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These leaves were picked from a wild, feral olive that I discovered growing in the pine plantations behind Nannup. Sprouted in between two rocks and twisted and hardy. Probably sprouted from a seed dropped by a parrot, this plant’s medicine I felt was far more potent than a pampered backyard olive tree.

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Dandelion is a herb that is a plentiful and well-known wild plant in the Norther hemisphere, where the soils are deep and rich. True Dandelion is somewhat less of a common weed here in WA, and the soils where I live are mostly sand and gravel. Not favorites of Taraxacum, and they grow much less abundantly. They like to pop up in the vegie patch or a well-fed pot, so I grow and harvest what I can but supplement the majority with quality dried herb I have purchased. I recently discovered that the weed Hawksbit, which does grow wild in abundance here, can be used in the same way as Taraxacum officinale and shares very similar properties.

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While Hawthorn grows wild as a pest in eastern Australia, choking ditches and roadsides, it is virtually unknown here. There is one small stand of trees in a town not far from mine, several friends and I have been trying without success to propagate cuttings or seeds, so I purchase quality dried haws for now. One day, I will have my own Hawthorn tree. I really love this medicine; it is one I take every day to keep my heart strong and healthy. The flavor of this tincture is sweet enough to take directly under the tongue, it tastes like cherries and calms a racing heart immediately.

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Autumn and winter are the best times to dig for these turmeric coloured roots, when the first – year plants are dormant for the colder months and the plant has focused its energy below ground. I have my digging grounds down by the Blackwood River. It’s like hunting for jewels, checking each root for the desired flash of orange and gold. There’s the added bonus of generous plumes of edible seeds, ready to grind into flour later.

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I collect this Pine resin from living pines trees – its leaks naturally when a branch is broken or the bark is wounded in some way. The resin is the tree’s way of protecting its wounds, and it has powerful antibiotic and drawing properties as well.

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Mullein is probably my favorite herb and I worked with her a lot when in NZ. Here I made use of a different wild variety, but the woolly mullein that is traditionally used wasn’t around yet. One year, I discovered a lone seedling by the corner of the bakery, who knows where she came from, but that seedling became the mother of all the Woolly Mullein plants in Nannup, and the provider of all the material for the mullein leaf medicine I make. An imposing queen, she sticks out in the landscape with her giant fluffy leaves and people are drawn to her like moths to a flame. There is certainly something about this plants that speaks to people, and I feel honored to count her as one of my herbal allies.

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The roots in this tincture were harvested from the first flush of young wild mullein that came up for the year. This is a tincture that may take some sustained daily use (2-3 weeks) before you notice a difference. For some, the change is immediate, sometimes bladder irritation is reduced within hours and muscles and bones will straighten and align themselves almost instantly. You may find that over time with sustained use, you might only need a few drops to feel the effects. Like the body remembers the medicine and you only need a taste to activate it.

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I have two favorite spots to collect my Usnea – one is a big old half fallen grandaddy pine tree, who is bearded all over with Usnea. The second spot is under the river bridge on a particular spot of acacias. They are always generous. This tincture is specially made – it is double extracted to make sure all parts of the available medicine are collected.

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