We have each of us now got a plot where we will grow (or, in my case, attempt to grow) our own healing herbs. The space is roughly the size of a double bed. Mine is a corner plot that I helped clear a couple of weeks ago. Next to an organic compost heap - could be good, could be bad, I'm not yet sure which. It’s hard to imagine turning this bleak patch of overgrown weeds into a fragrant arbour.
On a cold Edinburgh autumn afternoon, the plots looked, well, particularly barren. It takes a leap of faith - a big leap of faith - to imagine them covered with the riot of medicinal flowers we need to grow to gain the Herbology Diploma. So much of this course is about making a leap of faith. Coming to herbology from a background as a journalist, I’m often daunted by the projects ahead of me. I've never even had my own garden before.
Our first seedlings have started to grow
To gain the Diploma our tasks include: drawing up ideas for a design the Royal Botanic Garden’s new physic garden (as if I could possibly contribute anything that people more experienced than me haven’t already considered!); writing a herbal journal (well, this is my herbal blog, and being a journalist is helpful here, so at least I’m making progress on that one); designing and growing my own physic garden, complete with theme (no experience whatsoever here, yikes!); gathering and pressing a dozen herbarium specimens.
Title page, 17th century physic garden catalogue, RBGE
Oh, and along the way we have near-weekly homework assignments to bring us up to speed on physic garden history, preparation of herbal remedies and medicinal applications of various herbs, fruits and vegetables. Not to mention learning about what actually counts as herb, spice, herbal fruit and herbal vegetable. If you're interested in knowing the answer, different parts of the same plant come under the various headings. Confused yet? It can be humbling to realise the extent of my current horticultural and herbal ignorance.
But I’m growing (sorry, pardon the pun) to love days spent drinking sage tea in Lab Room Two, where the herbal aromas transport me back to holidays spent tramping the foothills of Andalucia or drinking coffee with friends on a balcony in Athens. I am learning to tell the difference between an infusion (basically, a tea) and a decoction (boiled-up woody parts of a plant). I can tell how elderflower differs from elecampane. And I know never to drink decoction of elecampane ever again (pictured, yuck!).
Cooking up a decoction in Lab Room Two
What I love is how the Herbology Diploma works so closely in tune with the seasons. While the plants retreat underground, we will spend the winter months planning our garden themes and working out which plants we need to grow. With help from the RBGE’s wonderful head of horticulture, we have already ‘pricked out’ our first seedlings (dill, mallow, yarrow, thorn apple, milk thistle and sweet pea). We planted these seeds back at the beginning of October. With luck, by the time spring comes we will be confident in using them to transform our plots.