Meet the Herbalist:
Julie Bailey
In this new column of our Newsletter, we will feature an herbalist
who has had an impact upon herbal education or the herbal industry today. For
our first Meet the Herbalist interview, we will focus on Julie Bailey. Before
becoming the owner of Mountain Rose Herbs, Julie taught herbal classes, worked
in healthcare, owned her own nursery, led hiking trips, and she has always had
a deep love for nature and the outdoors. Read this article to learn more about
Julie, why she became interested in herbalism, some of her favorite herbs, and about
her inspirations!
1. Can
you recall the one moment when you were convinced that herbalism would be a
path for you?
While not
clearly understanding where it would lead at the time, there were two
incidences in my early childhood that stimulated a lifelong love of herbs. One
of my earliest memories is staying with my cousins in the High Peak district
of Derbyshire. It was early spring, and I had only recently learned to walk
well enough to propel myself without tottering, and the all the different
shapes and colours of the green world of my cousins’ wild garden were
beckoning. Like most little ones when I needed to pee, immediacy was called
for. I squatted in an inviting patch of sun-warmed dark green, made up of
small, intricately carved leaves covered with tiny, fine silvery hairs. The
intense stinging and shock caused a flood of tears and a large enough wail to
produce a young girl cousin within seconds. I was led by the hand to some long-eared
yellowish-green leaves that grew straight from the soil and had red-brown veins
up their centers. My cousin broke a leaf off, crushed and rolled it in her
hands, then applied to the red burning source of screams. Continuing the
process, until I was sitting in a juicy mass of plant material, she told me that
Stinging Nettles and Dock leaves always grow close to each other and that young
animals eat them both in the spring to grow strong but they always eat the
nettles first. Intensity of pain reduced, I became more interested in hearing
stories about plants than sobbing and fear.
Years later
when I was almost 8, one of my sisters and myself got boils. This was an altogether
unpleasant experience, three or four hot red pustules the size of nail heads.
While my mother used other remedies (including clay poultices, and iodine), the
one I’ll never forget is the Burdock leaves. Besides placing warm leaves on the
boils, (and this required creative application to get a wad of leaves to stay
put) we made huge hand-held face masks with the largest leaves. I used
round-ended scissors and my sister had pinking shears and we both cut out holes
from the leaves for our eyes, noses and mouths. We continued the face mask
routine, even as teenagers indulging in long hot baths with a warm, wet burdock
leaf draped across the face to reduce acne.
2. What
was the most influential book you have ever had the opportunity to read and for
what reasons?
No way can
I pick out just one. Favourite authors range from Elizabeth Goudge and Frances
Hodgson Burnet, principally because of their descriptive passages of plants, to
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Mary Wollstonecraft for their courage, Ivan
Illich and Rachel Carson for questioning established institutions to Aldous
Huxley, Ernest Callenbach and Starhawk for offering different futures. Barbara
Kingsolver and Diane Ackerman … (for their passionate and often sensual
descriptions of nature).
Influential
herbal books - Identification books. I’m an avid record-keeper, I love Latin names,
botany is fascinating and I have to know what is growing near me. And, for
making the science of herbs accessible, to the non-scientific; books by David
Hoffman, particularly Medical Herbalism.
3. With
all the tumult surrounding herbs and herbalism in the world today, where would
you like for the future of herbalism to be headed?
This is a huge
question really, because especially as herbalists it’s not just about single issue
within a legislative or political environment, we’re part of a global community
of people connected to the plant world. I do not want to see herbalism taken
over by either medical or pharmaceutical institutions or giant corporations. I
do not want to see herbs banned, and I don’t want to see them over-harvested to
endangerment or extinction. To me ensuring availability of herbs and herbal
information and education to all regardless of status or income is vitally
important. Educating the public is also very important to me, encouraging self
empowerment, self education, questioning rather than accepting, self
responsibility, cultivating intelligence rather than dumbing-down, sharing
knowledge and information, discussing possible root causes rather than just dispensing
treatments. In addition, supporting organic cultivation and caring for our
earth, educating farmers and producers, promoting good working conditions, decent
pay for those who are farming and growing are all vital issues which need to be
addressed.
4. When
not involved with herbs, what invokes your passion and interests?
My home. I
am very lucky to live on a steep ten acres of well established 2nd
growth forest; primarily Douglas fir, Madrone, Ponderosa pine, Cedar, Maples,
Oaks and even Yew with lots of poison oak and wild blackberries! So, whether
pulling out berry vines, maintaining trails or watching birds, there is always
plenty to do. And, gardening of course. The deer and their ancestors have
evidently lived here a long time and everything I’ve ever learned about
deer-resistant plants has been challenged. I have a small fenced area to
protect my roses and other tender beauties but outside of that enclosure, only
the Rue, Foxgloves and Rosemary receive just a nibble. Lavenders, Sages, Thyme,
Artemisias all get grazed severely by the deer. If the plant is still healthy
after the late summer deer attacks, then it will usually thrive. I believe that
these deer have learned on some level that the varied nutrition offered by my
gardens and the nibbles of medicinal and often bitter herbs are useful to them.
And when I’m indoors – what stirs my passions and interests, (besides my
partner), I would say botanical themes in history, literature and art, such as
William Morris or the Art Nouveau movement, and supporting groups that protect
our earth.
5. What
herbs do you take regularly and why?
Nettles
(Urtica dioica) – because I believe they keep me energetic, grounded and help
reduce Spring sniffles. They taste wonderful; whether I make them as tea or I
saute or steam them in food. (To me good nettle tea tastes like rich forest
velvet, then pure green nourishment, with a dash of tea tannin and unsweetened
chocolate), besides I have an abundance of them growing close to my home, their
tenacity, vigour and almost invasive character, not to mention their sting is a
source of wryly amusing frustration especially when I weed them from the places
I really don’t want them growing.
Vitex
berries (Vitex agnus-castus, aka Chaste Tree) Beautiful, vigorous yet delicate
in appearance, a small tree that flowers in late summer with lavender flowers
and a smooth subtle sage and mild pepper fragrance. The berries taste like the
aroma and I find their action to be a smooth, cool, leveling balm on my
hormonal dance. I have several in my garden, planted in an informal row with
lavender and sage plants interspersed between them and they bring so much joy
later in the summer. Although I will nibble on the ripe berries in Autumn, I
gently pull the berries off the old flowering branch ends and then tincture
them in alcohol for later year-round use.
6. Who are
some of your favorite herbalists?
No single
person.
Rosemary
Gladstar for the joy, the juice and the passion she has infused in the people
she touches and the projects she has initiated.
David
Hoffmann for helping to demystify the science of herbs, for reminding us to
always question – the source, the authority, the tradition, and for his
delightfully dry and quirky familiar British humour.
Richo Cech.
A truly authentic plant person and an invaluablely serious and dedicated
teacher.
Sharol Tilgner
for walking her talk. I can think of no one who more passionately lives and
practices their principles. Her energy and dedication at Wise Acres and her
extensive educational opportunities are an inspiration.
Michael
Moore for making available such wealth of information in his books and on the
internet, teaching so many of today’s herbalists, and for his irreverent and
direct way of communicating.
Susun Weed
for putting what she believes out there. Including a brilliant demystification
of menopause and the creation of a widely used online forum.
Ryan Drum
for forever making me associate the thyroid gland with rubber boots, seaweed
slime and laughter.
7. Do
you have any brief tips to share with budding new herbalists?
Don’t just
listen to one teacher, follow the instructions in one book, or subscribe to
just one tradition. You’ll find herbalists a bit like plants, some of what you
learn is confusing and each may tell you something different from the other.
Stay the course, use common sense and learn the plants yourself. Because once
you know even a few plants, you’ll find that like a meal created from
ingredients picked from your own garden and made with love is better or equal
to the finest restaurant, a salve, tea or extract made in the same way is superior
to anything you can buy ready-made from a store. The love, immediacy, intent,
knowledge and satisfaction of making your own herbal remedies and body care,
creates health and well-being in itself.
Keep excellent
records.
Don’t take
yourself too seriously, have fun and laugh often.