
    Herbalism
    Herbal Marketplace
    Herbal Oils
    Herbal Salves
    Herbs For Pets
    Herbs Of The Enneagram
    Hibiscus
    History Of Herbstalk
    Holidays
    Holy Basil
    Honey
    Imbolc
    Immunity
    Interviews
    Lammas
    Liver
    Living With An Herbalist
    Local Classes
    Local Plants
    Lyme
    Marshmallow
    Meadowsweet
    Medicinal Mushrooms
    Medicinal Uses
    Meet The Herbalist
    Meet The Herb Farm
    Menstruation
    Milky Oats
    Mimosa
    Mint
    Motherwort
    Mugwort
    Mullein
    Mutual Aid
    Natural Dyeing
    Nettles
    New England
    Nourishing Herbs
    Oat
    Passionflower
    Permaculture
    Phytochemistry
    Pink Lady Slipper
    Plant ID
    Plant-of-the-year
    Plant Profile
    Podcast
    Poisonous Plants
    Psychological First Aid
    Queen Anne's Lace
    Recipes
    Reciprocity
    Reishi
    Rhodiola
    Rose
    Rosemary
    Russian Herbalism
    Samhain
    Schisandra
    Seasonal Cycles
    Seasons
    Seeds
    Shen Tonics
    Skullcap
    Snow
    Social Justice
    Spring
    St. John's Wort
    Summer
    Survival Herbs
    Tea Blends
    Tincturing
    Tonics
    Traditional Chinese Medicine
    Trauma
    Travel
    Tree Medicine
    Tulsi
    Urban Gardening
    Urtication
    Vata
    Vervain
    Violet
    Water Hemlock
    Wheel Of The Year
    Wildcrafting
    Wild Edibles
    Winter
    Wintergreen
    Yarrow
    Yule

    RSS Feed

Copyright © Herbstalk 2021