Mint: My First Herbal Love

Sprouting Roots
Nov 12, 2022
5 min read

I share more of my journey exploring Herbalism, and exploring earth-based practices.

Hands and grass - harvesting dandelions in a backyard. — Yes, this is me harvesting dandelions and not mint. But you get the picture (wink wink).

While working outside this week gathering some hay to create piles closer to the garden beds that garlic will soon be planted into, smells of mint would come and go as I shovelled hay into a wheelbarrow with a hay fork. I could smell the cool menthol of the mint, as well as a sweet quality to it, which makes me wonder if the type of mint was apple mint. The experience of being outside in the cool fresh air, feeling the warmth of the sun and smelling the delicious herb felt relaxing and rejuvenating at the same time.

I realised a few things:

How working with land and earth materials can be very grounding to the nervous system
How I've missed living a life where there intimacy between human, plants, elements and wild creatures is present on a regular, if not daily, basis
Mint is one of my first loves when it comes to herbs

Land Stewardship and Earth-based Living

This is not my first rodeo when it comes to living, what some may call, a"homesteader's"life, or living on a farm - hobby, small or commercial. In fact, I was living on an organic community farm in Nelson just a few months ago. I realised today how easy it is to forget what this lifestyle offers. I'm aware it can be a difficult and grinding life and is not always as glamorous or romantic as social media presents this to be (aka the "cottagecore" aesthetic). And yet, it's a life that teaches me so much every single day. Both in practical skills, as well as showing me parts of myself I may not know about (or maybe even try to ignore at times).

It's one of the reasons I'm drawn to living more closely with land, and being curious with learning more about earth-based practices such as growing food or creating herbal medicines. The intimacy with life's cycles (ie life and death, 4 seasons, daily circadian rhythms) is so present in this lifestyle. This can be confronting, challenging and overwhelming at times, and I've had my share of these moments. Today, however, I was realising just how healing and connective and grounding it can be to have this kind of relationship to life; to food; to people; to the planet.

While shovelling hay and smelling the sweet mint, I felt my nervous system relax. It was quite noticeable: the softening of my body, the deeper breathing, the ease in lifting the corners of my mouth into a soft joyful smile. A question arose: what if we need this? What if, as humans, we need this connection to the elements, to the plants, to our bodies, in order to feel a sense of contentment and deep satisfaction that our lives are worth living? That life is worth living for, and not just surviving or "making do"?

The Herbalism Path Continues

I wrote the 'Exploring the Plant Path' blog post a while ago, basically sharing my process with being curious about my relationships to plants (and therefore nature) as a practice.

Smelling the mint this week reminded me of the earlier days in exploring the plant path, and how mint was one of the first herbs I felt drawn to. I enjoyed the flavour so much I'd drink the tea almost everyday, and would choose mint-flavoured anything: cakes and ice-cream (usually as choc-mint), hot chocolates (if this was an option), any blocks of chocolate that had mint as an option, essential oils and so on. I enjoyed rubbing the leaves between my fingers and smelling it whenever I walked by a mint plant outside.

I borrowed a couple of books from our current work-exchange host, and one of them is Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Healing for Women, which I've been wanting to get my hands on since I heard about it. I have to say it's feeding the tiny green sprout of interest in Herbalism. The whole introduction of the book spoke to me, and I'm slowly dipping my toes back into the world of Herbalism, especially the Wise Woman lineage, which is from what I've gathered what Rosemary practices.

Through an intuitive communication with plants, women learned the healing powers of these green allies [herbs]. Their wisdom developed over countless years as remedies were tried, proven, and passed on. The best of these remedies were added to the lore, and the wisdom was transferred from mother to daughter, from wise woman to apprentice for countless generations.

This the the legacy we've inherited. Healers, wise women, simplers -- these women were the centre of source of medicine and healing for their communities. They understood the cycles of the seasons, the ebb and flow of the universe, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the natural rhythms of their bodies.

- Rosemary Gladstar, Herbal Healing for Women

Like a handful of things in my life, Herbalism is one that keeps calling me back when I've wandered off for a while. I've dipped my toe into it a few times in the last few years, feeling drawn by the mysticism and lore, as well as the mundane and basic parts that the herbal path offers. It excites me and I learn from herbs and herbal folks every time I give it time and focus.

My work-exchange host offered Sasha and I a ride to town today to visit the farmer's market and to grab anything else we need in town. A fellow community member, Sasha and I wandered into a thrift store as well as a second-hand bookstore and found a few gems that is feeding my Herbalism/earth connection curiosity. Two are fiction books by Mary Stewart: Thornyhold and Rose Cottage. The other is a herbalism book by Susun S. Weed called Healing Wise. I was introduced to Susun through her book Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year, and picking up her other book today felt a type of confirmation to continue exploring this path of Herbalism.

What's Happening Now

I'm feeling inspired to look into apprenticeships and/or internships where I can learn about Herbalism in person directly from others.

Even though I'm still (occasionally) posting on this blog, I'm slowly moving towards using digital tech minimally and exploring different ways of gathering information, learning, creating, documenting, and living my life in general.

There is one in British Columbia I found while researching Young Agrarians, which is a fantastic network helping connect people with land to young people who need land (as accessing land these days can be expensive and sometimes have little options). This herbal farm offers internships and apprenticeships. I'm drawn to their organic farming practices and living Herbalism as a path of practice, and not just as a business.

Alongside this, I'm also exploring the possibilities around learning from people directly when it comes to holistic women's health and offering support and guidance services to women. This is another path I'm feeling called to travel, and I'm feeling my interest veering into off-line and direct learning. I feel apprenticeships and internships in this area would be more fruitful for me right now.