Celebrating milestone with nature’s beauty

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Renee Lindstrom • Posted in Back Yard Salad, Uncategorized • Tagged Back Yard Salad, Barren Strawberry, Bay laurel, Bittercress, Butterbur, Creeping Jenny, Dandelion, Dock, Edible Weeds, Flowers, Forget Me Nots, Free Food Resources, Free Food Source, Garden, Gardening, Harvesting for health, Healing Gardens, Healing Teas, Health, Healthy Living, Hollyhock, Lifestyle, Live a Beautiful Life, Malva, nature, Oxalis, Planting Seeds, Plants, Purple Dead Nettle, Relationships with Nature, Wellness

by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP

celebration

Edible Celebration

This is the time of year to have a birthday! Imagine the edible bounty that is on display almost moment by moment as it emerges! To celebrate with a good friend the morning began with foraging out in the yard.

Garnish

The edible garnish you see are pansy, cherry blossoms forget me nots on the celebratory dessert. On the plate the edible garnish you see fresh native current (of the Pacific Northwest), wild English daisy, dandelion, rosemary, butterbur, polyanthus, forsythia and oxalis flowers, wild garlic chives, and columbine leaves. The hard boiled egg was dyed with scotch broom flowers the evening before.

Salad

The salad the ingredients was what was available that morning. We had overwintered veggies; red lettuce, small kale and Swiss chard leaves, hairy bitter cress, purple dead nettle, dandelion, malva, yellow dock and herb Robert leaves (weeds), rosemary, mint and oregano leaves, angelica and fennel, chives and the leaves from the flowers; creeping jenny, oxalis, barren strawberries, butterbur, hollyhock, forget me nots.

Soup

Began with a beef broth and miso. The ingredients added came from the yard. These included overwintered leeks, kale and Swiss chard together with a few herbs, rosemary and oregano. Sprinkled on top – rosemary flowers.

Tea

Tea was a wonderful infusion of bay laurel leaves!

Keeping it simple, for me, heightens the flavours of all the ingredients and there isn’t the heaviness of eating afterwards, only a sense of full filled that lasts through out the day! That means no snacking!!!!

I heard back that this was the best birthday lunch ever!

Traditional uses and properties of herbs are for educational purposes only. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Every attempt has been made for accuracy, but none is guaranteed. Any serious health concerns or if you are pregnant, you should always check with your health care practitioner before self-administering herbs.

Can you make tea from your herb n’ flowers you use in your infused baths?

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Renee Lindstrom • Posted in Healing Gardens, Uncategorized • Tagged Flowers, Garden, Gardening, Harvesting for health, Healing Baths, Healing Gardens, Healing Teas, Health, Healthy Living, Lifestyle, nature, Planting Seeds, Plants, Relationships with Nature, Wellness

by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP

Herbs, Flowers ‘n Roots

As part of the infusing process for a soothing and healing bathing experience I have begun to make tea from the same herbs, flowers and roots as those I use. I find the experience of drinking the tea as I draw a bath full-filling. It is satisfying to be treating the outside as great as the inside! For a few moments in my week I am connecting to a fuller awareness of the inside-outside connections.

The herbs, flowers and roots used in this early spring tea and infusion were; feverfew, mullein, butterfly vine, calendula, peony and Nootka rose flowers, mullein, feverfew, celery leaves, spruce needles, and mullein root. I choose these plants as they are beginning to come to life in our garden and indoors as they sprout from seed.

Become aware of the relationship to what foods & medicinal’s you invite into your experience, inside and outside, for radiant health. Developing one’s connection to the plants, herbs and trees through gardening, eating and harvesting them increases the body’s alignment to their qualities, whether eating or making healing products (tinctures, oils, teas, and poultice’s) with them. If you plant seeds, do what the aboriginal gardeners and seed collectors of Southern Countries still do today, soak the seeds in your mouth a moment before planting! Now that is an intentional connection!!!!

March 18th & Already a Back Yard Salad

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Renee Lindstrom • Posted in Back Yard Salad • Tagged Back Yard Salad, Flowers, Garden, Gardening, Health, Healthy Living, Lifestyle, March Garden Salads, nature, Plants, Salad

by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP

In Mid-March buds, leaves and flowers began emerging on the plants in our community. On March 17th some back yard weeds and flowers were added to the salad and by March 18th it was a “back yard salad!” During the fall and winter you forget the taste of all the fresh differences in using many leaves, herbs and flowers. There was only one dandelion flower to pick among many weeks bursting through.

Back Yard Salad

pickings for Back Yard Salad

On March 19th there was a realization that a forager could begin eating fresh backyard veggies, weeds and flowers for the next few seasons! As the season age the contents of the backyard salad would change as flowers, weeds and veggies come and go! In the picture above on the 20th ingredients where picked between clients to sit in water until later break! You can see more was added overnight.

Along with the 30 day Turmeric and Black Pepper Challenge, another one has been made. The challenge is to continue into Spring and Summer eating only back yard and foraged veggies, leaves, weeds, roots and flowers! Today will be Day 2!

Read growing list of what’s growing in the backyard!

North American Wildflower: Firecracker (Lysimachia ciliata)

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Renee Lindstrom • Posted in North American Firecracker • Tagged Elements, Flower Language, Flowers, Hummingbirds, Mineral Language Elements Language Plant Relationships Nature as Nurturer Floriography, Minerals, North American Firecracker, North American Wildflower, Perfect garden plant, Plants

North American Wildflower – Firecracker

Symbolizes the elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Water

Nurtures: Bees, Butterfly’s, Hummingbirds, and Humans (Visual pleasure and grounding influence)

Represents: heart & earth

Perfect garden plant for grounding and connecting heart to earth that expands empathy and compassion.

One could say this wildflower represents being drawn into one’s felt sensations while experiencing a growing connection to nature that increases being presence (being present in the moment).

Yellow blossoms, Burgundy leaves and stems – Leave & Stems are a balance of wood & fire that creates earth, the flower. Represents growth of grounded heart – empathy & compassion.
Petaled Flowers – yellow flowers on burgundy is a contrast and standing out from the rest is a surprising way.