Monday, June 22, 2020

~ A Hedgewitch's Garden ~


What is a Hedge Witch?

A Hedge Witch is a solitary practitioner of the herbal arts - both, medicinal and spiritual. 
 She is the person you call when you develop a rash or get a toothache, 
and the doctor or dentist is unavailable. 

She is the person you consult when strange things go bump in the night, 
or you are certain that someone just gave you the evil eye.

Her {many} cupboards contains the remedy for what ails you - both physical and spiritual.

A Hedge Witch does not belong to a coven. 
She does not follow the tenets of any sect or organized religion. 
 Her craft is her own - 
usually handed down to her by family and honed by her own experience and research.

You will not find two Hedge Witches that are alike. 
... Each follows her own path. 
 The common thread that puts us under the heading of Hedge Witch
~ is our herbal remedies and our solitary spiritual practices.

The name, Hedge Witch, 
comes from days of old when villages were separated by forests.
 The edge of a village where the forest began was called the hedge. 

In most villages there was an herbal practitioner, 
who lived in the forest or near the edge of the forest.
This was the person the villagers appealed to when there was no doctor, 
or the doctor couldn't cure them. 
The practitioner who lived by the hedge and practiced herbal arts was called a Hedge Witch.

Today, 
a Hedge Witch may or may not live near the forest,
 but you likely will find her there at one time or another. 
Most Hedge Witches have a reverence for nature. 
They know the medicinal and spiritual properties of everything that grows, 
and they understand nature's balance. 

A wise Hedge Witch enlists nature to deal with natural problems. 
She harvests more weeds than she pulls. 
She invites wasps, spiders and other predators to kill unwanted bugs. 
She uses plants and animals to divert bunnies from the vegetable garden.

But the most definitive characteristic of a Hedge Witch 
is that she has a remedy for everything under the sun, 
...and much of it was prepared by the light of the moon.
 { an except from www.hedgewitchforest.com }

so we'll go on a little wander about my farmyard, fields and gardens... 
I am never alone, for my friends tag along wherever I roam:

her name is Frizzle, and she's as big as a minute. {breed: Silkie}
 my very dear & sweet friend Nancy is a Master Gardener 
~ and we turn to her for her knowledge of all things herb-y ~
{she is our very own little hedgewitch ~ LOVE You Nancy}
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

she has taught us so much about our own yards and the plants growing in them....
taught us to look at 'weeds' differently ~
here are a few that thrive here at Notforgotten Farm:

Mugwort ~ tea for sleep, aids in digestion

Hydrangea ~ urinary problems, kidney {stones} and liver



Mullein ~ taken as a tea, helps reduce mucus



my wild gardens & fire pit

Bee Balm ~ aids digestion, treats cold & flu



St. John's Wort ~ aids in depression, anxiety moods and meopause



Marsh Thistle ~ rheumatatic/rheumatoid arthritis {RA}



Apothecary Rosehip ~ High in vitamin C, metabolism, joint pain


Red Bud ~ cough suppressant, aids in Flu/fever


Lemon Balm ~ promotes sleep/improves appetite ~ tea/indesgestion



{can you see me?}


Orange Daylily ~ bowel/anti-nausea, promotes sleep


another part of one of my wild gardens ~ Chocolate mint {digestive/tea} and Egyptian Onion {tumors, earaches/congestion}


Rudbeckia {Black Eyed Susan ~ earaches} & Queen Anne's Lace {digestive/kidney/bladder}
 And, 
while looking at the black eyed susans, I found this one:
a strange mutation, like a triple flowerhead on a thick, measuring-tape-like stem!






and then noticed that one of my flowering hosta's has the same mutation!?!
 





 wild, wonderful Nature...
always inspiring and educating ~
teaching us to slow down and look ~ listen.



Blessings from the Farm 
~ Lori

17 comments:

NMK said...

Wow Lori ...this was such an interesting post ! Never knew all the plants remedies . The mutated black eye susan is so neat !!! I can see that in one of your pretty creations !!! Your farm is so pretty , a very special place to be !!!!

Lori from Notforgotten Farm said...

thank you for the visit with me! we are blessed to be here <3

Saundra said...

Very interesting read.

littlemancat said...

Loved this post - sometimes I think I was a hedge witch in another life. My mother taught us a lot about wildflowers and how to look at things closely. And I love to learn the names of so called weeds and their healing natures. I wish more people would take notice of the beauty all around us.
Thanks for this, lovely!
Mary

Lori from Notforgotten Farm said...

:)

Lori from Notforgotten Farm said...

thank you for the visit! :)

Maureen said...

Miss Lori, I love how red bud tree leaves are heart shape. Thank you for sharing your lovely space and critters with us :)

Lori from Notforgotten Farm said...

Thank you for visiting with me!

Linda said...

I also loved this post wonderful to keep learning what is at our fingertips! Thanks as always for sharing your knowledge & farm.

Amara said...

Hey Lori, i just discovered your blog and i'm so hooked. This was so interesting, thank you for listing all the weeds, flowers and remedies. Your Garden looks lovely.
Sending hugs and good wishes from Germany
Amara

Lori from Notforgotten Farm said...

Hello! Thank you for visiting me!

Lori from Notforgotten Farm said...

Thank you for the visit with me!

TheCrankyCrow said...

Love the excerpt on hedgewitches... I've long been fascinated with herb-ology.... I started with several books about native plants here, and Native American plant-based medicine...and am still finding endless new things to learn. Always enjoy a trip around your farm...sweet little bunny! ~Robin~

Running with a sharp pencil said...

I thought Queen Anne's Lace was poison?

Laila said...

Thanks for the knowledge and the pictures. They're beautiful

Lori from Notforgotten Farm said...

Queen Anne's Lace:
Also known as the wild carrot, Queen Anne's lace is in full bloom across much of "temperate" North America, Europe and Asia right now. The white flower head is edible raw or lightly battered and fried. The seeds work well in soups and stews and can flavor tea, too.

Lebron John said...

Why are there so many people who love the popular POE Currency here? Just go and see.

Attached link: https://www.poecurrency.com/