Spring is unfolding just as she always does despite the prolonged period of drought this past year. Most people probably have noticed the abundant yellow and purple wildflowers poking up on every hillside. Along with the Lupines, Mustard and Broom we can see the lovely cream colored blossoms of the Elder bush. An extraordinary plant that has a long history of medicinal use in Europe and the United States. Unfortuantely, here in the U.S. so much of our traditional and folk herbal wisdom has been lost. We are only recently rediscovereing the powerful medicinal qualities of plants like Elder.
Many people I know use Elder, especially in the winter time when colds and flus are most prevelant. Many people probably do not know that the product they are buying off the shelf at the natural food store called Sambucus is ELDER. A beautiful and prolific shrub that grows abundantly right in our backyard or at least nearby. Making Elderberry syrup at home is very easy.
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Plants are not humans, but they are no less sentient and complex beings for their differences from us. While not human or even animals, they are people in the sense that they are intelligent, adaptable, vibrantly living and deeply feeling. In our attempts to relate to them, we would be wise to acknowledge and respect their profound otherness....each species has its own special gifts to contribute (checkout: The medicine of All Things) to the whole. We honor those gifts by noticing and appreciating the ways in which we are different as well as the similarities. -Kiva Rose
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Elder has become one of my most beloved plant allies. My relationship with Elder began to grow as my need to connect more deeply with nature became of primary importance in my life. Plants and people have been intimately connected since the dawn of human kind. Humans have relied on plants for food and medicine, for fiber and shelter and a whole host of other uses. All medicinal plants have physical constituents, chemicals that create an effect whether it is to boost immunity, balance the nervous system or help release a flu pathogen. Plants also have a much more subtle effect on us. Some herbal preparations like flower essences and essential oils connect us to the plants on this more subtle level, but even just taking notice or sitting with a plant can bring about similar feelings and effect.
Elder can help us connect with our ancestral heritage, enhancing our ability to honor our elders and teachers and the importance of mentoring relationships. An important part of reconnecting to nature, to our community and ourselves is understanding and connecting to the practices and skills of our ancestors. I am not just talking about our personal ancestors, but those from a myriad of tradtions that make up our human past. There is so much benefit from looking at how humans lived for millions of years. It is humbling to recongize how short a period of time that we have become so disconnected from our natural surroundings, so astranged from the place in which we live, and so out of touch with the daily rythms of nature.
WE ARE NATURE, an integral part of it anyway and so this disconnection is not only a loss of understanding and connection to the plants and animals, the cycles of the seasons, but to ourselves!! Have you ever wondered why you feel so good when you are in nature? It is like a homecoming when we immerse ourselves in nature's green embrace.
The Santa Monica Mountains are bursting with Elder flowers. Although, I am still in Northern California until August, I was just recently in Topanga for a visit and enjoyed spending an afternoon visiting many old Elder friends and filling a grocery bag full of blossoms. They are very easy to harvest and dry. Once dry, you can store the blossoms in a jar until you need them.
I highly encourage you to look in your own yards, Elder is everywhere! Be sure to take your friends and family for a hike in search of this glorious plant. My kids love helping pick elder flowers and later in the year Elderberries. When they are coming down with a cold or flu they never refuse a warm cup of Elder tea or a teaspoon of Elderberry syrup. They now have a deep connection to this wonderful plant friend.
Elder has many edible, practical and medicinal uses. If you would like to learn more about Elder you can follow this link: Elder, a plant profile.
This is the first of many plant pages that I will be adding to the website.
Happy Spring from the Redwoods,
Stacey
Fieldbrook, CA
Many people I know use Elder, especially in the winter time when colds and flus are most prevelant. Many people probably do not know that the product they are buying off the shelf at the natural food store called Sambucus is ELDER. A beautiful and prolific shrub that grows abundantly right in our backyard or at least nearby. Making Elderberry syrup at home is very easy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Plants are not humans, but they are no less sentient and complex beings for their differences from us. While not human or even animals, they are people in the sense that they are intelligent, adaptable, vibrantly living and deeply feeling. In our attempts to relate to them, we would be wise to acknowledge and respect their profound otherness....each species has its own special gifts to contribute (checkout: The medicine of All Things) to the whole. We honor those gifts by noticing and appreciating the ways in which we are different as well as the similarities. -Kiva Rose
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elder has become one of my most beloved plant allies. My relationship with Elder began to grow as my need to connect more deeply with nature became of primary importance in my life. Plants and people have been intimately connected since the dawn of human kind. Humans have relied on plants for food and medicine, for fiber and shelter and a whole host of other uses. All medicinal plants have physical constituents, chemicals that create an effect whether it is to boost immunity, balance the nervous system or help release a flu pathogen. Plants also have a much more subtle effect on us. Some herbal preparations like flower essences and essential oils connect us to the plants on this more subtle level, but even just taking notice or sitting with a plant can bring about similar feelings and effect.
Elder can help us connect with our ancestral heritage, enhancing our ability to honor our elders and teachers and the importance of mentoring relationships. An important part of reconnecting to nature, to our community and ourselves is understanding and connecting to the practices and skills of our ancestors. I am not just talking about our personal ancestors, but those from a myriad of tradtions that make up our human past. There is so much benefit from looking at how humans lived for millions of years. It is humbling to recongize how short a period of time that we have become so disconnected from our natural surroundings, so astranged from the place in which we live, and so out of touch with the daily rythms of nature.
WE ARE NATURE, an integral part of it anyway and so this disconnection is not only a loss of understanding and connection to the plants and animals, the cycles of the seasons, but to ourselves!! Have you ever wondered why you feel so good when you are in nature? It is like a homecoming when we immerse ourselves in nature's green embrace.
The Santa Monica Mountains are bursting with Elder flowers. Although, I am still in Northern California until August, I was just recently in Topanga for a visit and enjoyed spending an afternoon visiting many old Elder friends and filling a grocery bag full of blossoms. They are very easy to harvest and dry. Once dry, you can store the blossoms in a jar until you need them.
I highly encourage you to look in your own yards, Elder is everywhere! Be sure to take your friends and family for a hike in search of this glorious plant. My kids love helping pick elder flowers and later in the year Elderberries. When they are coming down with a cold or flu they never refuse a warm cup of Elder tea or a teaspoon of Elderberry syrup. They now have a deep connection to this wonderful plant friend.
Elder has many edible, practical and medicinal uses. If you would like to learn more about Elder you can follow this link: Elder, a plant profile.
This is the first of many plant pages that I will be adding to the website.
Happy Spring from the Redwoods,
Stacey
Fieldbrook, CA
CAUTION: Picking any plant in California State Parks is prohibited. There are lots of trails were you can find Elder off State Park land. Also, do not pick off the side of a busy road. The fumes from the cars do get absorbed by the plants.
Always make sure that your properly identify a plant before picking it by asking someone who knows or keying it out with a field guide.
Always make sure that your properly identify a plant before picking it by asking someone who knows or keying it out with a field guide.
Simple acts of gathering & using our native plants have a profound effect on our
feelings of connection.
feelings of connection.
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