Rose Bay Willow Herb - Drawing & Making Tea with Fireweed
I remember the first time I really connected to Rose Bay Willow Herb - its name jumped into my head as I approached it, but I can’t recall ever really knowing it before or how I knew it’s name. Maybe from childhood - but I fell in love. That was only back in 2018 and ever since it’s been a fiery friend of delicious pink, and a joyful companion on car journeys (it loves the sides of the road). It seems to dissipate the hard things, and bring a sense of revival, good forces to navigate anew. But, that could be a projection and we do do that with plants. Although nature does always have it’s mirrors.
Drawing is my way of discernment with that, to further the ways of getting to know a plant.
Drawing brings you into quiet contemplation, a happy investigation, love and reverence. It is an easy way focus on the information and allow yourself to follow your inspiration, a sure fine way to polish your perception, letting the plant speak.
To venture in to an artistic and imaginative process with this plant I recommend you forget everything you know. Just start drawing to get to know it’s form, it’s an inquiry. When you feel the form of a plant inside you, it informs you. Eventually you have it to recall, it’s strengths, softness, tone, geometry, song, gesture. It becomes a part of you. Forever a living part. All you have to do is stay in observation, and give yourself the freedom to follow your intuition, play. Just stay connected to looking, and responding.
Here are some of my own drawings. I found myself very drawn to the leaves which is what led me to make tea (see below). Very early on they seemed to reveal the pathology of the intestinal lining (I’ve learnt to read my drawings) and I investigated that the plant is very good at balancing unsettled digestion and gut flora.
If you’d like guidance or to venture into a therapeutic or investigative process drawing plants, do contact me artsbotanical@gmail.com or connect here.
Here I share two other ways to connect with this firey herb through making tea and sweet syrupy goodness.
Making Tea
The leaves of Rose Bay Willow Herb are a traditional tea, especially in Russia. I felt like it was apt to honour the good people of Russia, the people of the land despite all the crazy going on over there. This is the process I recommend:
Make something of an offering. I like to tie a little red ribbon to at least one plant to let it know it will be used as medicine. The beloved curanderas who taught me some work with plants in Mexico used a red ribbon to cure and prevent the plant having susto (fright). And to sing to them as you harvest, tell them thank you and let them know who this tea might be for.
Take the leaves from the plant when it's started to flower. I like to take just a few leaves from different plants. I’ve seen people strip a whole plant of leaves at once but this is not necessary for small harvesting, and in my opinion violent for the plant. We don't need to be greedy and it serves to be gentle. I feel it also serves to take our time, just because it is quicker, doesn't mean its more efficient.
Let the leaves wilt a while, depending on the weather, but don't let them dry out just soften a bit.
Now to roll them for fermentation.
Set up in a beautiful way with a clean glass jar at the ready. You will need to cover the jar a little, either with the lid half on or some muslin. Scrunch the leaves, massage and bruise them a little. I roll each one individally. You release a little of their juices. You will find they smell a fresh grassy smell.
I made two small batches, the first I sat with a friend and rolled together, we chatted and laughed and all this good social love went into the rolling. Another time, I took them to the river, made an altar, blessed them, sang to them, and rolled each leaf as a meditation.
Don't let them dry out in the jar, keep it loosly covered and in a warmish place. The idea is to ferment them for a day or two until they start to smell citrusy and fruity.
Then dry them in a dehydrator gently or if it's warm and dry you can leave them out. They will retain their rolled shape more or less and go a dark nutritious seaweed green. When you drink the tea, you can use a few leaves and keep refilling with water, it gets stronger in subsequent infusions. It's a really good nutritious drink, and tones the stomach, and it's also good for any mild inflammation. Enjoy!
Flower Syrup the blessing of sweetness.
In summer, our bodies in the sunshine are still attuned to process sweet things more easily. This is a sweet treat bringing these delicious pink Fireweed flowers to the table.
In the same gentle way of harvesting, collect a bowl of flowers. No need to strip each plant of all flowers. The fireweed has a gradual flowering process so just a few are actually out at one time anyway, just leave some for the bees and beatles.
Take your time...notice the incredible blue pollen!
So, roughly on quantities, a bowl (see picture) makes 2 medium jars of syrup.
Shake the flowers out, letting any little insects walk away and gently wash the flowers. Add to a pan with about a litre of water, enough to cover them. Bring them to a simmer and add the juice of one lemon, or two limes. You will notice the colour goes a bright pink.
Strain the flowers and add organic white sugar, about 500g. (It's the best preservative and alchemist, and white will let you keep the bright pink colour and delicate flavour) Continue to simmer until you get that rolling jam making boil. Sometimes it goes a bit frothy.
Then (you will have to trust you know when) turn off heat, let it rest a little, then pour into warm sterilised jars. Let it set for 24hrs.
Et voila...its nice on yoghurt* with fruit and a few raw rose bay flowers. *warning, you might also want it with ice cream!!!!
Please do subscribe to the mailing list - or join an art class (next event 14th August in Dartmoor; The Language of Flowers in Art at the beautiful Southcombe Barn - see link below)
