Bringing the healing energy of crystals into your garden not only increases and enhances the energy vibrations of your garden, it will make your plants sing too…

The powerful, healing effect of gemstones and crystals, is not only beneficial for the individual who invokes and internalises their special qualities, they work also to absorb and transmit those qualities you wish to bring to your outer environment too, namely your garden. Being the aesthetic treasures they are, they add enormous beauty and, of course, wonderful focal points of interest. Plants are well known to respond to subtle energies such as words and music and, therefore, bringing the harmonious effects of crystal energy into your garden will revive, reinvigorate and encourage growth in your plants, flowers and trees.

Crystal Power
Crystals are conceived deep within Mother Earth. As volcanic eruptions bring magma to the earth’s surface, so they bring with it the minerals and gasses which are essential ingredients for the development of crystals. As this magma cools and starts to solidify and harden, the atoms begin to bond with each other. This determines the composition and shape of the crystals being formed.

You will find that the same types of crystal that comes from different parts of the world will not all have the same shade of colour or give off the same vibration, though their healing properties will stay the same. Crystals are also influenced by the magnetic field of the earth and this field varies from place to place. Some people find they are drawn to crystals from a specific country. This is because crystals were exposed to different conditions and energies from the earth at the time they were being formed. Here, one must go with your inner feeling and use the crystals you are drawn to, even though it may not be the most attractive or flawless. Use the ones that are in tune with you.

Quartz Crystal
Quartz crystals with their unique ability to receive, contain, project, refract and reflect light vibrate to a very high and exact rate that is beneficial to the whole planet. Here we take a look at three of the most popular quartz crystals, their qualities and how they can be used in your garden space to create just the right effect and feeling…

Clear Quartz
Crystals with a milk base that gain more clarity as they reach the terminated point symbolise our path from being in a cloudy and dull state of consciousness as we progress to a higher, clearer state of consciousness.

Clear quartz helps to give a clear picture to those that are confused and need direction in life. When worn, it works as a mental energiser that protects the aura and amplifies the person’s energy field. The clear white light they vibrate, contains all the colours of the spectrum and so brings a stimulating vibration and re-energises and uplifts.

Clear quartz is also closely linked to the moon. Their energies peak at full moon and slowly fade until the new moon. Clear Quartz cancels the harmful effects of radiation and is good for vertigo, skin, digestive, kidney and bladder disorders.

Use in your garden: Placing Clear Quartz at the entrance to your garden will work for the good of all and bring a good Yang (male) energy to often overly feminine inclined gardens, balancing and protecting these subtle energy frequencies. Place near/under plants that are in dark corners or places where little sunlight is received at the time of full moon to maximise its healing effect.

Milky Quartz
This translucent, opaque, white-form of quartz is calming and reassuring for those who worry a lot. Used to reduce tension, Milky Quartz also keeps the mind clear and focused and helps it to retain information. Possessing the Yin (female) energy, Milky Quartz is a wonderful pacifier and can be used in times of disturbances on all the physical, mental and emotional levels.

Use in the garden: Best placed near water, the receptive energies of this crystal assist water plants to retain the year-round vigour. Keeping the crystal near water will also help to keep the crystals naturally cleansed.

Rose Quartz
This sometimes transparent off-white, pink to dark rose pink crystal is closely linked to the Heart chakra. It helps with self love, brings about inner peace, tranquillity and helps heal wounds on the subtle level. Breaking down the walls we tend to build around ourselves, Rose Quartz is good for attracting romantic partners and bringing peace to our relationships. A dispeller of negativity, Rose Quartz also releases toxins from the body and is excellent for heart and lung conditions.

Use in the garden: Because of their wonderful overall beneficial qualities, it is suggested to place as many Rose Quartz crystals in the garden as possible. Generously scatter them in places where extra soil and plant nourishment is needed and watch your garden come back to life again. They will imbue your garden with peaceful energy and invite and introduce new bird and animal life to your ecosystem. Offset the energy of plants that encroach on others with these crystals and also those that just need an extra little love.

Smokey Quartz, Tangerine Quartz and Rutilated Quartz are other suggestions for Quartz crystals that stimulate growth and expansion and can all be used in the garden to protect, heal and nourish. Gemstones  like Obsidian, Jasper, Tektite, Moldavite and the stones from the wonderfully colour-rich Calcite family bring not only colour  and therefore joy and creativity but a presence of earth energy, that been lifted from the very depths of Mama Gaia to your garden. By introducing crystal energy into your garden you will immediately reap the benefits and feel the shift in energy and bring  even more positive, loving and entirely green benefits with them.

By Angela Wood Myers & Ian Davies

Since butterflies (lepidoptera) are one of nature’s top pollinators, helping to pollinate over a third of the food we eat, we can help make a difference by creating happy gardens, naturescapes and habitats for butterflies to roam wild and free

Like frogs are to wetlands, butterflies are a sensitive indicator species of the health of our natural environment. Reports of reduced butterfly populations indicate that we should not only nurture the environments they live in, but adopt a natural approach to harmful pesticides that diminish their numbers.

7 TOP BUTTERFLY GARDENING TIPS:

1. Study
Read books, identification guides and online resources to help you identify butterflies and their host plants native to your area.

2. Do Not Use Pesticides
Pesticides kill butterflies and other beneficial insects like ladybugs. Go to natural pest management to learn more about gardening without pesticides.

3. Where to Plant
Plant your butterfly habitat in a sunny area that is sheltered from wind and by a porch or window where you can enjoy it. Some good locations are along a south facing wall or fence. Do not plant it near bird feeders or birds will eat the caterpillars and butterflies.

4. What to Plant
a) Native Host Plants
Plant both native host and nectar plants for the butterfly life cycle. A native host plant is what a butterfly lays its eggs on and what caterpillars eat. A nectar plant has flowers that provide nectar for adult butterflies. Although butterflies will only lay their eggs on a specific native host plant, they will feed from many native and non-native nectar plants.
Plant native host and nectar plants in separate locations.
Plant host plants like parsley, forget-me-nots, and wild geraniums for some of the first butterflies that emerge in the spring.

b) Shrubs and Trees
Butterflies also need shrubs and trees to roost in at night and on cloudy days.
Plant masses of host plants near shrubs or trees so caterpillars can feed and have a place to roost and make their chrysalis.

c) Nectar Plants
Plant a variety of nectar plants for year-round blooms and nectar supply. Butterflies especially like red, orange, yellow and purple colored flowers like those on lantana, verbena, and butterfly bushes. Black-eyed Susan, cosmos, lavender, monarda, Echinacea, salvia, and mints are some popular nectar plants.

5. Create Places to Bask in the Sun
Butterflies like to bask in the sun on large stones and logs as they hold more warmth than plants.

6. Provide Adequate Water Sources
Butterflies drink from water drops on leaves or from puddles on the ground. Male butterflies like to “puddle” or gather around patches of damp sand or drying mud to lick up dissolved salts. If you don’t have a wetland or other natural areas where water puddles in your garden, you can make one by putting a tray-like container of moist sand in the ground.

7. Don’t Trim Until Spring
Some butterflies do not migrate, but spend the winter suspended from leaves and branches in their chrysalises until they emerge in the spring. Don’t trim your garden in the autumn; wait until after the last spring frost to cut perennials or shrubs. This will also give your plants more protection against cold weather and provide places for other beneficial insects to hibernate!

BUTTERFLY LIFECYCLE:
Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle. Each butterfly species lays its eggs (ovum) on specific host plants. The eggs hatch into caterpillars (larva) and feed on the host plant continuously until they complete several molts. The caterpillars form a chrysalis (pupa) where they will complete their metamorphosis into an adult (butterfly). A butterfly will emerge from the chrysalis in one to two weeks and feed on nectar plants at specific times each day. The entire cycle takes a couple of weeks with adults living about one week.

BUTTERFLY FACTS:

• Butterflies can be as small as a coin or as large as a frisbee!
  Butterflies like to stop at flowers that face straight upward.
• Their feet (tarsi) serve as taste sensors and when they touch something sweet it makes their tongue come out.
• A butterfly’s tongue is 3 times longer than its body.
• Nectar from flowers provides butterflies with the sugars and energy they need to live and fly.
• When they feed on flowers they pollinate plants.
• Butterflies are cold blooded and have green blood.
• They need the sun to warm their circulatory system before they can fly. A butterfly’s wings act like mini-solar collectors capturing sunlight to warm them.
• On cloudy days and at night butterflies roost in protected places in trees under leaves and between bark crevices with their head down.
• The scales on their wings overlap like roof tiles and help butterflies escape from spider webs by not sticking.
• Butterflies scales give them their pattern and colour.
• You can identify males and females by their wing patterns.
• The scales on the wing produce colour through chemical pigments or by reflecting light.
• Male butterflies can identify a female in its chrysalis and will compete to mate with her when she emerges. Females flutter around looking for host plants where they will touch down and deposit an egg or two on the underside of a leaf.
• After hatching a caterpillar will increase its body size over 30 000 times before it forms a chrysalis.
• Birds and wasps eat butterflies as part of the natural cycle of life!

BUTTERFLY TREATS:

• Mash a ripe banana or strawberry, or make some scraps on a slice of watermelon for the juice to collect, and place in a pan outside for butterflies to eat.
• Place a small salt lick from a pet store on a sunny rock or log and sprinkle with water.

Source: www.noahsnotes.com

For more information on the conservation of butterflies in South Africa, visit www.sabutterflies.co.za

Here are Marc’s top 10 SA species that offer practical, easy-to-grow and easy-to-find beneficial properties:

Leonotus leonurus (Wild Dagga)
A quick-growing shrub up to 2m, hardy and great for Sunbirds when in flower (which is pretty much all the time, at least in summer). Wild Dagga is an amazing muscle relaxant when a good bunch or so is popped in a hot bath. It aids recovery of overstretched muscles and has an overall soothing effect on body and mind. It is no relation to Cannabis sativa, beyond being a fellow member of the plant kingdom.

Artemisia afra (Wild Als or Wormwood)
Another quick-growing shrub that reaches up to 1.5m and has feathery green leaves. Its medicinal implications are too numerous to mention all, but its most common application is as a snuff or brewed drink to address bronchial issues. A few fresh leaves brewed or chewed and sweetened with honey is a real “vita min” (vita is life and min refers to force).

Bulbine frutescens (Orange or Yellow Bulbine or Bulbinella)
Probably the easiest-to-use plant in the country, for everything from a mosquito bite to a cut or rash and even broad abrasion, this is a soothing, repairing gel-sap plant that immediately gets to work to both anaethetise, disinfect as well as heal. It appears as a small, succulent groundcover with woody stems and is something you can grow everywhere.

Pelargonium spp
Commonly called Geraniums, this fragrant family has been employed for hundreds of years as “muthi” for a host of ailments, as well as for pot pourri.

Hypoxis hemerocallideae (African Potatoe)
Consistently misnamed but wonderfully medicinal, a range of new products are coming onto the market derived from this plant, most notably skin care creams.

Agathosma ovata (Buchu)
The pioneers drank “buchu brandy” in the days of yore, when doctoring yourself must have been fun, as a cure-all and tonic against a host of complaints.

Heteropyxis natalensis (Lavender Tree)
The lavender-scented leaves are used as a refreshing tea by many South Africans and is a genreal tummy tonic.

Plectranthus spp (Spurflowers)
Most species can be brewed to make a healing, soothing lotion for topical application.

Aloe ferox (Bitter Aloe)
A dewormer in various forms as well as a general body tonic, taken in moderation.

Chondropetalum tectorum (now Elegia tectorum; Dekriet)
While not a medicinal plant, it is a brilliant, grassy landscape plant and a large component of the thatching industry in the Cape, mostly around the Swellendam area.

Herbs not only provide plentiful properties for health and wellbeing; herb gardening is a fun and meaningful pastime that’s healing for the soul too

Growing your own herb garden is one of those little known pleasures in life that can be enormously satisfying and joyous to do – to plant a seed and watch it sprout into a functional, beneficial plant that yields both culinary and medicinal properties. Whether grown in a pot on your kitchen windowsill or within the realms of a beautiful stone-laden herb garden, utilizing your very own herbs can be both fun and very meaningful.

Man has become disconnected from the source of “things” – we pick up our groceries laden with fruit, vegetables and dried herbs from plastic containers on the supermarket shelves; we use plastic money to buy these items not realising that nature, in its abundance, can provide us all our needs if we only put in a minimal amount of effort. Growing your own herb garden helps you to realign with the true nature of the universe and reconnects us to the principle that when we put in a small amount of effort we are rewarded in abundance. All that is asked of us is to place seeds into the soil and with the correct amount of sunlight and water new life bursts forth.

The benefits of planting your own herbs

Not only do herbs grown and nurtured from seed or seedling taste better than their supermarket counterparts, you can also pick them fresh whenever you need and they replenish themselves with very little effort on your part. For kitchen use, only a few plants of each herb are needed and a little will have strong aromatic and culinary effects. Our taste buds have become dulled from too much refined sugar and salt, but adding fresh herbs to food will invigorate and refine your sense of taste. Herbs can also be an important ingredient in many cosmetics and beauty preparations. They are nature’s beauty secret to looking and feeling vitalized.

The following are some easy-to-grow herbs along with their uses and how to prepare them at home:

Chamomile
Chamomile is quite famous for its medical and household uses. It is an excellent, gentle sedative and is safe in small doses for children. It has strong relaxing actions and is therefore very good in the treatment of anxiety and insomnia. Indigestion and inflammations such as gastritis are often eased with chamomile. It can be used as a mouthwash for mouth inflammations, a gargle for sore throats and an eye bath for sore eyes. Inhaling chamomile over a steam bath will speed recovery from nasal congestion. Externally chamomile speeds wound healing and reduces swelling. The parts most commonly used are the flowers and leaves.

Preparation: Pour a cup of boiling water onto 2 tablespoons of dried chamomile leaves and let infuse for 5 – 10 minutes. For digestive problems this tea should be drunk after meals. Half a cup of flowers boiled in 2 litres of water makes a steam bath. Cover your head with a towel and inhale the steam.

Coriander
Coriander can be used medicinally to aid the digestive system in getting rid of wind and ease the spasms that can accompany it. It will also ease diarrhoea, especially in children, and may be used as an equivalent to gripe water, used to ease colic in babies. The oil acts as a stimulant to the stomach, increasing secretion of digestive juices and thus also stimulating the appetite. Coriander has a very distinctive scent and flavour and is an indispensable ingredient in many Indian and Thai dishes.

Preparation: For food preparation the leaves are used. Medicinally, the ripe seeds are used as a carminative and anti-microbial. Pour a cup of boiling water onto 1 tablespoon of the seeds and let infuse for 5 minutes in a closed pot. This should be drunk before meals.

Lavender
This is an effective herb for headaches especially when they are related to stress. Lavender is effective for the treatment of depression, especially if used in conjunction with other remedies. As a gentle strengthening tonic of the nervous system it may be used in states of nervous disability and exhaustion. It can be used to soothe and promote natural sleep. Externally, the oil may be used to help ease the aches and pains of arthritis.

Preparation: To take internally, pour a cup of boiling water onto 1 teaspoon of dried lavender and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. This can be drunk three times a day. The oil should not be taken internally but can be inhaled, rubbed on the skin or used in baths. To relax before bedtime add a cup of the leaves to a warm bath and soak in it to calm and prepare your nervous system for a restful sleep.

Peppermint
Peppermint has a relaxing effect on muscles, anti-flatulent properties and stimulates bile and digestive juice secretion, and so can relieve symptoms of intestinal colic, flatulent dyspepsia and inflammatory bowel disorders. The volatile oil acts as a mild anaesthetic to the stomach wall, which helps relieve the vomiting of pregnancy and travel sickness. It is also valuable in the treatment of fevers, especially colds and flu. As an inhalant it can be used to relieve nasal congestion. Peppermint also aids with period pain and eases anxiety and tension.

Preparation: Pour a cup of boiling water onto a heaped teaspoon of the dried herb and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. This should be drunk as often as desired. One to 2ml of a peppermint tincture can also be taken three times a day.

Parsley

This fresh herb, used widely in cooking, is one of the richest sources of vitamin C. Medicinally, parsley has three main areas of use. Firstly it is an effective diuretic which helps the body get rid of excess water; secondly it works to stimulate the menstrual cycle (although it’s not advisable to use parsley during pregnancy as there may be excessive stimulation of the womb); and thirdly it can be used as a carminative, for easing babies’ colic pains.

Preparation: Pour a cup of boiling water onto 1 – 2 tablespoons of dried parsley and leave to infuse for 5 – 10 minutes in a closed container. This should be drunk three times a day. For culinary uses, it works well when cooked with fish and can also be added to dips like eggplant.

Rosemary
Rosemary acts as a circulatory and nerving stimulant. It has a toning and calming effect on the digestive system and can also be used where psychological tension is present. It is therefore useful where headache or depression is associated with disability. Externally it may be used to ease muscular pain, sciatica and neuralgia. The oil acts as a stimulant to the hair follicles and can be used for premature baldness.

Preparation: Pour a cup of boiling water onto 1 – 2 tablespoons of dried rosemary and leave to infuse in a covered container for 10 – 15 minutes. This should be drunk three times a day. As a tincture take 1 – 2 ml three times a day. For culinary uses, it can be added to roast potatoes and pasta dishes to enhance the flavour.

Did you know?

Herbs are amazing plants. They have been used for centuries to promote recovery, health and wellbeing. We find their use within the Indian Ayurvedic system and in Chinese medicine alongside acupuncture. They were used in the spiritual healing ecology of Native North Americans and we see their constituents being used as a source of drugs in modern day medicine. In fact modern medicine has its roots in the use of herbs and only until about 50 years ago, drugs were manufactured using herbs alone. Despite the refinement of chemical technology, the majority of drugs on today’s market still have their origin in plant material.

By Laurey Hyman

Laurey is a qualified nutritionist who has studied holistic nutrition, herbalism, environmental medicine and Ayurveda. Originally from South Africa, Laurey lives in Israel with her husband and children. Laurey’s passionate about natural medicine and is currently writing a cookbook using healthy foods as a basis for delicious meals.

PRACTICAL GARDENING TIPS FOR THE MONTH OF MAY….

* May is the ideal time to plant tulip bulbs

* Lift and store dahlia tubers as soon as their foliage has been blackened by the first frost alternatively cut the hollow stems back down to about 10cm (4in) above the tuber.

* Protect conifers from Aphids with Eds Health Meridian for Conifers every four to five weeks throughout autumn and winter for the Italian cypress aphid and water them regularly

* Reduce the amount of watering of water on your Kikuyu lawns; twice a month will be sufficient

* Water plants more sparingly now-conditions are turning cooler and make sure there is good circulation around their foliage, to prevent fungal diseases.

* Buds on autumn flowering shrubs are developing so make sure you keep them fertilised and watered.

* Houseplants should be watered less frequently as temperatures drop

* Lift and divide overcrowded perennials like dietes, daylilies, asters and agapanthus

*Sow cool season lawns like Shade Over and All Seasons Evergreen

*Sow vegetables seeds like broad beans, kale, lettuce, radish and spinach

*Sow flower seeds like Namaqualand daisies, poppies, sweepeas and Virginan stocks

*Plant flower seedlings like primula, pansy, stocks, cineraria, poppies, foxgloves and petunias

*Fruit trees can be planted between autumn and spring although species which need warmth (apricot or peach trees) should not be planted until after the winter.

Courtesy of The Garden Shop – visit their website at www.gardenshop.co.za or email them on info@gardenshop.co.za

The first record of farming dates as far back as the ancient Egyptians whose hieroglyphics revealed methods of planting that were more align with the relationship between nature and the environment than we realise, Barry says. The cycles of the moon, the seasons and the lay of the land were as critical to crop growing as was their worship of the Gods.

“The use of pesticides for mass farming began in the 1940′s as a result of burgeoning population numbers and wartime technology. In fact, many of these chlorine-based products are still available today,” Barry says. But according to him, what many people don’t realise is the devastating effect these chemical fertilisers and toxins have on the soil.

Equally concerned about the use of inorganic fertilisers on the soil and plants is Malcolm Thompson of Wildflower Nursery, a purely indigenous 50-year established nursery situated in Fourways, Johannesburg. “Plants thrive in an environment that they are naturally adapted to. Indigenous plants add value in creating symbiotic relationships for local wildlife like birds and insects,” he says.

What’s vital to plants health and survival is further attributed to the micro-organisms that inhabit the soil creating a healthy underground environment for plants to grow in. Malcolm says that we should think carefully before using insecticides as “toxins remain active in both the plant species and soil for many generations to come”. Also, as Malcolm explains, “insecticides may in fact be killing many other ecologically useful insects and micro-organisms that are beneficial to the plants survival”.

The term “organic” traditionally means not using any chemical pesticides or fertilisers because they are damaging to the environment. But experts warn that some organic substances like tobacco dust can be toxic too and urge consumers to read labels carefully. It is understood that organic gardening is then more a philosophy of gardening and not a style or design. You still need to plant at the right times, prune, control pests and mow the lawn.

Understanding the interrelationship between all elements in the garden – the ecosystem – of life and decay, of pollination and natural pest control and the synergy of plants are all associated with organic gardening or, more liberally, making a connection with the earth – an earth touch, so to speak.

Val Wright, an avid gardener of many years, believes that “nature has a way of sorting itself out”. She says that “understanding the natural intelligence inherent in all nature, is the key to successful gardening”. Creating a lifestyle that is geared towards creating harmony for your natural surrounds and creating balance through recycling and being water-wise and getting involved in community clean-up programmes is a great way of offering respect to nature and developing self-respect for ourselves and the sustainable future of our country, she says.

If you are thinking about growing your own herbs and veggies to eat, organic gardening is something you should think about as the sprays, fertilisers and insecticides you use could be harming you too.