With Autumn here, its rains, cooler temperatures, and often bone-rattling winds, many herbal allies are making a comeback. Are you noticing this where you live, too?
For us, these days mark the beginning of nettle season. This prickly-but-friendly herb can be spotted growing alongside streams and other wet places and is one of the herbs that brings me the most joy, year after year.
Below is a little essay I wrote for the beautiful Lunica Planner my friend
has lovingly crafted for 2024. The piece was written with spring in mind, but really, it is evergreen. So, without further ado, I give you an ode to nettle:It’s like going out to see a friend, a sharp-tongued, strong-willed friend living by the hedges, that winding journey to the nettle patch.
I’ve tried skipping the walk, down the dirt track and over the bridge, sliding down to the creek and mudding my boots, by planting nettles directly in the garden. It’s no use, though. In my hot and dry climate, nettles are stubborn and refuse to be confined to garden beds, subject to my watering whims and mulching pampers by dying, without fail, a dramatic death by mid-summer. Nettles will not bend down to me, or work collaboratively for that matter. Nettles may be humble at times, and under-appreciated more often than not, but they know fully well where they want to be and under which conditions.
But that’s why I love nettles, after all. Because they’re not easy to deal with, and doing so requires one to be fully present and aware. And leaving home with my foraging basket to be with nettle truly feels like visiting a friend, requiring effort and thoughtfulness, and a desire to be with that which is strong, and resilient, and not that much concerned with one’s opinion after all.
If it sounds like I’m personifying nettle here, well, that’s because I may as well be. Herbs are quite like people (human and other-than-human alike), and seeing them from this perspective can help deepen our relationship with the herb kin. Speaking of herbs solely on a basis of their constituents or actions (or what they are good for) reduces them to the sum of their parts, and herbs are so much more than that. The same way we don’t speak of people by listing what they are good for, so we can do that for herbs. When getting familiar with a new herb, some befriending questions may include what are they like, how do they make one feel, or even when is it a good time to be in their company. Questions like these may help us not only get a better understanding of said herb (or person!), but feel truly close and familiar.
Take nettle, for example. Nettle (Urtica dioica) is a cooling and drying herb, and can support when an astringent is needed, or there are hot, inflamed tissues. It contains histamine, formic acid, chlorophyll, iron, potassium, calcium, and vitamin C, among other constituents. Nettle leaves and stalks count alterative, astringent, anti-inflammatory, depurative, diuretic, and nutritive among their actions. Nettle can, in fact, support and strengthen the whole body, so it is worth getting to know this herb and the many ways one can build a relationship with it.
One of my favorite ways to incorporate nettle into my life is by making a strong infusion from it, an herbal tonic my body craves year long but especially during spring, after a long and sluggish winter.
Lately, I’ve been playing with my nettle infusions by combining this herb with rose (Rosa canina) hip, another foraged herb that is not only rich in vitamin C, but makes a wonderful spring tonic as well. I enjoy using these two herbs together because both of them require a small trip with my foraging basket strapped onto my back during autumn, which is when rose hips are ripe and bright red, and nettles start to emerge once again after a dry summer and the first autumn rains. On my neck of the woods, these herbs don’t grow together, but both grow alongside creeks and going out to them is, for the most part, a pleasurable little adventure. Once collected, I dry both herbs separately and store them in jars to use throughout the year. Below is the nettle and rose hip drink that has been gracing my mug, not only during spring but year-round!
Nettle & rose hip latte
Note: to make this recipe in season with fresh herbs, simply reduce the suggested amounts of nettle and rose hip by half.
(Makes 1 1/2 cups)
ingredients
3 teaspoons of rose (Rosa canina) hip, dry, hairy seeds and pith removed
4 teaspoons nettle (Urtica dioica) leaves, dry
1 cup water
1/2 cup milk (or milk substitute)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1 teaspoon honey (optional)
directions
Place the rose hip and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, covered. Allow to gently simmer for 10-15 minutes (you’ve just made a decoction!).
In the meantime, place the nettle in a heat-proof jar.
Strain the rose hip decoction into the jar with nettle. The straining should be done through a sieve lined with cheesecloth to catch any remaining rose hip hairs, which may be irritating to the throat.
Cover the jar with a lid and allow to steep for 4 to 8 hours, or overnight. You can then drink your herbal infusion as is, or proceed to the next step to elevate it into a latte.
Gently warm your milk (or milk substitute) in a saucepan on the stove, adding a dash of vanilla extract and a teaspoon of honey, if desired.
Strain your herbal infusion into the saucepan, combining it with the milk. Allow to warm for another minute without boiling, and turn off the heat.
Enjoy this herbaceous drink while warm!
Thank you, Val, for inviting me to be part of this magical, Land-centered offering! I have to admit I love every opportunity I can get to ramble about so-called weeds.
Here’s where you can take a look at the Lunica Planner (and get one for yourself or a friend!).