Surprisingly, my first memory of herbs is not one that fills me with glee and even now causes me to recoil and pull a yuck face. For most of my peers, feeling sick and going to the doctor was the norm. Not in my house, though. For me, it was off to Granny’s house so she could “have a look at me” and before I knew it I was handed an unidentifiable bottle with some repugnant liquid inside it. Whilst her medicine always helped, I never enjoyed taking it.

Despite the lasting impression Granny’s blends left on me, as I got into my late 20s I felt a huge calling back to plants and herbalism. During my journey back to my herbalist heritage I became a Reiki master, a holistic masseuse and a fully qualified aromatherapist. From there, it was a very short step back onto the path that my great-grandmother and grandmother had walked, I was ready to invite the plants fully back into my life, picking, eating, cooking, and wearing them. Any way they wanted to work with me; I was ready.

I studied herbalism under some awe-inspiring teachers for over 5 years but the wonderful thing about working with plants is that the learning is never over. As long as I am alive the plants continue to teach me, shape my knowledge and better my practice.