What flower is that?

Posted by Violet Snow May 13, 2007

I was taking a course in herbalism so I would be able to treat my ailments without having to go to a doctor. My teacher, Robin Rose Bennett, said she harvested her own plants in the wild. I was surprised and thought at first that I wasn’t interested—I strictly wanted to learn how to use the medicines in the herb store. I was living in New York City at the time. One Saturday, I had nothing to do and decided to go to Prospect Park in Brooklyn to see if I could find any of the plants Robin had showed us—just for fun, of course. I bought a book with pictures of herbs and got on the subway.

Five minutes after entering the park, I came across a patch of mugwort, a tall plant with feathery leaves and a pleasantly sharp aroma, used to make a tea for menstrual problems and general health. I recognized the plant from Robin’s class. In an instant, I was hooked. I wandered around the park for two hours, wondering what each plant was and whether it had medicinal properties, thumbing through the book in search of its picture. Suddenly the mass of plants became more than “just weeds”—each was an individual, with its own structure and a specific way of relating to humans. My experience of nature shifted from the struggle to relax in her presence to a deep engagement with her beings.

Once I had the right kind of field guide and understood how to use it, I took it whenever I went among the plants. I could spend hours getting to know different species, touching, smelling, tasting, gazing at the intricate flowers, leaves, and stems. Even the plants without medicinal uses became fascinating—I wanted to know them all.

Now that I live in the country, surrounded by plants, they are all my friends, a constant source of joy.