“Not knowing as a place of ease”

With Isla Burgess, Viriditas Herbal Resources and Publishing.

I am reminding myself of this daily as my ‘safe havenising’ continues; for me this is week four. There is chaos, complexity and entropy manifesting globally.

I am making the most of the extra time I find I have, to gather, prepare, preserve, pickle and freeze both plants for medicine as well as food. The garden here, (for those who have read my regular blogs in the past and have continued as my life got busier and blog writing irregular), is now incredibly productive. I see the idea of what I wanted to co-create starting to evolve. There are more than 150 medicinal plants growing here now, planted, native and newly naturalised. Fruit and nut trees, and a myriad of food plants are now well established. Just in time I feel for this extraordinary challenge ahead.

Rosehips

The ‘Traditions, Art and Science of Herbal Medicine’ courses I offer here at ‘Viriditas’ and the retreat in March, do have as a focus knowing what plants grow around us, knowing what healing they offer and how best to access that healing. This the plants offer, for the exchange of mutual respect and due consideration to their long-term survival. That is I think, how the land here, in the wilds of Central Otago attracts so many course participants.

During my time here I have written ‘The Biophilic Garden. Connecting People, Plants and Inscape’ and last year ‘A Women’s Health and Wellbeing Kete A DIY Guide’. The latter with Mary Allen, Herbalist, Photographer and great Editor. They are both available from my website. www.isla.burgess.com Books

I have been thinking about how to be more pro-active in this time when we are shielding ourselves from an invisible kind of life form that needs living cells to survive.

This year’s peppers

I have written the following for anyone who might just find it useful. It is available using the following link;

Staying Well in a Changing World

Isla Burgess, Viriditas Centre for Herbal Resources and Viriditas Publishing.

https://islaburgess.com/international-college-of-herbal-medicine-resources/

Stay well.