Medicinal Landscaping
What is medicinal landscaping?
Medicinal landscaping is a way of consciously designing and integrating medicinal plants into the landscape, from window boxes to woodlands. It is a phrase I have coined to promote a specialism in my permaculture design practice.
Why seek support?
For anyone who has met me they’ll have seen the medicinal plants tattooed up my arm, a beautiful collage of calendula to elder berries and all my favourite plants in-between. It is a testament to the fact that I am passionate about plants and am a DIY herbalist to the core.
Please note I am not a practicing medical herbalist, I soon learned when studying the access course that is was the cultivation that was my calling rather than the clinician role. However the distinctions between them blur as I grow medicine & use it for our my self, friends & family. I have studied herbal medicine and herbalism receiving a Certificate in Herbal Studies with distinction, accredited by the British Herbal Medicine Association, as well as an Advanced Diploma in Herbalism with the School of Natural Health Sciences. Part of my Certificate in Horticulture was an elective module in Herb Culture. In conjunction with these qualifications, I have been growing, crafting and enjoying medicinal plants for as long as I can remember.
Herbal knowledge is beyond that of delightful herb gardens, medicine is in our hedgerows, woodlands, wastelands and more and each plant has its own place that it loves & not only survives but thrives. Plants also need to be placed where we can interact with them most, for example daily pickings by the back door, and root crops in less visited areas. I therefore aim to integrate all of the ecological and social design principles of permaculture into designing systems for growing medicine, ensuring relative location and multiple functions.
Designing a system without this knowledge would be challenge which is why I offer these services for anyone interested in increasing their herbal self-reliance and community’s medicinal resilience.
Services I can offer:
- I can support you with the design of your personal or community garden, either as an explicit medicine garden or as a medicinal element within it.
- I love creative herb gardens (as well as energetically designed gardens) and have designed both herbal labyrinths & zodiac herb gardens, send me your ideas & let me rise to the challenge!
- I can support other permaculture designers who are designing integrated systems and would like some advice about the placement, cultivation & use of species commonly used for medicine.
- I can support woodland managers with the re-design of woodlands, hedgerows & other arboriculture systems with my knowledge of medicinal trees & shrubs.
- I can offer courses and workshops about growing your own medicine, medicinal landscaping & cultivating community medicinal resilience
For any of the above, please get in touch, it would be my pleasure to work with you in manifesting medicinal resilience.
