Sorry it’s been so long since I checked in! I’ve been spending the spring taking a little time off from the garden and the herbs…just intervening enough to clear out the invasive annuals and get some trees and perennials in the ground while it’s raining. I did a lot of planting before the first rains, in keeping with my mission to over plant the yard with stand forming plants and get a layer of small trees growing in our back 40.
Here’s some photos of my garden from the third day of the third month! Also make sure to check in on my apothecary list as I’ll be updating it today! I just started pouring tinctures again today mostly, but I did a lot of work in fall and early winter setting things to steep…mostly focusing on nervines, adaptogens, bitters, and getting some of the last hanging berries of fall into menstrum <3.
good morning garden!!this is a bed outside my bedroom window. There’s an older stand of mugwort, woodland strawberries, Douglas iris, a mint, a cali rose, some young pink flowering currents, a hummingbird sage, a sword fern, and a stray cow parsnip. I love this little bed. It is just so happy left to it’s own devices ❤this is a fun work area, with a big stand of mugwort, coast grindelia, pacific aster, some bucket containers of chives, yellow dock, and epipactus…and some nettles still in gallon pots. Also a young hummingbird sage ❤a big ol’ happy bed of stinging nettles. always such a queen. I have a bunch of these going.where valerian meets bread seed poppy
the domestic version of wild oat, Avena sativa. Unlike the Avena’s that have completely colonized California grasslands…this form of milky oats needs more frequent watering and more space between each given plant. Now I know.a fun, crowded bed of feverfew, yarrow, and hedgenettle. An absolute zero maintenance bed and medicines I will always need and use. There’s a weird stray Helianthus annuus, California’s native annual sunflower…growing there that started growing in late October, which I honestly have never seen before. They are usually well and gone during the months this has been growing…even in the Bay. We this maybe it’s cause our new squatmate loves sunflowers and it’s welcoming her ❤
Robust Verbena. ie Verbena lasiostachys, another California native. Seems very similar to Blue Vervain, Verbena hastata. I use it the same way anyway. Growing favas for Mimouna!Little starts of Lobelia douglasii, and Scutellaria symphocampyloides….or Dunn’s lobelia and grey leaved skullcap. Some lesser known plants that are beautiful to me. Another queen: our Elderberry. This is only it’s second winter and it grew 7 feet last year alone!!a native morning glory keeping good fences between good neighbors ❤West coast’s evening primrose can you find the Stream Orchid breaking the earth?garlics…one of my staple crops year after year ❤my secret bleeding heart bed. I love this plant and it loves living behind my house ❤alum roots, a baby yerba buena…and some empties. A baby Elderberry…under a protective layer due to high cat traffic ❤a baby dwarf Canyon OakScutellaria californica…a plant i love so much I have it growing in 8 different beds. Channel Island alum roots with pink flowering current, Douglas Iris, artichoke, and a straw strawberry in between ❤my front bed…full of garlic, chamomile, favas, kale, broccoli, and collards way in the back ❤ Mugwort, struck through with pacific asterThis is the poppy who’s wisdom got me sober.a rosemary i resuscitated from having only about 20 leaves a year and a half ago…now in flower and happy again!!!a humble stand of Bee Plant, about to flower..
Witchcraft Apothecary 