The Magic of a flower medicine garden
& THE HEALING POWER AND BENEFITS OF GARDENING
According to many scientific studies and reputable sources, including the Mayo Clinic and Harvard University, gardening offers a wide range of physical and mental health benefits. These include:
Boosts the mood
Improved strength and dexterity
Increased Vitamin D from exposure to sunlight
Better sleep
Healthier weight
Improved memory and cognitive function
Reduced stress and feelings of calm
More social interaction and better human connections
A feeling of purpose and empowerment
Helps to manage anxiety
Better ability to ward off diseases
Lower risk of osteoporosis
Eating healthier
Longer life span 1.
I have always enjoyed walking in my garden or nature. I feel uplifted, stillness better circulation and calmness of breath. l have always been fascinated with flowers, shrubs and trees. My father loved native plants and he brilliantly tended to these and it was like magic how he brought all the birds and bees with him. I spent my childhood tuning into nature watching my grandfather routinely tend his veggie patch and grow roses, hydranges and orchids. As soon I could travel I visited Asia, Africa and Central America and learnt about local foods and herbs which were used medicinally in local regions. I was greatly influenced by foods and traditional local plant treatments from Indonesia and India and discovered Ayurveda.
Back in Australia the more time I spent out in my own garden which the more I discovered how remarkable the plant medicine was. Our old dairy house is surrounded by 3 acres and there is 7 acres under Biodynamic gardening. I started by own flower essence business a in 2018. I loved working with flowers so much and feeling more better and balanced in myself that we now have 150 bottled flower essences from our own property. They address the emotions in a gentle and efficient way if matched to the right flower/person. I liken it to finding the right key to a locked door and the right flower can clear a stuck emotion(s) very efficiently.
Flax flower. Traditionally a native to New Zealand. It has significant cultural and healing benefits to the Maori people.
Some plants have multiple uses. The roots, stems, leaves and flower have all got different healing properties for medicine, culinary uses or highly nutritious. Plants like Kunzea, Acacia, Mint, Comfrey, Aloe Vera, Olive and Roses I have used over and over for many different ailments. Some soothe the heart, others repair, soothe the body, mind and calm the nervous system. They can be made into poultices, teas, salads, essences, bath soak, placed on the skin, boiled or made into hydrosols (sprays). Flower baths are a wonderful way to relax and unwind especially mixed with Lavender, Daisy, and camomile.
Being on a farm I had to come to terms with weed control and the thorny plants such as Bull thistle, Globe thistle, Blackberry, Capeweed. We also grew Purslane, Wild bush tomatoes, Dandelion, Speedwell, Sow thistle, Onion weed. Now some of these are my favourite flower essences, teas or salad additions.
The idea of helping build a medicine garden was from my passion of plants and a feeling that there is a sacred connection that we can all tap into from the smallest herb to the tallest eucalyptus tree. I would enjoy visiting friends and telling them what trees and plants were useful for them in their gardens. A recent friend just bought a home with an established garden of tall trees and some fruit trees. She dearly wanted to add more medicinal plants and colourful flowers and I told her these can be one the same and we started looking at a specific list of plants that would suit her soil, rockery garden spaces and the amount of sunlight these plants would receive.
Ayurveda (which means science of life) is an ancient lore of nature teaches you live in tune with nature. In many Ayurvedic treatments the unwell person sits in front of the flowering/plant to receive healing energy. This treatment has been used for hundreds of years.
Nature is vitally alive if we can allow ourself to sense it presence give more attention to nature, heal you and to awaken and deepen our connectedness to our own nature. Now its time to bring back this wisdom and healing back into our backyards.
Ref: gardendesign.com ‘How to design a wellness garden’.
https://www.gardendesign.com/landscape-design/wellness-garden.html
