Use what you have, love the one you're with, blah, blah, blah.

It's cold. And my plants aren't moving very fast. I'm antsy and want to enjoy and harvest and eat and tend! Wow, says Mother Nature, that's really want-y. You might want to slow down and leash up your expectations a bit. 

So here is what is available to me right now. Just Stinging Nettle tops.... barely enough for a cuppa. But so beautiful! And her stings are so subtle at this stage or maybe I'm just that primed.
Do I need to sing the praises of stinging nettles? Country folk can't believe I even touch them but they are good food, especially early in the spring. They are called for if you have systemic arthritic or inflammatory diseases (Hi, John H.). They really help the build-up in the joints that happens... now herbs aren't magic bullets, are they? They are not super charged, lab-generated gel caps. You have to invest, ingest, think health and be your own health. It isn't always anything. But it is all you. It's also all not you- it's not in your control, really. I believe in practice, like yoga, where you visualize your health and well-being. 
But also, when you're thinking of having a baby (Hi, Cass! Hi, Sam!), this high amount of iron, selenium, Vitamin K is perfect for the uterus. It isn't raspberry leaf (a prime uterine tonic that works LIKE A CHARM- drink your infusion please preg ladies!)- but remember all those stories of rupture and bleeding after birth and trauma to baby and vitamin K shot? I do. In Greer's birth, I drank large amounts of nettle infusion and it helped me not get anemic (a big issue with Myrna's birth) and I turned down the vitamin K shot because her levels were wonderful. As well, large amounts of vitamin c which help with the absorption of iron. 
Miss Cass asked last year how to identify nettles for sure: the serrated leaves, opposite position (one on each side, instead of alternate) of the leaves and the sting. They are easily wildcrafted in Shawnee Mission Park, along hte streamways trail. I spend years in KC, using this in the spring to get my nettles. Look for partially shaded, moist areas. You might find a perfect morel as well!  
If wildcrafting them isn't available to you, go to a bulk herb store. Call Whole Foods and see if they have cut nettle leaf. I know they have it at Phoenix Herb Co on Boradway, near the Plaza. Work on making a nice, rich infusion. Make a quart. Drink it in 3-4 days. Keep refrigerated! 
Here is what Dr.Christopher's website says: It is a slow-acting nutritive herb that gently cleanses the body of metabolic wastes.  It is one of the safest alteratives, especially in the treatment of chronic disorders that require long-term treatment.  It has a gentle, stimulating effect on the lymphatic system, enhancing the excretion of wastes through the kidneys.  


I'm going on the radio this weekend (About the House with Jeremy Taylor) to talk about the opening of the Lawrence Farmer's Market- oh yay! I'm also talking about planting blooming trees- picking the right one, the ones blooming now, care and feeding. Join me on KLWN at 10:00 to talk with Jeremy Taylor, of course, but also John Pendleton! 

So expect an apprentice update- her name is Sarah, she told me I could share it. :) I think I'll show her a friendly, sticky, clingy friend this week. You never know where your ally will show up....

go get it- landscaping! apprentice! nettles! daffodils!

I got to be in the local paper this week. It's the Go-Getter section- Try Landscaping. It's a very basic, to be sure, but HEY! I run my mouth all the time. This just warns the beginning homeowner to research their tree planting carefully, re-mulch to give a fresh perspective or look....
Seriously wish they would have used a real picture, not a shutterstock photo. The paper is really cutting its budget.... this is getting ridiculous. Opinions are like a$$holes- everyone has got one!

If you have questions about your landscape, I specialize in herbal, medicinal plants (obviously) and native/ xeric gardens that embrace your existing garden culture, as well as garden consulting.


Onto other topics: yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting with a friend who is going to be "apprenticing" with me. I'm not averse to leadership but I put quotes around apprentice because I feel like she and I are contemporaries and, while I'm teaching her, I still consider us on equal footing. Apprentice? Well, ok.
We spent some time working on what we wanted to teach/ learn about.... she walked around my messy and organic garden space, looking at all the new medicinal beauties popping up. The echinacea is popping its burgundy shoots out of the ground, the yarrow is pushing forth frothy tendrils, the bronze fennel has brown fuzzy cattails and the comfrey has ears of yellow green right now! The clary sage says loudly, "I DIDN'T GO DORMANT. OMG, I'M RIGHT HERE!". As well, the never-dying rosemary is a broad evergreen shrub! I have to say I'm excited. Oh, and the calendula? Greening up from the roots. :) Happy smile....(properly, I believe calendula is perennial but doesn't survive hot summers well.)

She and I planted Feverfew (looks like a cross between chamomile and daisy), Holy Basil (Tulsi) and some creeping thyme for strictly garden (not medicinal)  purposes. She is keeping hers indoors to sprout, while I'm letting my germinate outside in the cold! The basil won't move for awhile but the other two will be just fine.
As well, this gave me the opportunity to get out my beloved herbal books and assign some reading! I love my books dearly and firmly give away those I don't love. I have my dad's collection, which I find invaluable as well! Next week, I'm taking her, her two kids (4 and 6), my two girls and myself to wildcraft nettles. Folk herbalism at its finest, right there. Can't wait to have some fresh nettles- infusion for me! That bright sharp green with the gentle taste..... Here is a picture from last year:

Urtica dioica: great for kidney, liver, bile function. Arthritis, Vitamin K, potassium.

A cold spring but verdant!

Easter is this weekend: while I'm don't celebrate Easter as such, I do present it for the holiday it is. It is meant to celebrate rebirth of the son, the sun, the land, the green.... there is a facebook picture going around showing Ishtar and correcting their perception of an Easter that celebrates only the Christian holiday. I appreciate this but it's also, in its own way, incorrect. Easter is, in northern European countries, based on Oestara. Oestara is alternately the goddess figure of spring and the pagan/ Wiccan/ proto-Christian celebration of spring itself. Usually it is on the Vernal Equinox (last week of course) because the date was based on a celestial occurrence that could be noted from year to year. I celebrate the equinox with Easter baskets, decorated eggs, lots of yummy food and too much frenzied gardening! Don't you??
According to Karen Pendleton, down the road of all the asparagus fame, we are at least two weeks behind growing schedule! I bought and am installing floating row covers for my vegetable patch. I grow in raised beds and large trees encroaching on my space. So we push it. And I especially love early season cold/ cole crops. This means I grow lots of lettuce, spinach, arugula, and kale. I'm finally to the point where I think my soil is friable (loose, rich) enough to grow carrots. My kids are absolutely in love with snow peas and sugar snaps so I've added lots of those in their honor!

from michaelweishan.com

Floating row covers are invaluable around here. Many people use them to keep pests out, as they are permeable, allowing air and water to move through. But I'm using them to get the soil warmed up sooner. Since I'm putting them on seeds that have yet to germinate, I'm laying it directly on soil. I'll suspend them a bit when the seedlings emerge.

Herb Update:
This season, I'm growing calendula again. Many of my supposedly annual calendula is still alive and green. Well. Huh. I'm planting more since my calendula oil was such a success last year. Golden yellow/orange and vibrant. I didn't dry my blooms, even though reputable sources say "dry the blooms completely!" (Mountain Rose Herbs blog). Other reputable sources (Susun Weed) simply say, eh, dry 'em a bit. I did that. I let them sit for 6-8 hours. It's oil.... nothing to be taken internally.
I have a HUGE amount of medicinal yarrow this year. As in- want a transplant?? Give me a holler, hit me up. I'll say yes. It's a lot. I've got it in front in multiple places and a large amount in a vegetable bed that must be transplanted soon!
I'm sowing St. John's Wort seeds this next week with a new helper of mine. She is a mom of two and on her own journey- and she'd like to learn about herbs. So I'm getting her to come explore with me: we are going to plant StJW, wildcraft nettles in a few weeks, transplant echinacea and yarrow. She's going to start learning about infusions, decoctions, infused oils and tinctures (vinegar, alcohol, glycerine). Doesn't that sound fun? Really- this is giving lots of discipline to personally "get it together". Organize my herbal bookshelves, make up a syllabus and ways to present the information effectively. I'm a natural teacher but an employed landscape designer, so this is wonderful for me!
On another note: here is the powerpoint from the presentation I did at the Flower, Lawn and Garden show in KC last week. Use it as a guide to basic landscape design- within your theme or not! Please feel free to contact me if you have landscape/ design questions! Listen to me live this Saturday on Jeremy Taylor's "About the House" radio show, AM 1320.

Insulin, carbs, my drama!

The theme for this month, Miss March, is cleaning up my act. My dad would like it- I've started doing headstands, early in the morning! He did yoga basically every single day. He'd sit zazen (Zen Buddhist meditation) and do forward bends, plow, push ups and head stands. He also jogged, ten minutes or so, no big deal.
I'm also on a nutrition journey that is very interesting. My dude and I are off simple carbs- still eating fruits and a few complex carbs here and there (oats, quinoa), definitely starchy vegetables. But I feel very different already. Enjoying kale smoothies with a bit of fruit and yogurt too. Lots of fat, protein, vegetables..... Don't get me wrong, I'm not into deprivation or being hungry. I'm just working to rearrange the cravings and hungry. The science behind this goes a little something like this:
Eat carbohydrates, sugar (even fruit) and your body produces insulin. Insulin is a fat storage hormone. It tells your organs (liver especially) to hold onto the fat, don't use it! Bodily organs, like the thryroid, get very tired from all that insulin. Sometimes, when there isn't enough protein in your blood, your adrenals will start to produce cortisol. You know that shaky energy? That fight or flight energy? That's cortisol. You shouldn't be existing on cortisol. Adrenal exhaustion... the stories I could tell. At one point, my cortisol production was so totally off that I was spiking cortisol at midnight (right when baby would wake to feed). I was screwed up- I went back to my meditation practice and began taking a supplement call Phosphytidyl Serine for a short time. I'd take it at 8:00 pm and it would limit my cortisol production during sleep time. It was a perfect, "get me through a hard patch" helper.
Anyway,when get your body off the insulin train, eat vegetable and protein, your body produces glucagon instead of insulin. This is a fat burning hormone. It tells your liver: Hey, eat up all that fat in there and get the fat in the blood stream utilized! STAT! We want a glucagon ratio that is HIGHER than insulin. Clearly. Natural food and eating in a natural pattern will do that.

So, it looks like I'm eating Paleo. Shrug, grimace, yuck. I really have resisted fads or what I perceive to be fad diets because I am not a joiner. I don't like dietary changes that are based on perception  (vs. science) and that might actually be veiled "thinspiration". I've been continually grossed about by the Paleo crowd because I think they seem like zealots who want to be thin but cloak it with nutrition. I also really dislike diets that replace real food with bars and pretend food made with a wrapper. But, I'm trying this because there is physical science telling me how my body is becoming estrogen-dominant (thus putting on subtle amounts of fat on the thighs, hips area). Estrogen dominance is a pre-cursor to estrogen triggered cancers, Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic syndromes of the Typical American Diet (TAD).

That said- I'm not judging you for eating all that carb loaded goodness. (What's up last night's dinner: spanikopita and MAC N CHEESE. *sigh)  It's been hard and isn't over yet- getting over that emotional hurdle of expecting breakfast to include breads. But it can and is really, really good. And I've not lost any weight, with all my exercise, so I can assure you that I'm not doing this to be something other than what I am (well more muscle is in my plans, MORE MUSCLE!). So if your body still works great, SALUT! Mine just stopped feeling and looking so great. And I have to part with pizza, traditional pizza, for awhile. As I said someplace else, the idea is to reset the receptors in my body (in all of those organs- THYROID) and let them get back to good shape. Then, it's like being a kid again. I eat a lot of good for me stuff, indulge some, feel a bit yummy then yucky, then make better choices. And not suffer a bunch of consequences. THIS is why "kids can eat anything". Well, no they can't. But they are fresher and younger- don't do them a disservice and teach them only to eat the shitty stuff. That's your Type 2 diabetic youngster right there. What we all need to do is remove weight and fat from the judgmental analysis- make it about nutrition. Everything else will follow- some people are little, some big, fat is beautiful. Type 2 diabetes is painful and sick. Sick isn't anyone's goal. Right? So let's allow ourselves beer and bread and then have a hangover and eat our vegetables and move around and feel good. Right?

On another note- I'm presenting at the Kansas City Lawn and Garden show!  I'm giving people some tips on thematic gardens- like Japanese, xeric, meadow, woodland, etc. It's both didactic and supportive! A gentle reminder to remember to do what you do well and leave the rest to professionals. Hope to see some of you there!

Cowgirl Up: triglycerides, heart disease, stroke

How I learned to Cowgirl Up-

or Quit Yer Bitchin' and Eat Somethin' Bitter.

A friend mentioned to another friend that I might be a resource about high triglycerides. I want to emphasize, as I do often, that the resources, information and reminders I offer are informational. I believe that every person is their own best healer, when/ if they tune in to that voice inside. By giving resources and my experience, I hope I'm putting people on their own paths to healing. As always- high triglycerides is a medically diagnosed condition. I have not the training nor schooling to provide that diagnosis. Here is what I (and you) have: herbs, plants, energy, experience, smarts, intuition.

What's up with the title? Well, I don't want to be an asshole, really. But I also want folks who are in need of healing to quit looking for the easy way out. Not you specifically, but me. I look for the easy way out- don't we all?. But I'm working on it- I really am! That's all I'm asking you to do. Put in at least 50% of the energy required for a solution- you will be surprised!

So what are high triglycerides? Triglycerides are a kind of fat found in your blood- used by your body for energy. If you have high triglycerides, you are at higher risk for heart disease. Possible causes: obesity, poorly controlled diabetes (type 1 or 2??), under-active thyroid, kidney disease, too much processed food, too much alcohol.

A quick list of ways to help with any and all of the above possible causes: fish oil, adrenal and liver support (see burdock, dandelion, etc), dandelion to help kidneys, and exercise.

I buy mine from Vitacost!

These are oversimplified but a place to start. Let's look at supplements frequently recommended for heart, blood and cholesterol help. Fish oil is the first step in any healthy journey going to your heart. The typical western diet is sorely lacking amazing Omega-3 and fish oil specifically. You, yes all of YOU, need to take 2,000 mg of high quality Omega-3 fish oil a day. Eat more cold water fish, but still take fish oil. It helps with SAD, depression, hang overs, generally slow moving blood (which is the pre-cursor to heart disease). It works.






Another key part of your body that aids in the digestion of fatty foods is your liver. Well, really it's your gall bladder that produces bile which allows your liver to process out fat. One way to assist a stressed out system is to take dandelion tincture or enjoy any bitter food you can stomach. It is most bitter and yet totally easy on your body (not like some drastic liver cleanse). The typical american/ western diet doesn't include bitter foods, sorely necessary for your liver and gall bladder. So with the addition of dandelion (tincture is my favorite form- 1-2 droppersful a day, in water if you want to), I would recommend burdock (vinegar is my favorite here) as an addition to your diet. Again, bitters that stimulate liver and gall bladder function. Add burdock vinegar to soups, salads or drink it in hot water in a tiny espresso cup (this would be like medicine. Eating it like food is much more fun!). [Please do not complain about your health, learn that you need to ingest bitter foods to help your stressed organs, then act like I've given you the most horrendous news you could ever get. Really. You are not 4 years old- cowgirl up America!]

One supplement- which means it is made in a lab and comes in a pill- that people take for high triglycerides is Red Yeast Rice. Very effective. A lot of info online. My mom had high blood pressure and high triglycerides (hereditary for us) and controls it with RYR and niacin daily. As for niacin, I have collected a couple resources listed below. Links about triglycerides (mentioning niacin): http://www.livestrong.com/article/404462-do-statins-lower-triglycerides/
Niacin info here too.
Red Yeast Rice info.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself if you have high triglycerides:
Am I exercising? Am I choosing homemade food over processed, purchased food? Am I eating enough greens? Am I walking, everyday? Am I exploring bitter foods?

2013 Revolution

I have to say that I am most surprised to have found a new plant ally. She's sitting pretty up above in the blog; she helped me stay on track and centered during the Yule, Christmas, New Year's Eve express train to overkill! She is dandelion. I cannot wait to eat some of those spring greens. But I've been taking the bitter tincture at most meals. I dug it this fall with my Myrna fairy to help (a day off from school). I tinctured it in 100 proof vodka. It helps my stomach and digestion and really aids in generally feeling good. My skin is pretty good- my liver feels pretty damn good and I'm craving and eating good, healthful foods. Good on me! I've been experimenting with other bitters- like ones that are bitter but a bit more friendly. One on its way is a ginger, orange peel, fennel, dandelion bitter! I predict less medicine- more yum factor.

xoxox
Laurel

New items: web links

I've been wanting to do this for awhile; weblinks to useful, helpful online sites and aritcles. I'm always running into article or info that I want to share directly, not reinterpreted by me into a blog post, but send you directly to the article.

Here are some from today:
Plant totems

Good article on Yarrow for kids- no tinctures, just a fever tea! 


Also- I've just completed the best Boo Boo salve around! (I know- lots of people make salve. I'm not judging, just giving myself a cheerleader rah-rah!). It includes infused calendula oil- handmade from my own calendula (organic from seed to flower). Infused comfrey oil- from Hal's famous stock of comfrey that grows all over our property. Infused rosemary oil- a unique oil that is often overlooked, made from my own home grown plant stock as well. St. John's wort oil- commercially made, organic. Olive oil, almond oil and coconut oil and local, lovingly gathered beeswax (from Richard Bean's bees). Minimal essential oil: clove and rosemary.
What sets this salve apart? Local wax from a local producer. Locally grown and hand gathered herbs. Rosemary oil- it's powerful and overlooked. Coconut oil- I cannot get over the anti-bacterial qualities of this oil that is GREAT FOR KIDS! Minimal essential oils. This is controversial but my opinion from my research and experience is that essential oils are really powerful and best used in very small doses. I have used a few drops, as listed above. But these are to ameliorate the stinky comfrey oil- ha ha!

Pictures to come....

Fall roots and shoots- burdock and dandelion

Disclaimer: Do not pick any plant that you cannot identify 100%. Ask an herbalist to help you. Never pick or dig any shoot or root that might have been sprayed with chemicals. Be careful where you dig roots, since roots can absorb any chemicals near the ground (like lead paint, motor oil or the like).

Sorry for the huge space between posts- it seems that I get caught up in online discussions of herbs/ herbal uses/ advice and then feel like I've expressed all that I wanted to say on a topic. However- this is what I've been cooking up, herbally speaking:

It's Burdock root time! I love cool fall because it's really time to dig roots. I get the yen to have burdock at the most awkward times of year- early spring (don't dig roots at this time), late summer (really don't dig roots now). Then- poof, it's Samhain and it's chilly and I take a break and find burdock. Or rather burdock finds me. Burdock is one of those allies of mine that my dad had no experience or calling towards. He knew about it but only ever offered it to anyone in pill form (nonononono). I asked about it, told him about my research and he found some (without me: I was in college and 23 or something). He made a tincture and I took it with me to Europe. My skin magically cleared up- burdock? or non-processed food? Or adventure?
When I found burdock for myself, I was in my '20s and living in semi-rural WyCo. It appeared in some fields around me and my dad identified it with me. I then found it in my trusty Susun Weed library and was energetically magnetized!

Myrna helping with the big bucket

Aside: my relationship with my herbal allies is a casual one. Some seasons, I pay no attention.They tolerate that and my body probably suffers the loss a bit. But when I tune back in to my needs psychically, physically, the herbal allies pop right back to the front of my mind. This is more a reflection of my state of being, rather than the herbs "power" or something. It's just "my trip" as Hal would say. 

In the past, I have been a very steady burdock tincture advocate. It has a deep brown, nutty flavor. When it is tinctured, the root gets chopped up and soaked in 100 proof vodka, just like all my other tincture. In order to get the slow-acting benefits, it needs to be taken orally once-twice a day (droppersful) for awhile.

Our friend "Sweetie Pie" in the background

Do you see an issue? I do. I don't want to take droppersful of vodka tincture every day for 6 weeks. The alcohol really isn't good for you in the long term (not in the tender tissues of your mouth or gums or tongue). As well, in aging, I've rediscovered how much I need vitamins/ minerals and green food daily and in much larger doses than I might normally eat. Susun Weed is adamant about the nutritive aspects of burdock. In China, it's Gobo root and is eaten. It is vastly healthy and affects the lymph system and liver directly. So, I've made the change this year: burdock vinegar. I'm doing it.... this Virgo is breaking from her plodding path. Burdock vinegar is made by thoroughly soaking the dug root in water. Don't really wash it- just let all the dirt soak away. The chop it up into small pieces and fill a quart jar. When you've filled it to the brim, then pour in your apple cider vinegar. I used to use only unpasteurized vinegar with the mother still in it. Now I use the pasteurized stuff since most of the vinegar I have is used in soups and hot liquids, thus pasteurizing it!

So I went out with my older girl to dig for burdock. A chilly and cool morning is perfect for it.... Burdock grows in the least friendly places to dig, as a rule. It likes shallow, rocky areas and loves to grow in between sidewalks and a rock wall. Sheeesh. But the roots we found on this trip were pretty accessible. We found both small and extra large. It was strange! Roots as big around as my wrist with very little green material. I suspect those are 2nd year, but were mown over and unable to work up to a bloom. Burdock is a biennial and only live 2 years. So its first year is supposed to be preferable to its 2nd year. I = not too picky.

  
And then Myrna says, "Mom, let's pick dandelion." She's big into the greens, above ground. Now, not really eating it, per se. She is not a green vegetable gal. But she likes to pick stuff outside and eat it. Spring is the best time to pick dandelion greens because, in cool weather, all the energy goes to the roots, leaving the greens mild. It also means that it's a good time for dandelion root. I've been meaning to dig dandelion root for years. I love the greens and fully recognize the huge benefit the root offers. It is a kidney healer, great for liver function, the greens are HIGH in vitamin C and it all helps bile production and stomach issues (ulcers, digestive upset, etc). This fall, I've actually completed my task!

I've decided to make a tincture of this. I anticipate the usage being more critical- you've decided to take hormones and want to support your renal system and liver while you do. Take dandelion tincture as needed or daily for 2 weeks. You are working to support your gall bladder because you fear you might have to have it removed. You eat too much processed food and your gall bladder, kidneys and liver are MAD. This will help, along with fresh, unprocessed food. Dandelion is great if you are transitioning, under going a sex change or doing HRT. Men taking testosterone are seriously taxing their systems for years at a time (women taking estrogen are too. See all the hoopla about why HRT is dangerous!). While I do not think there are seriously effective ways to naturally transition from MTF or FTM, I really encourage my friends who are transitioning to take care of their organs. We don't know the long term repercussions of taking hormones. Well, we do. They aren't great. But living with body dismorphism? Total hell. So the long term stress on your liver seems pretty-damn-worth-it. To any folks who want further information about herbs and natural ways to support yourself while transitioning, private message me. I'm a proud ally to the GLBTQ community and want to lend my support where I can.

Can we talk about gall bladders for a minute? Did you know that your gall bladder produces bile, which is required by your liver for processing and straining out all of the crap in our system? (That's the liver's function, BTW; to filter) When your gall bladder ceases producing bile, you will get massive pain when you try to digest greasy, fat rich and processed foods. It is at this point that many western doctors will recommend you get gall bladder surgery. You can guess that I might suggest some other options first, to stimulate your gall bladder.
Also, if you have chronic stomach pain, indigestion and take an antacid, you need to make friends with dandelion. Please. Get off the purple pill and talk to your lawn. I'll get back to you on this one- I don't want to lecture but I do want you to consider OTHER OPTIONS beyond pills. Why are folks with indigestion always the most stubborn? Riddle me this. 

I want to keep this blog going and not exhaust myself by talking too much online. I like my blog topics and conversations which arise. However, if you have questions, please let me know! I need more interaction about what you are interested in. Facebook is perfectly fine for that too! Ask away. If it's personal, send me a message. If you want a full consultation or a weed walk, I'll charge you. Not much or we can do trade! But I can't give all my own energy away for free. I hope you understand and will give me back some of your energy. :)