Renaissance Of Herbs

A place to learn about herbs, plants, and all things in nature.

[renaissanceofherbs]

Birds on my grandmother's back porch

Circa 2018

[jankey606]

mushroom appreciation post

[plantanarchy]

Showy Milkweed in bloom! Asclepias speciosa. This guy technically isn't native here, but the monarchs don't know the difference. It spreads less aggressively and as the name suggests is a little showier than common milkweed (though I have that as well)

[mothyandthesquid]

“Great Tits!”, inspired by the Great Tit, a small insectivorous bird with a black and white head, blue wings and tail, olive green upper body and yellow underparts.

[frommylimitedtravels]

Along the way

[renaissanceofherbs]

One of my favorite places.

[renaissanceofherbs]

Today has been an artistic day.

[renaissanceofherbs]

An introduction:

Hi my name is Sam. My knowledge of herbs, gardening, plants, ect has been cultivated over my lifetime. Growing up my family relied on herbal remedies over medicine, I spent hours upon hours in the garden and greenhouse with my mother and grandmother.

I hope to spread my knowledge not only to my own children but to anyone who would like to know about them.

In addition to my knowledge that is universal, I am also what some people call a green witch. I am a Pagan who believes in the powerful properties of plants and herbs in spirituality. So you many see a bit of that mixed in also.

[renaissanceofherbs]

Playing around with jaguar

[renaissanceofherbs]

What do you wish you knew about herbs?

How to Grow and Care for them

What practical uses they have

Medicinal Uses

History

Magickal Uses

Other

Voting ended onJun 23, 2023

[renaissanceofherbs]

The upper pond at Tishamingo State Park in Mississippi. It was peaceful and gorgeous. We watched the fish, bugs and lizard.

[renaissanceofherbs]

I had a butterfly land on my hand and stay there while I examined it.

Small beautiful moments.

No picture because I didn't want to spoil it.

[renaissanceofherbs]

My peace. The rain pattering on the Elephant Ears, dribbling into the fish pond. Humidity making the air thick with the sound of thunder in the distance. I never knew there could be such peace on my back porch.

[allthingssoulful-garden]

Red & yellow alpine strawberries.

[plantanarchy]

I love you disaster pollinator bed.... this bed has three species of milkweed, fennel, dill, wild yarrow, and mountain mint which have all intermingled and spread nicely. Plus a lonely liatris cultivar which I may move because it is far too civilized and doesn't compete well. The swamp milkweed suffered this year because of the dry spring but the showy and common milkweed and yarrow and mountain mint are huge and thriving. All about to bloom.

Milkweeds are host plants for monarchs, dill and fennel for swallowtails, and yarrow provides a long-blooming nectar source.

[renaissanceofherbs]

Pollinator gardens are so important. And this here is proof your garden doesn't have to be perfectly manicured to be beautiful.

[petitworld]

Mt. Rainier Skyline Trail & Lakes Trail by Liddy_L

[renaissanceofherbs]

My home. I miss this beauty. I will go back and revisit the mountain, even if everything else there is not worth the time.

[renaissanceofherbs]

The process of drying herbs for storage.

Fair warning I need to get used to documenting what I am working on. I will try to do better.

Pictures 1 and 2 are my sage and catnip. I have a small herb garden I have started cultivating for cooking and making medicine. I recently moved from Washington State to Mississippi, therefore I am restarting all of my gardens as well as learning the new climate.

Picture 3 is how I clean my herbs before drying. I simply soak them in water as I harvest to remove any bugs or dirt/debris on them. I do not use chemicals, so they do not need to be washed thoroughly.

Pictures 4-11 are the plants in my drying rack and their progress over three days. This is also a learning process in my new environment as Mississippi is much more humid than I am used to. I don't believe this is causing any issues but I am making sure to check for mold and fungus growth daily.

The pictured herbs I am currently drying are basil, sage, catnip, lemon mint, and fennel. I have a small garden, which is more of a learning experience than anything. I am seeing how these herbs dry in the climate, and whether they will be quality once dried, and I also have a new system of storage which I will be testing.

My process step by step: 1. Grow herbs 2. Harvest the desired amount, sustainably so as to not kill the plant. 3. Rinse in water 4. Lay flat and spaced apart on the drying rack, in a warm, dry, dark location. 5. Check back daily to make sure everything is progressing satisfactorily.

Once the herbs are dried I will document the further processing I am doing.

Any questions?

[allthingssoulful-garden]

An entire miniature world growing in this old tree stump.