When the days are bright and warming but it’s not quite time yet for fiddling around in the garden, it might just be time to focus on edible and medicinal weeds. On one such day, I came across some beautiful dandelion roots – and it is a perfect time to start...
Back in May, I spent a weekend day turning a pound of fresh turmeric into a variety of edible forms. It was an exercise in medicine making, food as medicine and the way these things can connect even far-flung community. The beautiful turmeric roots came from my friend...
I spent unfortunate number of my gardening years dismissing the idea of planting flowers. There were some exceptions: Calendula, rose, lavender — because those are all medicinal, too. But flowers just for pretty? What gardener has enough room for that? As you know,...
In late July 2020, a friend invited me to pick newly ripened elderberries in her Portland yard. She’s got two — just two! — of the shrubs growing, and she can’t keep up. Knowing how coveted they are as medicine, she didn’t want them going to waste. I eagerly...
Yes, I love all the plants and their medicines. So it really is never fair for me to call one plant/medicine my “favorite.” Still, artichoke is one of my top-tier favorites. It started when I was a kid: My mother is always very proper, eating (and...
