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After many years of dabbling with herbalism through making teas, tinctures and salves, Jane decided that she wanted to explore herbalism on a scientific level, to get a true understanding of the benefits of herbal medicine. So four years later, armed with a Clinical Herbalism diploma and love of nature Jane, her husband Chuck, and their three kids all live on the “Wildflowers Farm”, running the business together. From a humble tea store, they have branched out to yoga classes, solstice festivals, harvest dinners, herbalism classes, and Apiary with their own brand of honey!
Casa London: Why don’t we start with the teas! Where do you get the ideas for all the different teas that you make?
Jane: Chuck and my kids have been the driving force behind all of the teas. I started with a defence tea for colds and flus because our son was getting sick. I wanted to have something that I could go to as soon as I heard “I’ve got a sore throat” or they got a fever. That started with the defence tea, which contains catnip, which always gets people intrigued!
Catnip is a traditional cold and flu remedy believe it or not. It is an amazing warming diaphoretic as, it can help to sooth fevers without leaving the body cold. It calms the nervous system with its nervine sedative actions-this is the reason cats go crazy for it! Not to worry though, catnip does not make people go crazy and roll around in the plant! There is lemon balm, yarrow and thyme (which is an excellent anti-microbial) in there too — all of which have been used for centuries for healing.
Casa London: How was the initial reaction?
Jane: When I started doing farmer’s markets people were often a little apprehensive about what I was selling them, ten or twelve years ago the knowledge and acceptance was not as strong as it is today. . But eighty percent of the world still relies on herbal medicine as part of their primary health care. . I am one hundred percent grateful for our health service, so I want to be able to fuse the two amenities – you can make herbal medicine a lifestyle and use allopathic medicine for emergencies.