Becky O Cole Gardener, Forager, Herbalist
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How to Live a Seasonal February

How to Live a Seasonal February

by Becky | Jan 29, 2018 | Natural Living, Seasonal Living, slow living

I think it’s fair to say that February can be a challenging month for many. It’s dark, it’s cold and we are all waiting eagerly for Spring. February can become a bit of a forgotten month, a month passed through impatiently and wished away in favor of brighter, warmer...
Reconnecting with Nature-Interview with Tristan Gooley

Reconnecting with Nature-Interview with Tristan Gooley

by Becky | Sep 26, 2017 | Interviews, Natural Living

I was utterly thrilled when Tristan Gooley, aka the Natural Navigator, kindly agreed to be interviewed for this blog. His books are an incredible source of lost knowledge surrounding nature and the art of reading signs. I am so honoured that Tristan gave me some of...

MY PODCAST

My elderberry workshop is here! I’ve recorded an My elderberry workshop is here! I’ve recorded an hour long masterclass showing you exactly how to make an array of powerful elder based herbal recipes for the home apothecary. 🌞Included in this is the perfect honey sweetened elderberry syrup. Using either fresh, foraged berries or store bought dried berries, this recipe is so easy to adapt and add different flavours to. 🍯Next up in the workshop is an elderberry elixir-this is a sweet alcoholic beverage that contains all the benefits of elderberry but marries that with elements that make it a perfect winter tipple. ❄️Next included in the workshop is an elder and thyme oxymel. It’s is one of my favourite tonics to kick off any colds or bugs doing the rounds and is a serious powerhouse! Finally I show you how to blend the most delicious hedgerow tea to keep your system strong and fortified over the cold season. 🫖The recording is yours to keep and can be played as many times as you like and shows you step by step how to make all these fantastic herbal remedies. I’ll also answer any Qs via email. The workshop is (hopefully) very accessible at £22 and will get your home apothecary up and running for autumn with some of the best cornerstone recipes around. To get the recording send me a message and I’ll send over my PayPal details for payment and then I will send you the link. I hope you enjoy the workshop, I am so excited to have a new class for you all 🤗 it’s been a while since I’ve done one online and this one has some really super recipes that help so much with cold season so I am excited to share it! And remember you can make these recipes with fresh or dried berries, in the class I’ll share some of my favourite places to purchase them. Ps my Rooted Community over on Patreon will receive this workshop as part of their membership so do consider joining us there! . . #herbalism #organicgarden #wildfoodlove #herbalapothecary #foodnotlawns #ediblegarden #organicgardening #herbgarden #sustainablefood #greenthumbs #backyardgarden #foodgarden #gardenerslife #gardenersworld #cottagecore #cottagecoreaesthetic #permaculture
Happy anniversary to my one and only @charlieracol Happy anniversary to my one and only @charlieracole ❤️I can’t believe it was 7 years ago that we married! We’ve had two babies in that time, birthed a book and built a business together! Here’s to many more years as Mr & Mrs ❤️
With the trees still in full leaf but slowly start With the trees still in full leaf but slowly starting to transition into autumn, it’s a perfect time of year to play this forest inspired school activity called Meeting a Tree. To play you’ll need a blindfold (or hands in Toby’s case!) and at least two people. Meeting a Tree is a great game to play to activate the sense of touch and explore the subtle details of different trees and to test our sense awareness as well. You can adapt this game for all ages but here are the basic rules. In a pair, pop on a blindfold onto one person, if you are the only adult here, I would blindfold the child (or get them to cover their eyes) as it keeps the activity safer. Once one person is blindfolded the other person carefully guides the blindfolded person to a tree. Let the blindfolded person explore the tree with their hands, feeling the circumference of the trunk, the bark texture, the size and number of branches and leaves within reach. Once the person has thoroughly explored the tree you can lead them back to the starting point and un-blindfold them. Then see if they can find that tree again using all their senses. This is such a simple but fun game that will tune up the senses and allow us to spend time with the gorgeous trees that grow in our locality. A big thanks to @welovefrugi for gifting us some pieces from their AW22 range which is made from GOTS certified organic cotton.
I’ve spent the morning tidying up my polytunnels I’ve spent the morning tidying up my polytunnels. I’ve finally organised the pots, cut back the nettles which have crept inside and moved the once burdened seed tables aside ready for a slower season. Now it’s time to tackle the nasturtiums! I have a whole chapter dedicated to this plant in my book The Garden Apothecary including my favourite recipes-nasturtium flower oxymel, leaf sprinkle and pickled seeds. I think I better make all three recipes as I certainly have an abundance of them this year 😆🙈 what jobs have you been doing in your garden? Do you feel autumn creeping up? 🍂 . . . #kitchengarden #organicgarden #growyourownveg #nodig #ediblegarden #organicgardening #sustainablefood #regenerativeagriculture #greenthumbs #backyardgarden #foodgarden #gardenerslife #gardenersworld #polytunnel #polytunnellife #homegrown #homegrownveggies #farmtotable #goodlifestyle #permaculture #organic #organicgardening #polytunnel #nasturtiums #thegardenapothecary
For the summer herbal apothecary, there’s lots o For the summer herbal apothecary, there’s lots of work to be done, a plethora of harvests to complete and process, medicine to make and share-a season of activity and busyness! To counteract the fire and energy of summer I like to look to remedies that cool, calm and relax the body such as cool herbal drinks, subtle herb waters and cooling infused body oils perfect for soothing the skin and grounding the body after a day out in the bright sun shine. For summer herbal recipes and summer rituals listen to my latest episode over on my podcast which is linked in my bio or can be found be searching for Nature & Nourish podcast on all search engines. In it I share what I am crafting in my late summer herbal apothecary 🌞 image credit Kim Lightbody for Hardie Grant. . . . #herbalism #organicgarden #wildfoodlove #herbalapothecary #foodnotlawns #ediblegarden #organicgardening #herbgarden #sustainablefood #greenthumbs #backyardgarden #foodgarden #gardenerslife #gardenersworld #herbalmagic #cottagecore #cottagecoreaesthetic #organicgardening #herbalalchemy #wildlifegardening #wildlifegarden #herbaltea #homesteading #permaculture #gardenapothecary #thegardenapothecary
Sweet bilberry bread to celebrate late summer 🌞 Sweet bilberry bread to celebrate late summer 🌞you can use seasonal bilberries in this recipe but if those are hard to find you could use blueberries or blackberries instead.  For the Bread: * approx. 400 grams strong white bread flour * ½ teaspoon salt * 50 grams caster sugar * ½ tsp fast action yeast * 2 large eggs * Splash of vanilla extract * grated zest of ½ organic lemon * pinch ground cinnamon * 125 millilitres lukewarm milk * 50 grams butter  For the top: * 1 large egg * 1 pinch of ground cinnamon * 1 small apple * 375 grams bilberries or blueberries * zest of ½ lemon * 50 grams self-raising flour * 25 grams ground hazelnuts * 50 grams cold unsalted butter (diced) * 4 tablespoons demerara sugar * 25 grams flaked almonds 1. Put 350g of the flour, the sugar, salt, and yeast in a bowl. In a seperate bowl, beat the eggs and milk with the vanilla extract, zest and spice. Combine the dry and wet ingredients together to create a dough. With your hands mix in the soft butter and knead the dough until it feels plump and elastic.  2. Cover the dough with a damp tea towel let the dough expand over the next hour or so. Once its risen punch the dough down and release the excess air. Now press the dough down into a baking tin. Let it sit for another quarter of hour then glaze the dough with a egg wash.  3. preheat the oven to 180°C Fan/gas mark 6. Make the topping by combining the ground nuts, flour and a pinch of cinnamon along with the butter with your fingertips, as if your making a crumble then add in the sugar and flaked almonds. Chop up the apple into 1cm pieces and combine with the lemon zest and bilberries.  4. Pour the fruit mix over the dough in the tin and then shake the crumble mix over the top.  Bake for quarter of an hour then reduce the heat to 160C for and extra 20 minutes of baking  and the dough looks golden  5. Remove from the oven and let cool enough to eat. . . #slowhandmadehome #thegoodlife #everydaymagic #wheeloftheyear #theslowdowncollective #kitchenapothecary #lammas #cottagecore #wildkitchen #thegardenapothecary #seasonalliving #whatsonmytable #cottagekitchen #seasonalbaking

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