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What’s blooming in my Portland neighborhood righ

What’s blooming in my Portland neighborhood right now.#GardenMedicine #WalkingWithOrna #PlantGeek #SpringFlowers #FlowerPower #PlantMedicine #HerbalistDoctor #NatureFix

The end of cherry blossom season, looking up and l

The end of cherry blossom season, looking up and looking down.

A couple of fabulous spring trees I’ve admired l

A couple of fabulous spring trees I’ve admired lately on my walks.Trees in the city make a huge difference for well being. Lots of research shows that access to greenery, even in urban environments and maybe especially so, improve mental health, lower stress and more.We all know that trees help clean our air, and obviously that’s especially important in places with lots of cars and people. They make a big difference, too, in moderating temperatures especially in the summer.Portland does quite well with improving the urban canopy.Unfortunately, many places are not as fortunate. Lack of access to green is an important health disparity. Improving that tree cover often leads to gentrification, driving out the people most in need of the benefits of trees.There organizations in your area that can help. @friendsoftreeseugene and @friendsoftrees are two such organizations on either end of the Willamette Valley and worth checking out.If you know more similar organizations, please let me know. I’d love to compile a list.

My front yard hawthorn tree has been calling to me

My front yard hawthorn tree has been calling to me for days, and yesterday I finally listened.The tree is still small, having grown up either from a sucker of the prior tree that died or a seed that landed in a propitious spot. but this year it made enough flowers that I just had to do something with them.It was pouring rain, so not the best moment to make a flower essence. I decided to tincture the flowers and a little bit of leaf instead.Hawthorn as a medicinal plant is all about the emotional and physical heart. It’s hard to imagine a time when that could not be useful, but we are definitely living in times when it is pretty necessary.My friend @plantloverpdx describes hawthorn as being like a hug. I know a lot of us really need that right now.For subtle flowers like these, my basic take is to use the best vodka one can find. Better booze definitely delivers a better outcome.But I just got some organic lychee alcohol from my friends at @organicalcohol, and really wanted to try it. So I did.For those of you have not gotten to check it out in person, the lychee alcohol is incredibly fragrant and sweet. It will likely overpower what flavor these mild flowers have, but the sweetness will be its own medicine.Anyway, it’s an experiment. I’ll keep you posted on how it turns out.Here in Portland, the hawthorns are all bursting into flower. It’s a great time to gather some if you have a good spot.

A gaggle of geese, a murder of crows, a fascinatio

A gaggle of geese, a murder of crows, a fascination of figs.I have no idea if that’s the right term, but I like it and I’m going for it until someone convinces me there’s a better one.This fig is one of the most magnificent things in my garden. It thrived despite the neglect of medical school, and now it’s just a wild octopus of photosynthesis and fruit.This time of year, I love watching the light through the growing new leaves. As you can see from the pictures here, they are almost luminescent, doing their work converting sunshine into sugar.Later in the year, the leaves grow enormous and waxy, great for huddling under during the stupid hot summer days. They provide quite efficient shade, especially now that the tree is so big.But at this time of the year the leaves are young and tender and so beautiful as the light shines through them.I almost didn’t grow fig at all. But my Magda gave me a look, so in it went. The olive tree behind it is not so happy, but I guess that’s what happens in large families.Do you grow figs? Is your tree an enormous friendly octopus like mine?

Portland smells like lilacs right now.Walking to

Portland smells like lilacs right now.Walking to my car last night after dinner with my pod, the scent overwhelming — in a great way. I want to close my eyes and just swim in the fragrance.It’s all the more special for being so ephemeral. I find that the fragrance fades even just from spending more than a couple minutes with my face in the flowers.All the plants are my favorites, as y’all well know. But this time of year lilac without question tops my list.Appreciating the abundance while it’s available.

Instagram post 17859950135700573

Instagram post 17859950135700573

When I see edible and medicinal plants naturalizin

When I see edible and medicinal plants naturalizing in cracks in the concrete, I always feel like my work is done.This is not to say that I planted them there. Or that I had anything to do in anyway with their existence in these spaces.But as a person whose mission is to be a proponent for plants and plant medicine, I’m always super excited to see it.And Calendula, pictured here, is such a classic. It straddles the line between food and medicine, and is incredibly versatile in both respects.And those flowers are just so joyous. Even if you never add it to salads or tea or tincture or salve, just looking at it it is medicine. Am I right?

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