First Encounters

There are some plants whose first encounters are forever etched into the core of who you are, opening doors and changing your life completely. I’ve been asked a lot about which plant first caught my attention. Lemon Balm and Yarrow are typically my answers - first encounters that changed everything, at least in my adult life.

When I was about 21, my sister and I shared an apartment in the south west hills of Portland. We would go on walks, usually to the little corner mart, and on our way back we would pick plants to hang on the wall and adorn adorn our little kitchen. This was before I had any idea of herbalism. One of the plants we picked often, and abundantly, was Lemon Balm. We loved the bright aroma that wafted through our apartment when we hung Lemon Balm up to dry. This was also a time when we frequented the library. I remember being so curious about which plants decorated the kitchen, and found a little book, “100 home herbal remedies”. It wasn’t one of those ah-ha moments, but rather a soft sprouting of the seed that was planted long ago. I began experimenting with the different herbs for various ailments. 

My lightning strike encounter was with Yarrow. I was already well into the first year of my studies at Vital Ways (formerly known as the School of Traditional Western Herbalism) in Portland. We were on a weekend camping trip on the Oregon Coast. One of the days, the group split up, each exploring a different hike that would eventually lead to the same alcove on the beach. The group I was in made our way to a steep cliff, overlooking the ocean waves crashing below. We came upon Yarrow. Our teacher invited us to sit, nibble a small flower or three, and drop in. It was as if roots were shooting down from my sacrum, deep into the Earth. At the same time, those same roots were rising, through my crown, high into the Ether. A deep knowing filled every part of me - the plants were going to be a major part of my life. 

I've recently been reflecting back to a time when I wasn't much taller than the plants around me. I loved to play in my grandma’s garden, full of plants and insects. When I wasn’t climbing their massive Maple, I was inspecting the plethora of flower varieties. Bleeding Heart was always the one who stood out and caught my curiosity. I remember being told their name and that they were poisonous to ingest - look, but don't eat. I’m not sure if my grandma thought that to be true, or if she was trying to dissuade me from testing it out for myself, but the seed had been planted, that would eventually grow into my love and passion of herbalism. 

Around a similar age, I came upon Parsley, out in my aunt and uncle's yard. One of my favorite games to play was, surviving in "the wild." I'm not sure if I asked the adults before tasting, or not, but the taste of Parsley will forever bring me back to that moment in time - my first encounter eating an herb right from the Earth. 

I did not grow up with herbalism woven into my life, at all. I did grow up as someone who was a bit more sensitive (I prefer "more in tune with my body") than others, resulting in more severe symptoms of varying ailments. I grew up going to the an MD, and often the emergency room (mostly due to indigestion and ear infections that made my body feel like it was on fire). I grew up taking more rounds of antibiotics than I care to remember, and then experiencing continuing digestive discomfort. When I stumbled upon that little book in the library, and started experimenting with herbs as medicine, the empowerment I felt was overwhelming.

Reflecting back, even though herbalism was not in my sphere of reality, the plants were always there guiding/enticing, sometimes just on the edges, sometimes fully in my face. I was never not going to make my way onto this path, it was just a matter of when.