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Whispered the earth, ‘notice the little things’…..

‘And slow down’.

I felt so blessed last week to be able to go out and put my bare feet on some grass in the sunshine and have a moment to really feel earth.

First time this year and first time on this land. Its something I have longed to be able to do in the morning for many years without having to leave the house.

As I sat, my eyes started to notice the tiny plants emerging, a tiny nettle, some young cleavers which you might also know as sticky weed and some aquilegia dotted around.

I do do this often, search out the lesser valued plants to see what medicinal ‘weeds’ might be gifted in the place I happen to be. They do say that you will always find what you need in your locality at the right time. If I am honest cleavers are my least favourite edible weed, and I seem to have a garden full ! Even when very young I cant say they inspire me as they are still a little rough but perhaps I can experiment with the wild garlic which is abundant here too and of which I am also not that fond of in large quantities, but combined they may make a decent pesto as I make it usually with carrot tops and they are a bit furry too but make a great pesto:

*1 bunch of carrot tops, Olive oil to cover, handful of sunflower seeds, sea salt to taste, a dash of balsamic vinegar, garlic or garlic leaves to your taste. Blend to a paste. You can also add spinach and of course basil if you have it. I will be substituting Cleavers as a trial. I tend to add cheese later to the finished pasta if wanted. To keep in a jar for a while in the fridge just make sure it is covered with olive oil.*

Cleavers are noted for appearing right at the end of winter just when we need a boost from the vitamin C they are rich in and if steeped in cold water for a few hours for a drink or steamed as a young spring vegetable they help promote lymphatic flow which is good for spring detoxing and being an alterative herb, help balance the body. Not advised if pregnant or on blood thinners though. They are part of the coffee family and the seeds later on in the season can be roasted and ground to use as a substitute, though a bit fiddly.

They are famously known as the inspiration for velcro and their root yields a red dye used in natural textile dying. They resemble several other galium family plants such as ladies bedstraw and sweet woodruff and were also often used to stuff mattresses.

Soon we will also be able to revitalise with much tastier nettle tea and nettle soup or prepare for the allergy season with plantain leaf and enliven our livers with dandelion leaf in salads and decorate spring cakes with their petals.

I have made the first sowings of parsley, tomato and salad leaves too into some wonderful compost made with wool and bracken, which feels really good but not used it before so I am curious to see how it performs.

I think even if I only had space for one or two pots something edible would need to be growing alongside a flower or two, its just so satisfying if you get to harvest something and eat it straight from your garden.

All this is an antidote to the madness which rages…..did you know the Uk government has pledged a further £58 million to fund the Aria geo-engineering ‘research’ into blocking the sun’s rays on top of the geo-engineering programme which it has been running for decades. Mass vitamin D deficiency is not normal.

So lets get out there every moment we can and appreciate nature’s ever giving abundance noticing all the little things that come together to create the big whole that is nature. While the chaos runs until out of fuel we can get on with caring and doing our small things to create a healthy world.