The outdoor apothecary

It struck me as I was at the allotment the other day, staring at the little flowers that were making up part of a spreading jungle of beautiful plants that I hadn't sown there, yet were growing merrily by themselves, that these little plants are just what I need at this very moment.

A sprawl of valerian to help me with my insomniac nights, calendula, with its anti-inflammatory and soothing effects, borage to help with my hormonal imbalances, dandelion to mend my overburdened liver and of course nettle, with its gorgeous array of minerals, vitamins and polyphenols to help bring me back into balance.

Everything, right there, growing completely out of control and all a gift from nature. How much do we miss as we go about our lives at a hundred miles an hour or when we try to make everything neat and tidy because we didn't put it there, so it must not belong?

That's how I've lived my life up until now, a hundred miles per hour, never stopping, always 'gotta go'. But I had always had a connection with nature, growing up in the country enabled that. I roamed for hours, often bare foot, feeling the earth beneath my feet, not realising it was where I was supposed to be because it just was. Then teenage life intermingled with a more urban existence and my connection with nature became fragmented.

Travelling reignited my connection but it wasn't until I had my children that I was fully back in its fold with my need to be immersed in it, becoming stronger as I hit menopause and a new chapter in my life.

Society has severed its ties with nature, convincing itself that nature is apart from us, that we dominate it, forgetting that we are just another part of it and without it, is when dis-ease begins. A fancy diet, supplement plan, yoga everyday may get you some of the way but even more simple changes in your life, such as slowing down, sensing, feeling, breathing in the forest or the smell of sea spray could be the difference between night and day when it comes to your health.

Do you really need to go to the doctor, take harmful medications or spend hundreds on testing and supplements or do you just need to reconnect and take notice? Perhaps if you stop to listen and learn for long enough, you'll instinctively know just what you need.