For the last few months we have been moving the herbal medicine school to new premises. Up till now we have been hiring village halls etc. once a month for a weekend of seminars. This always involved a lot of carrying of equipment around [microscopes, skeletons, pharmacy stuff like bottles/jars /herbs/scales/bowls/capsule making machines/pessary moulds/tincture press/jugs plus food, flip charts, and projectors]. Plus, each time we would have to set up tables and chairs for each class, and at the end pack them all away.
All the above was time-consuming.
But now!
We have taken on the rental of a lovely building in Bridgwater where we can leave our stuff out all the time if we want to. The building is compact, so we will teach 3 years one weekend, and the other 3 years on another weekend once a month.
So this has been my almost sole focus and has meant that I have taken my eyes off my herb growing, or more specifically, my herb garden. The area is now a desolate mess – but during March I will get it up and going again. I have a polytunnel ready to go up, and I have been sorting through my herb seeds.
Already I have been harvesting Galium from my garden [with which it is overgrown] so that is one small win from leaving the place to itself. The drying herb gives a pleasant ‘cut grass’ aroma to my pharmacy, and my patients often comment on the pleasant aromas they encounter when walking through to my consulting room.
I don’t know if the same could be said of the seaweed I collect. I tend to leave that to dry outside…
