Dear reader,

It is June 3rd and a wet wintery Queen's Birthday weekend Sunday. Perfect for catching up on the computer and writing you all a note.  I did nip out between rain showers to plant the dandelions dug up from Sharon's (gardening buddy friend) garden paths.  I kept three roots for roasting and picked the best leaves for eating.  They're so delicious and not bitter at all.  I keep thinking about how there are festivals all around the world that celebrate dandelions in spring, for example, May 1st in Durango Colorado. One of these days I want to attend one just for the experience.

I've had an amazing past couple of months running a workshop up at the Hungary Elephant cafe near Warkworth,  North of Auckland, end of April, then running a workshop for Kindergarten teachers  and parents May 5th at the Community Kindergarten in Te Puna, Tauranga.  I attended the annual Permaculture hui with my two gardening buddies, Sharon and Nicole in Waihi from 10-12 May, where I gave a mini workshop, well attended by interested folk.

The most recent edible weed event was at Limepeace Organic shop in Opotiki.  I loved the whole experience in the 100 year old quaint, personalised, shop space that Kate has created.  She makes three smoothies one of which features weeds and while people sip their smoothies they flick through my book.  I so honour the work Kate is doing to not only offer health improving smoothies and a diverse range of healthy products but to also educate people about the benefits of these amazing plants. Go Kate! And Kate has invited me back in the spring to run another workshop!

Uncoming workshops

Tauranga
Saturday June 16th,  289 Chadwick Road - my place wohoo!  Go here to book.

Nelson
Sunday 16th September - at the Brook Community Gardens - To book go here

Golden Bay
Sunday 17th February 2019 - Making a Difference (MAD) cafe, Golden Bay - Bookings opening soon.

A wedding in my garden!!  Kaye and Chris tied the knot in my garden Wednesday April 21st. It was a small, intimate occasion led by my dear celebrant friend Naramin Kruze.  Check out her webpage here. Naramin also created my very special 60th birthday celebration in 2016 under her tipi frame.  The flower hair garland Kaye is wearing and the buttonhole Chris is wearing were made by me with flowers from my friend Helen's garden.

Continuing the clarification of weeds thought to be similar.  This time we're distinguishing Yarrow Achellia millifolium from Wild carrot Daucus carota.  On the left in the above photo we have yarrow which is in the family Asteraceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Asia, Europe, and North America. Dandelions and many other plants are also in this family.  Wild carrot is in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate regions of Europe and southwest Asia, and naturalized to North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Side by side you can see they are very different.  Both are edible being nutritious and health promoting.  The wild carrot flower on the right shows the maroon flowers often see right in the centre of the flower - it seems to be a distinct feature I see on nearly all wild carrot flowers. It is fun to search for them. Wild carrot smells of carrot.  You can eat the roots of wild carrot which are white and smaller than cultivated carrots. Make sure you eat wild carrot from clean areas. It commonly grows on the side of roads and I wouldn't eat those.

I very often drink dried yarrow flower tops including some leaves along with dried elderflowers as the combination tea to pull viruses and flu symptoms out of the body.  I'm doing it as a preventative measure.  You can even make a bath of the brew as well. I did that when I had the rash on my face, neck and arms. It helped cool and calm my body. I boiled up 3 tablespoons of the mix of both herbs in 2 cups of water for ten minutes then I poured that in the bath.  I boiled up the same batch two more times to extract every last bit of goodness.

Below is the Hungry Elephant cafe counter.  They have delicious vegetarian and vegan food. The shop is well stocked with a variety of organic dry goods, fruits and vegetables and health products (and tons more) all under the same huge roof. It is definitely worth visiting if you're up that way. Check out their Facebook page.

The head kindergarten teacher expressed this after I ran the workshop at this amazing little country kindergarten.  "I cannot express how your workshop reminds us as kaiako (teacher) of what Ann Pelo talks about that “Every child deserves to know the pulsing, cycling life of the Earth through simple intimacies and daily encounter's.”

Thank you Paula

New car magnets for my business

I have been wanting to advertise on my car for SO long. It just didn't happen and then Luisa came along.  She is a graphic disigner from Germany and stayed in my Air B&B room. In exchange for two dinners she designed this awesome car magnet. There's one on the other side and I have a peel off transparency for the boot.  How cool is that. I love how bright and colourful it is. Thank you so much Luisa!!

These are my two biggest kumara weighing in at 1111gms and 968gms.  I had a bumper crop and I didn't have to do anything.  A friend kindly planted them in spring and then a travelling friend and her boyfriend dug them all up!  I am very grateful for the help.  I have stored the kumara in a box with paper on top and I've been eating the damaged ones.  Another storage tip I learned from a Chinese guest was to thinly slice the kumara and then dry them in the sun.  He said they keep well that way and then are used in cooking for example, kumara porridge with rice. He told me they have a slicing machine at his home in a Chinese village.

I have a delightful story to share about hawthorns Crataegis monogyna.  Jiangjun wrote to me at the end of March and said "I came to NZ from China and when I was young, we eat lots of the hawthorn fruit. There is a particular one which is a typical street food that uses 6 or 7 of the fruit to make a kebab and dip in the hot sugar syrup. It is very delicious."  He also asked where he could find wild hawthorns. I told him the places where I have gathered like around Lake Rotorua, near Nelson and also that there are some in Bledisloe Park next to Massey University.  At the beginning of May he wrote again to tell me that on Anzac day he and his wife went and found the trees and made jam with them and whether I'd like to try the jam, as they wanted to send me some.  I was so touched and delighted.  It takes very good.

I wanted to know what this large variety is that is common in China.  I was told about Crataegis ambigua but I cannot find any reference to it in New Zealand. Has anyone heard of it? 

Sunset and light rays over Ohope beach.  My parents, Lulu the dog and I rented a bach for four days 25-29th May. It was a little holiday and was a welcome break from the internet as there was no wifi and non of my other usual activities.  I actually started a knitting project sitting by the log fire! Bliss.

It was close for me to travel to Limepeace Organics in Opotiki on Saturday 26th May for a workshop. Fourteen weed enthusiasts came and we all had a thoroughly enjoyable time.
Kate and her smoothie wall.

Kate makes three smoothies one of which contains weeds. She has a very novel way of dealing with the weeds and greens that her friend brings to her.  Kate puts them into a bag and they go straight into the freezer.  Once frozen they are brought out and the weeds are smashed up into pieces so that Kate can take out a scoop full to put into a smoothie. No cutting up required!

Isn't this mural in Opotiki on corrugated iron really creative. Limepeace organics is just along to the left but not visible in the photo.

Under a branch of the above pohutukawa mural which ends in the entrance to a  Huia healing centre, there is an amazing hawksbeard plant Crepis capillaris.  It is growing from a crack under a roof - weeds amaze me at their hardiness and stamina.

Wild plants have survived droughts and floods and freezing temperatures and still survive.  I believe they will be the ones to cope with climate change.  That is why they are good for us to eat - they share those survival qualities to infuse our immune systems with resilience and aliveness.

On that note I wish you a healthy, restful winter in NZ and a vibrant, healthy summer in the northern hemisphere.

Love Julia