The autumn equinox was the sixtieth anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, a book that changed the world, and Rachel Carson made the mother of the environmental movements. First by getting DDT banned, and then by waking people up to the insanity of using pesticides at all. Her book is even more relevant now, and we can add microplastics and raw sewage to the list of human offences committed on unsuspecting creatures of nature. Although people of a certain generation, like me, will remember Rachel Carson and Silent Spring, what is less known is her connection to ..read more

The bees are still happy under the apple tree, but Darren had noticed that wasps had started to bother them, attracted by the smell of honey in the hot weather, I suspect. The wasps had their nest in an upturned black box standing on a lid-less bin outside Katrina’s pottery studio. A bit too close for comfort for students and visitors. I have had in mind to try and move them as I didn’t want them killed. I’m pleased that our biodynamic status prohibits poisoning them. But what to do! I must admit that I didn’t so much mind the wasps bothering people, as them invading my bees! Darren agreed, an ..read more

After the warmth of March, and the cold spell at the end of it, rain has now come to complete the picture. The grass in the garden has had its first mowing (thanks to Iain!), and we have started sowing seeds and repotting the plants that we sowed in the autumn. My broadens are doing well, as are my garlics and onions, and I’m just about to plant out a few potatoes. I want to use the method I learnt in the Pyrenees - les pommes de terre dans la paille - meaning that you leave the potatoes on the ground and cover them in straw. Just remove the straw when you want to harvest. Easy peasy! This wee ..read more

Photo credit: Franz Eugen Köhler’s Medizinalräte-Pflanzen The apple is probably the most widely eaten tree-fruit in the world. Wild apples were collected and eaten long before apple trees were domesticated, and their remains have been found in numerous European archeological sites from Neolithic times. LATIN NAME Malus domestica SYNONYMS Malus pumila,  M. communis, M. sylvestris (crab-apple) FAMILY Rose (Rosaceae) BOTANY The apple tree is deciduous (sheds its leaves in autumn) and can be up to 9 meters tall. The leaves are dark green simple oval shapes with serrated margins and ..read more

The Wellness show interviews Kirsten Hartvig about all things natural health and wellbeing. Kirsten Hartvig is a medical herbalist, registered naturopath, nutritionist, writer, and author of 14 books on herbs and plant foods as medicine. She is also a keen botanist, cook and herb gardener. Kirsten also teaches materia medica on the Heartwood Education professional course in herbal medicine. Go To Podcast You can support the Healing Garden by following us on social media @healinggardenuk , supporting us on Patreon @healinggardenuk and by visiting the garden in Forest Row, Sussex ..read more