The Herb Set
- Arnica
Arnica montana is one of the herbs studied in the Master Herbalist Program [MHP]. We have a nice patch of it originally started in the spring of 1995 ce. It is located in the Ramapo Garden along the south reaches of a large douglas fir.
- Woodruff
This Gallium odorata began its time here at The Hermit's Grove
a decade before Rev. Paul and gerry even started their joint enterprise. Several
plugs were transplanted here, to the Ramapo Garden, where it thrives, an herb
which loves the acidic shade of the northwest gardens.
- Bloodroot
What a joy when the bloodroot begins to blossom in early spring. Now naturalized in the Snowball bed, we began growing it as part of our MHP pharmacopoeia back in the mid-1990s.
- Belladonna
Another of the famed British herbes, we began planting belladonna
in the partial shade of the Plum Thicket Garden, occasionally adding new plants.
It's been self-seeding since the early 2000s, each flower later providing a fruit
like a black cherry tomato.
- Mandrake in bloom
Found blooming in the winter, these true, European mandrakes [Mandragora autumnalis] delight the young who learned about them reading the Harry Potter books. MHP students study this most storied of medicinal herbs as well.
- Liverwort
This sweet, little Hepatica acutiloba has grown outside the classroom since the mid-1990s, a herald of spring as it opens its blooms to the sun.