Springtime Wildcrafting and Medicine Making
Today feels like a proper Spring day. The air is thick with humidity and heavy with another afternoon storm–warm rain, the kind of rain that seeps down through the moss and feeds the sprouting roots waiting eagerly to drink in nourishment like a calf suckling at its mum. It’s the kind of rain that you can walk through in a t-shirt, given you’re not blown sideways by the powerful springtime winds ushering in change and transformation.
It’s gratifying and grounding to feel the sensory aliveness of the season so tangibly in my body. The musky scent of yellow-green pollen wafting through the air, the sight of brilliant, vivid colors blooming along the country roads, the sound of rain pattering on the tin roof of my cabin, and the feeling of moist, alive soil at my bare feet reminds me of where I am in space and time. As someone who has been traversing and living in a diverse array of landscapes the past two years–from the lush mountains of North Carolina, to dry Northern California, to wet, gray, rural England, to a tropical Florida winter and now finally nestled in the rolling hills of middle Tennessee–my seasonal body clock has gotten a bit confused. But being grounded here at Gray Bear Lodge, a meditation and yoga retreat center where I’m living and working for the spring season, allows me to witness the beautiful unfurling of spring. And the taste of early spring weeds gathered from the forest and the garden here reminds me of the true essence of the season: a time of cleansing, renewal, and growth.
Early springtime blooms mirror our own blooming after a dormant winter.
Violet, cleavers, dandelion, chickweed…these are just some of the green friends that have been calling my name lately and popping up abundantly, pushing up through the rotting detritus of last season’s leaves as the tree branches above bud out with fresh growth. These springtime weeds grow plentifully in temperate climates all across the world and, though humble in their appearance, are treasure troves of medicine aptly timed for exactly what our bodies need after a long winter.
Many springtime weeds support the lymphatic system. Think of the lymphatic system as your body’s “garbage removal system,” which, when working efficiently, moves stagnant waste, fluid, and energy out of the body through the elimination channels of the skin, liver, colon, kidneys, and lungs. Unlike the circulatory system, which has our powerful heart as its pump to move blood around the body, the lymphatic system has no pump of its own and is only stimulated through movement, massage, hydration, hot/cold exposure, sweating, and herbs.
The veins of violet leaves speak to its affinity for the lymphatic system in our bodies.
Lymphatic diagram courtesy of Dynamic Lymphatics
I find it no surprise that a patch of cleavers, one of the best-known herbs for supporting the lymphatic system, has popped up next to the sauna and cold plunge down by the creek here at Gray Bear, where we can sweat out toxins by the woodstove and support our body’s innate healing potential by alternating hot and cold temperatures. Today, I’m going to harvest and steep some fresh cleavers in room temperature water overnight so that I may strain and drink this green tonic during my sauna session tomorrow! Cleavers water is just one ridiculously simple herbal recipe to take advantage of this plant’s cleansing and immune-boosting properties. It reminds me of cucumber water and tastes delicious with a squeeze of lemon, too. You can take it to the next level by blending the infused water and greens the next day and straining out the plant matter, making it more like a “cleavers cooler” juice!
CLEANSING CLEAVERS WATER
Photo courtesy of Putumayo Kitchen
Materials:
-Glass quart jar or vase
-Fresh harvested cleavers
-Cheesecloth or muslin bag (optional)
-Lemon juice (optional)
Instructions: Harvest and wash fresh cleavers. Pack into a glass quart jar or vase about 1/2-2/3 full. Pour room temperature over top, cover, and steep for 12-24 hours. Strain out the cleavers with a cheesecloth or muslin bag, add a squeeze of lemon, and enjoy! Refrigerate for 2-3 days if not planning to drink immediately.
Springtime herbs act not only on a physical level to awaken our bodies from the darkness and rest of winter, but also on an energetic and emotional level to encourage us to embrace the fertile beauty and potential of these warmer months. I can’t help but smile as I notice the vivid purple flowers of violet sprouting amongst the moss and alongside the creek here, the heart-shaped leaves bringing joy and glee to my own heart. And isn’t the happiness that floods my being medicine in itself? Violet is known for its affinity for the heart and for bringing lightness to the spirit. It’s a nutritive herb high in vitamins and minerals and also a moistening, cooling lymphatic. Both the leaves and flowers make a great tea or tincture, but I’m feeling inspired to make a flower essence to capture the spirit of the plant.
A pull from the Southern Gothic Oracle Deck that perfectly captures violet’s essence.
Flower essences may seem improbable and magical in how they “work,” as they are highly diluted infusions of the flower steeped in water and preserved with brandy, but they really do act on a spiritual and emotional level. From the Nourished Kitchen blog:
“Developed by Dr. Edward Bach, an early 20th-century homeopath, these remedies are thought to convey an uplifting energetic imprint into water. Bach believed that each flower harbored its own distinct energetic vibration and then imprinted this energy into the water. Accordingly, practitioners believe that ingesting floral essences in microdoses helps convey that vibrational energy to the people who take them.”
Specifically, the essence of violet aids in confident self-expression, opens the heart, and helps shy souls embrace and share their unique gifts with the world.
VIOLET FLOWER ESSENCE
Recipe adapted from the Nourished Kitchen.
Materials:
-1 cup spring water
-Clear glass bowl
-1 cup fresh-harvested violet flowers
-1 cup brandy
-Fine-mesh sieve
-Quart glass jar
-Dark glass tincture bottle and dropper
Instructions:
Harvest your violet flowers on a dry, sunny day and shake off any bugs or dirt. Work quickly so as to prevent wilting. As you are harvesting, focus on any intentions you wish to impart in your essence.
Pour about 1 cup of spring water into your clear glass bowl and set the violet flowers on top of the water’s surface. Sit the bowl in direct sunlight for 2-4 hours. Strain the flower essence water through your fine-mesh sieve into your quart jar, discarding the spent flowers.
Prepare your “mother essence” by pouring 1 cup of brandy into the quart jar with the flower essence water, seal, and store for up to 6 years. You will make your smaller dosing essence by further diluting this mother essence. Prepare your “dosing essence” by taking and placing 10 drops of the mother essence into your small tincture bottle. Fill the rest of the bottle with 1/2 brandy and 1/2 water.
Take a few drops of the dosing essence under your tongue as needed throughout the day or mix with your water. Top up with your mother essence when needed.
Another flower that may have caught your eye recently is the bright yellow bloom of dandelions. These hardy plants thrive in all places, especially in poor soil, and remind us that we don’t necessarily need the perfect external conditions to bloom so long as we have a resilient, sunny nature within us. Right now, there aren’t a ton of blooms around here because much of the property is shaded, so I’m gathering the flowers in stages to make a dandelion-infused oil.
I’ll harvest the flowers, fresh wilt them for a few hours–which is basically just laying out the flowers on a flat surface to let some of their moisture evaporate (and to let any bugs crawl out!)–and throw them in a jar of organic olive oil where I’ll let them steep for a month or more, trying to remember to shake the jar every day to ensure the flowers are evenly coated. When the golden oil is ready, I’ll strain out the flowers and apply the oil all over my body, especially any dry or irritated spots as dandelion flowers are full of anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidants that soothe the skin. As a lymphatic herb (are you seeing a theme here?), dandelion oil is also perfect for breast massage as it helps eliminate toxins that may accumulate in the lymph nodes of these fatty tissues.
Spreading out dandelion flowers to wilt for a few hours before dropping them into my oil.
DANDELION INFUSED OIL
Photo courtesy of Simply Beyond Herbs.
Materials:
-Clean, dry glass jar (sterilize with boiling water and dry to kill off any bacteria)
-Fresh-harvested dandelion flowers
-Organic olive oil
-Cheesecloth or muslin bag
Instructions:
Harvest your dandelion flowers on a dry, sunny day. Spread them out flat on a tabletop or mesh screen to fresh wilt for a few hours. Place flowers in your sterilized glass jar and pour over organic olive oil, letting the oil sit 1-2 inches above the flowers. Place the jar out of direct sunlight and shake every day for 2-4 weeks.
Especially in the first week, regularly open up the jar to ensure the oil is completely covering the flowers (pour in more if you need to) and ensure that there’s no mold growing. If you see mold growing, please discard your oil. Fresh wilting the flowers before steeping, keeping the jar in a dark place, and shaking every day will prevent mold growth.
After 2-4 weeks, strain the oil into another sterilized glass jar using a cheesecloth or muslin bag and compost the spent flowers. Keep your oil out of direct sunlight and use within 6 months.
Actually, all parts of the dandelion are edible and medicinal. The young leaves are a gentle diuretic and their bitter flavor stimulates digestion and supports the liver. I enjoy steaming the leaves with other garden or wild greens, like chickweed, and drizzling with olive oil and apple cider vinegar to unlock and maximize the minerals that are best extracted and absorbed by the body with the aid of healthy fats and acid. Chickweed is a common garden weed that’s a powerhouse of nutrients and offers digestive, kidney, and lung support.
STEAMED WILD GREENS
Materials:
-Stainless steel pot or pan with lid
-Fresh harvested wild greens: dandelion leaves, chickweed, nettles, and/or violet leaves…
-Water
-Olive oil
-Apple cider vinegar
Instructions: Harvest and wash your wild greens. Place in a pot or pan with a bit of water and cover with lid. Steam on low heat for 6-8 minutes. Drain off water and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and splash of apple cider vinegar. Reserve the cooking water for stock or drink as a tea!
By As a disclaimer, before you go out and start consuming wild plants, be sure of your identification. Reference books, botanical drawings, or go wildcrafting with a knowledgeable friend. Only harvest plants where they grow abundantly, making sure to leave plenty to sustain all the other beings and enough that will reproduce for next year. Always give gratitude and appreciation for the medicine. It’s vital to approach these plants with a framework of reciprocity as opposed to consumption solely for personal benefit. Additionally, never harvest from roadsides or other places of suspected pollution. If you live in a city where it’s hard to come by clean environments, I encourage you to still connect with these plants in meditation, or by picking them for your altar. You could purchase organic teas or tinctures of these herbs and imbibe them while sitting with the physical plant. You might be surprised at what comes through!
All of the plants I’ve talked about today are extremely safe and gentle enough for daily consumption, though of course, speak with your medical practitioner if you have any concerns before use. Consuming local, wild plants aids us in this time of seasonal transition and helps bring our bodies into alignment with nature, and increasing the diversity of foods in our diet benefits us on so many levels, down to all the microscopic bacteria living in our gut that influence everything from our mood to our immunity! I hope these recipes are simple enough to inspire herbal medicine-making adventures… do share if you have any experience with or stories of your favorite springtime plant allies!
By Bailey McNeill