A Wood Nymph’s Dream: Herbs & Dresses
by Amber Magnolia Hill on March 12, 2009
From Amber
On Saturday us Violet Folklore girls got together to frolic upon the earth in one of her most beautiful secret spots. It was sort of an herb walk/beautiful dresses photo shoot. We are so lucky to live where we do! This particular spot is a 3 minute walk from my house and lies on the outskirts of a large public park. I refer to this less-traveled area as the Medicine Grove, because an abundance of medicinal herbs grows here!
Which reminds me of the magical processes of renewal and new growth in springtime- like these gorgeous Gunne Sax dresses that we sometimes find just growing right on the trees of this sublimely haunted forest:
A Gunne wedding dress! Thank you dress faeries!
Ruffles, lace, eyelet!
All of this reminds me, have you seen the Flickr group Pretty Dresses in Nature? LOVE it! The name itself makes me giddy. (We are the group's top contributors- it needs more members, join up girls!).
The Gunne Sax Wedding Dress
Early spring mugwort- she'll grow to be much more statuesque than this! Mugwort is a woman's herb, a witch's herb, the herb of ancient memory- one of Violet Folklore's most beloved plant allies!
What could be lovelier than a pale pink Gunne sundress?:
The Gunne Sax Flower Fairie Sundress
Rose hips- the seed pods that are left after the roses have wilted away. Delicious, nutritious, high in vitamin C- they make a yummy, healing tea or jam!
And this sweet Gunne peasant dress:
We thought it was like a cross between a hobbit and elf dress.
The Gunne Sax Peasant Dress
Miner's lettuce (on top) and chickweed (on bottom with the white flower). Read Sasha's post about these nutritive spring tonics here.
Now onto the tops, the cape, the skirts, and the other dresses!:
The Edwardian Daydream Blouse
Nettles- the vibrant plant right in the middle of the shot, we know it's a bad picture but it's a magical plant and the only wild nettle we know of in this area! Sasha has posted extensively about the many many healing properties of stinging nettles here.
The Lucy In The Sky Blouse
Dandelion, the most joyful of herbs! An oil of the flowers relaxes tense muscles, the leaves are a bitter tonic and therefore aid digestion, and the root is a powerful liver cleanser! See the link to Sasha's post about miner's lettuce and chickweed above for more.
The Miss Victoria Lace Blouse
Plantain- this is the small-leaved variety. An extremely nutritive wild food, and the premier surface wound healing herb. It grows everywhere- if you are in a Wal-Mart parking lot and someone gets a cut or other owie find this herb, have the afflicted person chew it up a bit, and then apply it directly to the spot. Also great for bee stings!
The Ruby Tuesday Tie Dye Top
Cleavers- lymph lover extraordinaire!
The Peace Pipe 60s Wool Cape
Blackberry brambles. The berries are just about the yummiest antioxidant around, the very early spring leaves are used as a nutritive tonic by some, and the root is the best known herbal diarrhea tamer.
The Roadhouse Blues Dancing Skirt
Detail of the dead- and deadly!- thorny brambles that kept tripping us up!
The Gypsy Carnival Skirt/Shirt Set
Manzanita in blossom- the leaves help heal UTIs (very similar to uva ursi) and the autumn berries are bursting with delicious nutrients! You know Sasha has posted about this too- here.
The California Flower Girl Dress
Yellow dock- an aid to the digestive tract, liver, and skin.
The Astral Weeks Sundress
*~*~*~*
Though they reside not in the kingdom of flora, we just had to capture these enchanting little fungi critters before they disappeared in the coming warmth! The 2nd shot is like a peek into a faery's living room- the reading nook!
So long Medicine Grove- thank you for the abundance of mind, body, and soul healing that is found within your sacred realm…
you gals are the awesomest!
Wow, that’s quite a post! That’s just too much loveliness to handle at one time, ladies. I want to live in that wedding dress, by the way!
You gals are so pretty. I think , so far, this is my favorite blog of yours. *sigh* Calgon, take me to the mountains!
this has got to be one of my favorite posts! look at all those lovely cloths and herbs too! you two certainly are lucky!
why, oh why, did jessica mcclintock hate girls with earth mama bosoms? it makes me crazy and sad.
This was such a lovely post to just sit back and relax and read… you are so lucky to have wood nymphs so generous in their Gunne Sax bounty. That wedding dress is a dream… I don’t even know what else to comment on because it was all so beautiful! I also enjoyed virtually tagging along on your edible foods walk… believe it or not, I too am a wild edibles enthusiast and go to a wild plant camping convention here in the North East every Summer! I love when I have the randomest things in common with my favorite bloggers!
Hmmm… dress faeries – I knew it.
You ladies are absolute visions, gorgeous post!
beautiful!!!!!!!!!xxxx