HERBACEOUS ALMANAC ~ JULY 2024
Australia and New Zealand Herbal Marketplace
SPOTLIGHT:
I was born into a bathtub at home and raised on beautiful Gundungurra land in the Blue Mountains. My family ran a permaculture education garden and an organic nursery that sold all kinds of medicinal herbs and veggie seedlings. There were many people, from all walks of life, who would come through to visit or stay with us, as my parents were linked in with the front lines of many different actions to protect the Earth.
I think of that chapter of my childhood and my imagination comes alive. Climbing trees, playing in the ponds, going for long adventures in the bush, building cubbies out of sticks and fern fronds, waterfalls, moss, caves, bower bird nests, sitting around the sacred fire with family and elders, picking flowers, eating fruits from the orchard and picking veggies from the gardens, running around naked, feeling free and held by the land...this place was a haven for many.
From those roots, I continue to grow. I’ve been immensely grateful to have the experience of an intimate relationship with land, as well as the friendship and guidance of Indigenous elders of that land. All of this has shaped me. I am also grateful for the growth that came with the challenges of community living. As I cultivate my own dreams and intentions, I feel equipped with experience and perspective.
Sadly my Dad had to sell the property just before I finished my final year at Blue Mountains Steiner primary school. I can honestly say that I’ve created a little garden haven in every place I’ve lived ever since.
In recent years I have contemplated what belonging is, and have felt a deep need to lean into my connection with land, plants, waters, animals, insects, trees, soil, my ancestral relations and the ancestors of the lands where I live. I feel into what is beyond the modern dominant culture that is so human centric and sick with the conditioning of individualism. I yearn to be able to lean into love and connection that is unconditional, and easefully reciprocal with human kin too. I’m committed to listening for what is to be remembered and brought to life in the expressions of my soul.
Through land based practices, beautiful rituals, art, sharing food, herbal medicines, weaving, natural dyeing, play, intuitive mothering, honouring grief and longing, waking up the wild within. Freeing myself from the colonial, capitalist systems that perpetuate the illusion that we are separate. I feel nourished by the connection to my lineages and the lands that my ancestors belonged to and tended for generations. I haven’t had the opportunity to get to know my relationship or responsibilities with these places, yet I honour the wisdom that was dreamed into my bloodlines from so called Australia, Ireland, Scotland and Lebanon.
Our small but lush suburban garden here in Bundjulung Country/ Murwillumbah has been enriched with organic homemade compost since we began renting here a few years ago. It has a thriving little ecosystem that welcomes many different creatures. We have always planted organic or heirloom seeds/seedlings and yield well cared for, healthy, high quality plants. My now three year old daughter and I have a lot of fun caring for our plant family that surrounds our house, and I’m so honoured to be able to share what we’ve made in collaboration.
Plants and their many ways of communicating have always been woven into my daily life. Continuously integrating teachings from countless people who have paved the way, informs the way that I work. Listening, reciprocity, holistic healing, intention and reverence are all practiced in the ways that I collaborate with plants, and I believe this is felt in the medicine.
I make a range of spagyric tinctures in small batches, from the herbs in our garden. The herbs are extracted into premium vodka that is made with pure spring water, triple distilled and charcoal filtered.
The spagyric process involves dehydrating the herbs left over from the liquid extraction, burning them down to a fine ash in a clay crucible, grinding the ash in mortar and pestle and filtering the water soluble mineral salts to combine them back into the tincture. The alchemical preparation of the herbs amplifies the potency of the plant’s medicine by incorporating the chemical, energetic and spiritual properties into a single extract. Incorporating the whole plant for the healing of the whole person.
I’m currently offering these Spagyric Tinctures:
Rose and Thorn + rose infused raw local honey
Passionflower + raw local honey
Tulsi Three + pineapple sage flower infused raw local honey
Lemon Balm + spearmint infused raw local honey
I’ll be posting updates on my Instagram as more products are ready to be offered. Please feel free to email or pm me with any questions you may have.
With Love,
Angel
Contact: @wethewaters / wethewatershome@gmail.com
HERBAL REMEDIES:
Handmade, whole-plant preparations
ACT
Samantha Haylock ~ Tallow Haze
I’m a mum of one and passionate about all things pregnancy, birth and natural living. I offer support as a freebirth doula and 1:1/group childbirth educator. Tallow Haze sources local ingredients from Australian farmers to create a non-toxic cream for the whole family, especially for those with eczema or psoriasis. Apply a small amount to your face or body. Suitable for pregnancy, new mums, as a nappy cream, a hydrating night cream or on dry, cracked heels. Made with love in small batches using organic and ethically sourced ingredients.
Tallow cream: Grass fed beef tallow, cannabis sativa (hemp) seed oil.
Homegrown calendula and rose infused available in limited batches.
Contact: tallowhaze.com / allowhaze@gmail.com
NSW
Bec McGuire ~ Wild Earth Herbs (Southern NSW)
I’m a radical herbalist, with a science background who learnt about herbs from schools and teachers in North America over the course of 12 years. I live on an off-grid permaculture farm and work out of my hand-built apothecary on Thaua country in the Yuin Nation. I run CSH (Community Supported Herbalism) now in its 6th year. Growing and making high-quality plant medicine has been my passion and focus for almost 2 decades. Questions about my broader range welcome.
Milky Oats Tincture - Avena sativa is one of my fav medicines of all time and my fave to grow. Milky Oats are an amazing nervine tonic and nervous system trophorestorative (nourishes and restores balance to the nervous system). It’s useful for anxiety, insomnia, hyperactivity in children, ADHD, chronic fatigue and for depressive states for folk with self-induced problems. It’s awesome for when you are tired but can’t turn off and can’t fall asleep
Dandy Cacao bitters - for those feeling a little sluggish this season. This yummy bitters blend is designed to aid digestion and promote liver health
Kids Fire cider- yummy blend for the kiddos
Artemisia Anointing Oil- Mugwort is the perfect ritual oil to use during divination and especially at this time of the year when the veil between realms is thinner. Mugwort really is unparalleled and is a visionary plants that amplifies our psychic vision and stimulates lucid dreaming. She is the crone, seer, witch and can also be used on sore muscles with particular affinity for the womb and lower back.
Iron Support Electuary- Electuaries are simple, yummy, compliant ways to take herbs. This is especially good for folk needing iron and really good for mummas and mummas to be.
Contact: www.wildearthherbs.com / @wildwoodslane_apothecary
Dee (Gumbaynggirr Country, Bonville)
Child educator and gardener living on beautiful Gumbaynggirr Country. I’m passionate about growing in and with nature, focusing on a deep connection to the cycles of the moon and seasons. Over time I have slowly started to harvest and store seeds, allowing my garden to continue thriving each year. My offerings are made with love, using the plants that flourish in my garden. I’m looking forward to sharing my creations in a hope to heal and nourish the body.
Rosemary Oil - Stimulates hair growth and moisturizes the scalp and body. Whole plant infusions with homegrown organic Rosemary in coconut oil.
Calendula Body Oil - Whole plant infusions of homegrown organic Calendula in olive oil.
Calendula and Lavender Salve - Homegrown Calendula infused in olive oil, homegrown Lavender infused in sweet almond oil, trace amounts alcohol, local beeswax.
Echinacea seeds
Contact @s.u.n.n.y_d.e.e / danielle.nadin6@gmail.com
Lou Hardwick (*AUTHOR*) - Gumbaynggirr Country, Nambucca Valley.
I’m a folk-herbalists remembering and reclaiming the collaborative relationship between plants and people. I grow and craft my herbal remedies from my home in concert with my primary role as single mother to my six-year-old daughter. My online apothecary is currently open (closing around Monday 15th July) and restocks every 4-8 weeks and features fresh plant tinctures, medicinal mushroom elixirs, oxymels, herbal infused oils and salves including but not limited to:
Skullcap Tincture - Plant ally for nervous system nourishment and repair, stress, headaches, anxiety, PTSD and insomnia stemming from nerve damage. Particularly supportive for menstrual cramps and PMS symptoms and those feeling twitchy, easily irritated and unable to relax. Affinity for staunch individuals with fiery emotions and/or experiencing jealousy and anger. Skullcap can help those feeling disconnected get out of their heads and into the body.
Lion’s Mane Elixir - Triple Extract of local fresh lions mane for brain nourishment, protection and repair, immune system balance, nervous system regeneration and gut health.
St John’s Wort Oil - Topical oil for nerve pain relief, skin healing - especially burns and herpes flare ups, mild sun protection, and mood elevation.
California Poppy Tincture - fresh, root to bloom, whole-plant medicine for pain relief and sleep support. Gentle enough for adults and children alike.
Contact: www.louhardwick.com / @lou_hardwick_ / lou@louhardwick.com
Jess Bosscha (Bundjalung Country, Northern Rivers)
After qualifying for my Bachelor of Naturopathy I was thrown out into the real world with very little connection to the plants. My herbs were in little brown bottles and dispensed at alarmingly large doses. Over the past 8 years of practice, I’ve undergone a lot of unknowing and so much of what I like to think of as ‘remembering’. Remembering where the herbs come from, getting my hands in the soil, harvesting, making, connecting - it’s been an absolute joy and deepened my practice immeasurably. It’s also given me much more respect for the medicines, they’re so much more precious to me now that I understand what goes into growing, harvesting and preparing this magic - and I’ve witnessed the profound shifts that occur with the smallest of doses.
My offerings are handcrafted from homegrown ingredients.
Native Violet Flower Essence: For courage in the face of change, allowing you to connect with your intuition and face new horizons, feeling uplifted and joyful.
Bacopa Fresh plant tincture: a beautiful brain tonic, increasing clarity of thought, easing overthinking and supporting calm
Rosemary Fresh Plant tincture: wonderful for clearing stagnation, for strengthening and uplifting thoughts and emotions, for giving us courage to be ourselves and helps align our heart and mind, a beautiful memory tonic
Hawthorn and Rose tincture: Wild crafted Hawthorn combined with a sweet Organic Rose glycerite. Two special remedies which may help open up your heart, to release burdens, allowing you to step forward with lightness of spirit, feeling grounded and held. May feel supportive for you if you: are experiencing grief, trauma or loss; are holding onto past resentments or pent up emotions; feel stuck in old patterns of anxiety or anger; hold your worry, stress and emotions in your heart
Comfrey balm: Home grown Comfrey infused in Australian olive oil and blended with local beeswax- perfect for strains, sprains, bruising, muscle aches and lower back pain
Contact: @jessbosscha_naturopath / https://jessbosscha-naturopath.square.site
Shona L ~ Bloom Body & Soul (Wangal Country)
I’m a mama and reiki practitioner. I started creating herbal remedies after birthing my sun. I love to create potions that can be used by both mama and bubs for healing and nourishment. Connecting to nature and plants has always been a passion of mine and I’m loving this new way of creating and sharing with others. My offerings are infused with reiki for extra healing properties.
Calendula salve - organic calendula, lavender, olive oil and beeswax
Calendula oil - organic calendula, lavender, and olive oil
Contact: @bloombodyandsoul / bloombodysoul.com / info@bloombodysoul.com
QLD
Kaja Skraskova ~ Herbae Thylacini (Meanjin/Brisbane, Yuggera Country)
I have a formal background in European-style pharmacy which is underpinned by my life-long interest in traditional herbal medicine. I specialise in crafting topical herbal remedies and herbal skin care for sensitive and dry skin, eczema, wound healing support, allergic reactions and more. I’m passionate about finding local and particularly native alternatives to imported exotic herbs and ingredients. I work in collaboration with Australian farmers, growers, distillers and fellow herbalists to source local organic herbs that I turn into vibrant extracts and medicine for the skin.
Wattleseed and Marshmallow Skin Treat - whole-plant skin remedy that works to remove daily dirt while delivering hydration, food for skin microbiome. It is a 3-in-1 product - cleanser, gentle exfoliator and a mask. It won a gold medal in the 2021 edition of the Clean+Conscious Awards.
Kunzea and Quandong Body Balm
Echinacea, Willow herb and Calendula Rich Cream
Yarrow, Calendula & Hibiscus Light Face Cream
Contact: herbaethylacini.com.au / @herbae_thylacini
VIC
Georgina Henshaw (Naarm, St Andrews)
I come to plants with maybe a slightly different approach - magic. I’ve always believed in magic and fae and willed for things to be alive and magical as a child. Turns out they are, and in my 30s I was absolutely delighted to delve into this experience. Lou (author) gave me a nudge to start experimenting with Cleavers in my yard and from there I have grown my knowledge and made a handful of things. I’m presently enjoying working with the spirits of plants and having chats with a giant Father Manna Gum on our property, working deeply with Wild Violet in healing grief for myself and supporting others and helping my 80 year old Nanna sleep with Californian Poppy (I’ve promised her a lifetime supply).
Cleaver oxymel - Works on lymphatic system to clear out all the toxins and mucus, good for those with MTHFR gene due to the lymph drainage, blood cleanser/stagnation and eases heavy bleeds, anti-inflammatory, eases mastitis, helps with change of season colds. Emotionally helps with clinginess and letting go of what no longer serves you. Ingredients: Wildcrafted Cleaver from around our land, Organic apple cider vinegar, Organic raw honey.
Contact: @curious__george / georgina.aleeder@gmail.com
Jess Anderson ~ Heart Essence (Warburton)
I am a mother of three living in the Yarra valley and a lover of herbal medicine making. My connection with herbal medicine firstly came from wanting to care for myself and my family in a way that was accessible, using what we grow or forage where we live. Being able to pass these skills onto my children is one of the greatest gifts I could ask for.
I am a great believer that anyone can make herbal medicine, yet not everyone wants to / has the time to make all their own supplies and I feel honoured to now be able to do this for my communities in need! All my products are made with locally sourced and organic menstruums, and home grown, foraged or locally grown plants.
Hawthorn elixir - fresh locally foraged hawthorn berries infused in local raw organic honey and 30% organic cane alcohol and mountain spring water. A heart tonic medicine great for cardiovascular health and times of tenderheartedness and holding grief.
Lemon balm elixir - fresh homegrown organic lemon balm infused in local raw organic honey and 30% organic cane alcohol and mountain spring water. The perfect medicine for stressed/stretched out parents!!
Heart opening rose elixir - fresh homegrown organic pink roses infused in local raw organic honey and 30% organic cane alcohol and mountain spring water.
bite balm - chickweed, plantain, lavender and tea tree infused oils with local beeswax to soothe any bites.
Chest balm - a gentle blend of fresh eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, thyme and rosemary infused oils to support congestion
Pain relieving magnesium cream - a blend of comfrey, st john’s wort and lavender infused oils, beeswax and magnesium chloride
Contact: www.heartessense.com.au / @jess.heartessense
Sheena ~ MACA Tonic Co. (Ancona).
I’m situated on 49 Acres in the beautiful Ancona Valley off-grid property on Brankeet Creek with my 144sqm vegetable garden with some chickens and two older Labradors. Herbalist hiding in plain sight, kitchen witch on the weekend, lover of plants, the bush, the ocean and snowy capped mountains, baker of Sourdough, hap-hazard gardener and landscaper designer by night, creator of delicious cocktails and herbal potions, where a recipe is very rarely followed and measured with soul and knowing. What I have to offer the world:
Fire Tonic (200ml) - Organic apple cider Vinegar, Ginger, Garlic, Lemon, Orange, Oregano, Peppercorn, Mustard seeds, Juniper Berries, Parsley, Thyme, Turmeric, Chilli’s, Red onion, Brown onion, Jalapeno.
Wild Violet Oxymel (100ml) - Wild Violet flower and leaves from the Mt Dandenong Hills, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Locally soured Honey from Mansfield.
The ‘Hardwick’ Mullein Elixir (50ml) - Mullein (Verbascum thapsus growing wild on my property), Vodka, locally soured Honey (Mansfield).
Contact: @macatonic_co
HERB GROWERS
WA
Kathy and Martin - Leuca Creek Waterlilies (Margaret River)
Leuca Creek Waterlilies have been growing Waterlily and Lotus flowers for the Australian cut flower market for twenty years. The Waterlily “Blue Lotus” tea that is grown at Leuca Creek is farmed to produce a consistent and clean product with no use of biocides. The whole process from preparing the ponds in early spring and after the winter rains, planting and growing the flowers as the weather warms up into summer, then picking, dehydrating and packing the tea all takes place on their family farm in Margaret River. This herb contains the alkaloids nuciferine and aporphine which calm and focus the mind to encourage a more restful nights sleep (without making you drowsy), help reduce intrusive thoughts, and have been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects which can assist with ailments such as painful joints. It’s like mindfulness in a cup! It is also famous for lucid dreams that you can remember the details of the next day.
Contact: @leucacreekwaterlilies / www.leucacreek.com.au
I hope you found herbal remedies and herbaceous folk to weave into your life here. Please continue to help spread the word about the Almanac so that it may grow and strengthen connections between those making and seeking the herbs we know and love.
For anyone who’s interested in having a listing in the next edition/ has plant material or herbal remedies to share next month, please email me at lou@louhardwick.com.
IF IT IS YOUR FIRST TIME ENCOUNTERING THE ALMANAC, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING.
I hope you enjoyed this of this virtual marketplace for Australian and New Zealand herbalists and herb growers to share their wares in a space liberated from the limitations created by algorithms, capacity or desire for social media platforming, industry hierarchy, stage of business or scale of offerings. No offering is too big or small for this cosy, welcoming virtual village square!
This marketplace is focused on whole-plant remedies (i.e. essential oil-free) made by small to medium-scale community and folk herbalists as well as growers of organic and spray-free plant material.
The content here is provided by the herbalists and growers themselves and is lightly editorialised to highlight offerings that are especially unique in the context of this marketplace. In some cases sellers have a broader range than what is included above which can be explored through connecting with the seller and through future editions of this Almanac. Items listed above are available in the month of May.
Method and terms of contact, payment/ trade are entirely in the hands of the two transacting parties. The seller has provided how they can best be contacted for purchase, whether it be via email, website, social media direct message, text or phone (Gasp! Some of us could actually talk on the phone!)
This Almanac will always be free to the public, however I invite you to consider becoming a paid subscriber to support my work in putting this resource together. In the future, paid subscribers will have additional access to discounts, giveaways and other perks.
Disclaimer: this Almanac acts as a bridge for herbaceous folk to meet and share resources. My role is not to mediate relationships or transactions, and I do not assume responsibility for the actions of any party. None of the information above is intended to act as or replace medical advice nor seeks to diagnose, or make claims in relation to the treatment of any medical condition.
Thank you for being here.
Lou
A really beautiful way of converging herbalists and their medicine! Will need to go through and check out all these amazing offerings xxx