Plants - natural food and medicine

There are thousands of plants that can be used to treat many ailments, as well as trees from all over the world which provide medicine and food.

Flowers can be made into essences which can help you balance your emotions. Some plants are used for decoration only, yet help cleanse our air.

I believe all we need for our medicine and wellbeing is around us.

On our property I use several different plants which are classified as "weeds".

I use these "weeds" in salads, stir frys, teas, make herbal tinctures for medicine and dry the herbs for medicinal use.

Plants can detox the air you breath and it is great to have indoor plants inside to help clean the air and give your home a wonderful feel.

I believe they have a life and world of their own and the life force within each plant is a special gift that we are blessed to experience whilst watching them grow and respond to love and kindness.

Like us: feed them right, give them water and love, place them in the right environment and they respond wonderfully.

As dietary supplements continue to disappear from our supermarkets and health-food shops natural plants are becoming one of the most important sources of vitamins and minerals - essential ingredients for health and vitality.

We have installed a dehydrating kiln and are drying plant material to ensure we have a round-the-year supply of these divine healers.

You can see how we process plant material for our dried herbal teas here.

Some of the plants I use daily at Middle Path include:

• Aloe
• Catsear
• Chickweed
• Cobblers Pegs
• Dandelion
• Dock
• Herb Robert
• Milk Thistle
• Ribwort (narrow leaf plantain)
• Thickhead
• Shepherd´s Purse
• Vervain
• Wild Raspberry