Some of my previous blogs have gone into the process of collecting flower essences and the lovely coincidences or confirmations that occur during that time. I thought I might make mention of the Sundew, botanical name being Drosera Peltata. I was informed by spirit that this flower would be the one for balancing the Kidney Meridian. Not being familiar with the plant, I asked my friend John King who ( apart from making excellant Rainforest Liqueurs) has a comprehensive knowledge of native plants and flowers.
He not only knew the plant, but made mention that it sometimes grows on the hillside of his acreage, and that when it is in flower he would give me a call.
Some little time later I received a call from John insisting that I come quickly as the hillside was awash with Sundew flowers. They are incredibly tiny and I spent about two hours collecting them under the watchful eye of John who I think was more excited than me. The other aspect that assisted in the energy process was that we placed three rocks under the collection bowl. John told me that his property used to be an area where Aborigines had collected and eaten Bunya nuts, and that these rocks would have been used to assist in the process of extracting the nuts from the cones. The rocks fit the hand and would have been used also for grinding the nuts into a flour. The Sundew is a carniverous plant and grows in damp sandy soil, its plant height being about 25cm. This variety of Sundew is different to the Sundew which grows inWallum country. That particular variety is bright pink also carniverous and has a rosette shape to the plant.
Thursday 3 November 2011
Tuesday 11 October 2011
Cooloola City Farm Nurseries Inc
The bulk of the native flowers in my Flower Essence range were unknown to me ( I was given the information from spirit) so I needed an expert to identify them for me. By using the wonderful Google, I found that the bulk of them were growing in the Tin Can Bay region. This led me to the very obliging and delightful Susie Pickin who was at that stage in charge of the Cooloola City Farm Nursery in the Tin Can Bay Cooloola region.
Back in January 2008 I made contact, got all of the required approvals from the City Council and made the first of many trips to the region. One of the flowers in the group is Hibiscus Tiliaceus or Cotton Tree Hibiscus. Susie told me of a lovely old tree located in a zone that was permissible for collection. When I arrived it had been a blustery day and the tree looked bare of flowers. So I stood under it and asked its permission to collect flowers when it next flowered. I heard the tree say just look down, and durr there was a carpet of flowers all around the tree. I have since then purchased and planted a tree on my property for future collection.
Back in January 2008 I made contact, got all of the required approvals from the City Council and made the first of many trips to the region. One of the flowers in the group is Hibiscus Tiliaceus or Cotton Tree Hibiscus. Susie told me of a lovely old tree located in a zone that was permissible for collection. When I arrived it had been a blustery day and the tree looked bare of flowers. So I stood under it and asked its permission to collect flowers when it next flowered. I heard the tree say just look down, and durr there was a carpet of flowers all around the tree. I have since then purchased and planted a tree on my property for future collection.
Sunday 11 September 2011
Alice Springs Treasures
A few years ago I needed to travel to Alice Springs to collect the essence of the Sturt Desert Rose.
I had not been to the interior before, nor could anybody tell me when the Sturt Desert Rose would be flowering. A clairvoyant friend of mine told me that she would be house sitting that November and perhaps that would be a good time to visit as I would have a contact. As it happened I also ran into a couple who had been living in the Alice for 8years. We came accross each other at the Olive Pink Gardens (a must see if you are lucky enough to visit Alice Springs). This contact was on a Sunday morning at the cafe located in the Gardens, where my friends were having a leisurely breakfast.
The only data I had been able to glean about flowering times, was from Parks and Gardening clubs, and all of them said it flowers after rain. but nobody could guess when that might happen. As it turned out the Todd River had flooded two weeks before I arrived and the downpour was quite spectacular and totally unexpected. It had occured after I had booked my tickets, so that was a nice omen.
I had a hire car which had a travel restriction i.e. not to go off road. In light of this I only ventured up to 50 kms from the city. The Sturt Desert Rose was growing at the end of a street, two streets away from my accomodation, and I had permission to collect the flowers from street plants, both here and on the Ross Highway which heads south from Alice Springs. So early my first morning I made my first collection, then two more the next day (to be on the safe side as it would have been an expensive exercise if something had gone awry).
I did the real tourist bit and visited every possible location within my restricted radius. I managed quite a bit of walking, every day around the streets and parts of the Larapinta Trail around the Telegraph Station.
The School of the Air is a facinating place, as is the Flying Doctor Service premises. The Desert Park and Olive Pink Gardens were my absolute favourites, the energy of both locations is quite special.
I have included some photos for your enjoyment.
I had not been to the interior before, nor could anybody tell me when the Sturt Desert Rose would be flowering. A clairvoyant friend of mine told me that she would be house sitting that November and perhaps that would be a good time to visit as I would have a contact. As it happened I also ran into a couple who had been living in the Alice for 8years. We came accross each other at the Olive Pink Gardens (a must see if you are lucky enough to visit Alice Springs). This contact was on a Sunday morning at the cafe located in the Gardens, where my friends were having a leisurely breakfast.
The only data I had been able to glean about flowering times, was from Parks and Gardening clubs, and all of them said it flowers after rain. but nobody could guess when that might happen. As it turned out the Todd River had flooded two weeks before I arrived and the downpour was quite spectacular and totally unexpected. It had occured after I had booked my tickets, so that was a nice omen.
I had a hire car which had a travel restriction i.e. not to go off road. In light of this I only ventured up to 50 kms from the city. The Sturt Desert Rose was growing at the end of a street, two streets away from my accomodation, and I had permission to collect the flowers from street plants, both here and on the Ross Highway which heads south from Alice Springs. So early my first morning I made my first collection, then two more the next day (to be on the safe side as it would have been an expensive exercise if something had gone awry).
I did the real tourist bit and visited every possible location within my restricted radius. I managed quite a bit of walking, every day around the streets and parts of the Larapinta Trail around the Telegraph Station.
The School of the Air is a facinating place, as is the Flying Doctor Service premises. The Desert Park and Olive Pink Gardens were my absolute favourites, the energy of both locations is quite special.
I have included some photos for your enjoyment.
Monday 29 August 2011
Growing Echinacea Purpurea
This wonderful herb I use as a flower essence for the spleen meridian, however, I have been growing it for the last fifteen years and can honestly say that it is one of my most favourite plants.
There is another variety of Echinacea that is used in the medicinial herb repertoire, being Echinacea
Angustifolia. The root of this plant is the most prized section of the plant, and like the purpurea the whole plant is usable. It is much harder to grow and not quite as splendid visually above the ground, the plant is lower growing and the flowers tend to be smaller. I unfortunately did not have much success growing the angustifolia.
If the reader is keen to grown Echinacea Purpurea now is a good time to germinate the seed. The natural habitat of this plant is an area that has a cold winter, under snow is the norm. In order then to trick the seed into germinating, it needs to feel that it is coming to spring from a very cold base. I keep my collected seed in the fridge, so if you have just obtained some seed, keep it in the fridge for up to six weeks before germinating. I also use a pendulum to check the viability of all seeds I germinate. The actual seed is small black and encased in the cone shaped outer capsule. If you are given a seed head, the needles around the cones can be thrown into the seed raising mix to break down, but the seed is the cone shaped capsules. Another way to test is to chew a seed cone, the tingly taste will give an indication as to the strength of the seed.
As you can see from the photo the plant is quite magnificient. It is a bi-annual plant and given conditions that is feels happy in, it will self seed. Depending on your growing conditions, let some of the strong flowers go to seed (about six months after planting). If you wish to grow a large number of plants, you can use polystyrene boxes and start them off this way, they are easy to separate when you are ready to plant out, and are very tough. The whole plant is usable, it can be used fresh in teas, or dried for future use, the needles are quite sharp so for handling purposes if using the flowers, cut them up before they start to go to seed.
Happy gardening.
There is another variety of Echinacea that is used in the medicinial herb repertoire, being Echinacea
Angustifolia. The root of this plant is the most prized section of the plant, and like the purpurea the whole plant is usable. It is much harder to grow and not quite as splendid visually above the ground, the plant is lower growing and the flowers tend to be smaller. I unfortunately did not have much success growing the angustifolia.
If the reader is keen to grown Echinacea Purpurea now is a good time to germinate the seed. The natural habitat of this plant is an area that has a cold winter, under snow is the norm. In order then to trick the seed into germinating, it needs to feel that it is coming to spring from a very cold base. I keep my collected seed in the fridge, so if you have just obtained some seed, keep it in the fridge for up to six weeks before germinating. I also use a pendulum to check the viability of all seeds I germinate. The actual seed is small black and encased in the cone shaped outer capsule. If you are given a seed head, the needles around the cones can be thrown into the seed raising mix to break down, but the seed is the cone shaped capsules. Another way to test is to chew a seed cone, the tingly taste will give an indication as to the strength of the seed.
As you can see from the photo the plant is quite magnificient. It is a bi-annual plant and given conditions that is feels happy in, it will self seed. Depending on your growing conditions, let some of the strong flowers go to seed (about six months after planting). If you wish to grow a large number of plants, you can use polystyrene boxes and start them off this way, they are easy to separate when you are ready to plant out, and are very tough. The whole plant is usable, it can be used fresh in teas, or dried for future use, the needles are quite sharp so for handling purposes if using the flowers, cut them up before they start to go to seed.
Happy gardening.
Sunday 21 August 2011
Straw Bale internal render plan B
The mould removal product worked, but the walls were still dark and patchy, so decided to cover the clay with the same lime render that coates the outer walls.
Very interesting process as there are no directions on the bag as to ratios, my neighbours rendered one of their rooms with lime and Mark (who is Swiss) said that in Switzerland they used to lime wash the walls once a year to keep them fresh and I guess free of mould.
So I basically winged it in relation to the water to lime ratio. One of the aspects of this material is that it requires constant stirring as the lime settles very quickly. My Three Musketeers used dish washing liquid to keep the clay/lime suspended, but as they are not here, I am a bit impatient, and I was scared I might use too much liquid so stirring the mix constantly became the order of the day.
For those who tend to be a bit bull at a gate like me, make sure you have plenty of protective gear as the lime can burn, so gloves, goggles, hat (for high drip areas ie my walls go from 2m to 4m))and skin covered is important. I started with a foam sponge, tried also a large brush and a paint roller for the high areas they all worked in their own ways. The only tricky part is the goggles kept fogging up, making it a bit hard to see, but it will require 2-3 coates so hopefully that will solve the missed bits.
It was a bit sad covering the clay render, but one of the other triggers was the mudwasps. They have made a number of nests in the building which is fine except instead of travelling the extra few metres to the clay pile outside, they were helping themselves to the clay wall.
Very interesting process as there are no directions on the bag as to ratios, my neighbours rendered one of their rooms with lime and Mark (who is Swiss) said that in Switzerland they used to lime wash the walls once a year to keep them fresh and I guess free of mould.
So I basically winged it in relation to the water to lime ratio. One of the aspects of this material is that it requires constant stirring as the lime settles very quickly. My Three Musketeers used dish washing liquid to keep the clay/lime suspended, but as they are not here, I am a bit impatient, and I was scared I might use too much liquid so stirring the mix constantly became the order of the day.
For those who tend to be a bit bull at a gate like me, make sure you have plenty of protective gear as the lime can burn, so gloves, goggles, hat (for high drip areas ie my walls go from 2m to 4m))and skin covered is important. I started with a foam sponge, tried also a large brush and a paint roller for the high areas they all worked in their own ways. The only tricky part is the goggles kept fogging up, making it a bit hard to see, but it will require 2-3 coates so hopefully that will solve the missed bits.
It was a bit sad covering the clay render, but one of the other triggers was the mudwasps. They have made a number of nests in the building which is fine except instead of travelling the extra few metres to the clay pile outside, they were helping themselves to the clay wall.
Monday 15 August 2011
Mould on Clay Render
In my last post I mentioned the problem with mould on the internal wall of my straw bale building.
My neighbours Rosalba and Mark ( who have built a straw bale house) came to the rescue.
Rosalba had the same problem and sourced a product made by a Maroochydore company called Cooee.
She gave me some of the product which I have done as a test piece, so far the mould is starting to fade (it was quite black in places). I did a google search of the company and find that they are mainly into dust suppression and road stabilisation for the construction industry, however, you may be interested to know that they also produce a timber treatment which is BFA certified, great for home and school vegie gardens.
The attached photo shows the clay render when it was initially finished, I might end up doing a lime wash on the internal walls, time will tell.
If you plan on doing any road stabilisation in the future (or need some mould killer) the company is called Cooee pty ltd and their address is 30 Fishermans Road Maroochydore QLD.
My neighbours Rosalba and Mark ( who have built a straw bale house) came to the rescue.
Rosalba had the same problem and sourced a product made by a Maroochydore company called Cooee.
She gave me some of the product which I have done as a test piece, so far the mould is starting to fade (it was quite black in places). I did a google search of the company and find that they are mainly into dust suppression and road stabilisation for the construction industry, however, you may be interested to know that they also produce a timber treatment which is BFA certified, great for home and school vegie gardens.
The attached photo shows the clay render when it was initially finished, I might end up doing a lime wash on the internal walls, time will tell.
If you plan on doing any road stabilisation in the future (or need some mould killer) the company is called Cooee pty ltd and their address is 30 Fishermans Road Maroochydore QLD.
Topical application of Essences
The flower essences have as their carrier organic apple cider vinegar. Organic apple cider vinegar has been chosen as the carrier because of its well known cleansing, healing and energising health benefits. The taste does not appeal to some palates, it can as an alternative be applied topically.
To apply topically, a large drop can be placed on the three chakras being third eye (mind) heart (spirit) and solar plexus (body). The other option is to place the drops on the associated bladder points (check out the website for the bladder meridian). Each of the meridians has an assoociated point along the bladder meridian which runs either side of the spinal column.
In the upper region of the thoracic vertebrae between the shoulder blades and level with the 3rd thoracic vetebrae is the point for the lung and the 5th thoracic equates to the heart meridian. In the middle region level with the 9th-12th thoracic vetebrae are in decending order points for the liver , gall bladder, spleen and stomach. About level with the waist line is the kidney meridian point level with the 2nd lumbar vertebrae .The triple warmer is above this vertebrae located between the kidney and the stomach points. The large intestine small intestine and bladder (in this order) start at the base of the lumbar vertebrae group (lower back) and correspond with the middle vertebrae of the sacral verterbrae.
I hope this description gives a picture of the points as I do not have a visual image to post, but will send a visual out with any orders. All these points carry chi directly to the organs so they can also be used to diagnose if an organ is out of balance as the point can become tender or sensitive to pressure.
To apply topically, a large drop can be placed on the three chakras being third eye (mind) heart (spirit) and solar plexus (body). The other option is to place the drops on the associated bladder points (check out the website for the bladder meridian). Each of the meridians has an assoociated point along the bladder meridian which runs either side of the spinal column.
In the upper region of the thoracic vertebrae between the shoulder blades and level with the 3rd thoracic vetebrae is the point for the lung and the 5th thoracic equates to the heart meridian. In the middle region level with the 9th-12th thoracic vetebrae are in decending order points for the liver , gall bladder, spleen and stomach. About level with the waist line is the kidney meridian point level with the 2nd lumbar vertebrae .The triple warmer is above this vertebrae located between the kidney and the stomach points. The large intestine small intestine and bladder (in this order) start at the base of the lumbar vertebrae group (lower back) and correspond with the middle vertebrae of the sacral verterbrae.
I hope this description gives a picture of the points as I do not have a visual image to post, but will send a visual out with any orders. All these points carry chi directly to the organs so they can also be used to diagnose if an organ is out of balance as the point can become tender or sensitive to pressure.
Saturday 6 August 2011
Straw Bale Building
This building was created to provide a work space for my flower essence business. It is relatively small but has a most restful energy and I have placed a name on the floor at the entry point called Maakoha which means tranquility. The exterior of the building has been lime rendered and the inside is clay rendered. The clay was not sealed or painted, but will be shortly as there is a problem with mould. This is in the process of being rectified.
The construction process was time consuming but most enjoyable. The attached photos show Nick, Roger and Andrew who magically made this building evolve. The next phase is landscaping around the building. I have done some planting but there is more to come, and a labrynth will be part of the landscape, along with a paved outdoor area and pizza oven.
The construction process was time consuming but most enjoyable. The attached photos show Nick, Roger and Andrew who magically made this building evolve. The next phase is landscaping around the building. I have done some planting but there is more to come, and a labrynth will be part of the landscape, along with a paved outdoor area and pizza oven.
meridian flower essences
Flower essence for the large and small intestine are balanced by the same essence, using the wonderful Banksia robur more commonly known asSwamp banksia. If your intestines are out of balance, you may be experiencing muscle soreness or stiffness in a variety of muscles eg the hamstrings or quadriceps.
The flower essence can be applied topically to either the meridian line/along pressure points running down the spine, or taken as drops under the tongue. Either side of the spinal column has pressure points relating to all of the bodies meridians-see the attached description.
The flower essence can be applied topically to either the meridian line/along pressure points running down the spine, or taken as drops under the tongue. Either side of the spinal column has pressure points relating to all of the bodies meridians-see the attached description.
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