I have fallen in love with Mary Morgaine Squire’s plant love letter newsletters lately, and when I sat down to interview her, it was made even more clear to me just how deep her connection with the herbs is! I’m excited that she chose ginkgo (GIngko biloba) for her herb – it’s a new plant for the show and one I haven’t worked with much myself. I really enjoyed learning more about it. I’m even trying to find a place to grow a ginkgo tree in my own yard now!
Mary shared so many wonderful things during our conversation – from a plant meditation to an excerpt from her love letter to ginkgo, plus her recipe for Sweet Memory Tea. You can download your very own copy of Mary’s lovely recipe here.
By the end of this episode, you’ll know:
► The connections between the history of ginkgo, its physical structure, and its medicinal benefits
► The best time of year to harvest ginkgo leaves
► How working with ginkgo can benefit your mind and heart
► Two ways to combine ginkgo with other herbs to enhance their own gifts
► and so much more…
For those of you who don’t know her, Mary Morgaine Squire, aka Mary Plantwalker, is a land steward, writer, educator, ceremonialist and avid gardener living in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. She began her walk with the plants at Fairhaven College in the early 90’s while earning a BA in sustainable living, and later traveled the world to learn from the plants and healers of indigenous cultures. Matthew Wood, Frank Cook and Juliet Blankespoor have been some of her many herbal teachers along the way.
Mary Morgaine creates sacred sanctuary wherever she goes, pouring her life energy into the space around her. Herb Mountain Farm, a healing botanical sanctuary that hosts events, a forest school and residential community, has been her home for many years and she is devoted to stewarding it with loving care. Her joy arises while tending the land and documenting the life unfolding on this magical planet through writing, photography and collage. Her prayer is that this work will inspire others to care deeply for our Mother Earth.
As a plantfolk woman, Mary Morgaine walks her talk by steeping herself daily in the spirit of the plants whether it’s eating something wild, drinking herbal tea, sitting under a tree or giving voice to the plant nation. She is an eternal student of the natural world and generously shares with others how to strengthen their personal relationship with the plants around them and find their passion for embracing conscious earth stewardship. She offers regular Appalachian Tea Ceremonies, Plant Walks, and other earth-based workshops and is the author of a weekly subscription newsletter called Earth Devotions.
If you’d like to hear more from Mary, which I highly recommend, then head to the show notes where you can get easy links for her website and social media channels. You can also find the transcript for this episode in the show notes and you can access your recipe card at: https://bit.ly/4eLQATd.
I’m thrilled to share our conversation with you today!
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On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health.
Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com.
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Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients Into Foods & Remedies That Heal and co-author of the bestselling book Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine. She's a registered herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild and teaches many popular online courses. Read about how Rosalee went from having a terminal illness to being a bestselling author in her full story here.
