Lady of the Herbs
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I'm a certified herbalist, representing our indigenous medicinal botanicals of South Africa.
15/10/2026
I often share this thought during my talks, walks and workshops, because I believe there’s something special about learning to recognise the plants that grow where we live.
The plants growing around us are part of the same environment we live in. They experience the same seasons, rainfall, soils and changing conditions, adapting to the very landscapes we call home.
As a herbalist, I find something fascinating about this relationship. The plants that grow in our local environments have a long history of interacting with the conditions around us, and many have properties that can be valuable in supporting our wellbeing.
Yet we walk past them every day without knowing their names, their properties or the stories they hold. Imagine if we became a little more curious about the green world right outside our doors.
What if, instead of always looking elsewhere for the next remedy or superfood, we started by getting to know what’s growing around us?
There is so much to discover when we learn to look a little closer. 🌱
Forest contemplation… and big gratitude for all of those who came before that made what we have today possible.
I give thanks.
I’ve been learning that not every day needs to be productive, and not every moment needs to lead somewhere.
Sometimes I just need to walk, breathe, notice the little things and let myself be present.
Maybe you do too. 🤍
30/09/2026
Usnea isn’t actually a plant but a remarkable partnership (symbiotic relationship) between a fungus and an alga. It grows slowly and is sensitive to pollution, making it a quiet indicator of healthy ecosystems.
Traditionally, Usnea has been valued for supporting respiratory health, fighting an array of infectious and for its topical uses.
It reminds us that the health of our environment and our own wellbeing are deeply connected.
I prepare Usnea as a handcrafted tincture with great respect for the time it takes this extraordinary lichen to grow. I always harvest from the ground after storms to prevent over harvesting.
What do you think Usnea is trying to tell us?
The Klein Karoo is home to an incredible diversity of medicinal plants, and many of these are found growing around the Numbi Valley (Permaculture Oasis, De Rust) area.
If you’ve enjoyed discovering some of the plants in these videos and would like to learn more, many of them featured here are included in our book, Medicinal Plants with Pokkie Benadie.
The book is a collaboration with Samara Karoo Reserve and features 46 medicinal plants of the Karoo, including 36 plants of which Pokkie Benadie, an Indigenous elder, shared his stories and traditional uses.
The book grew from two weeks spent walking the landscape with Pokkie, searching for and recording the plants together. During our fieldwork, we found 128 medicinal plants in total, all of which are listed in the book.
For me, the book is not just about identifying plants. It’s about preserving the stories, knowledge and relationship with the Karoo that make these plants part of our living heritage.
🌿 Medicinal Plants with Pokkie book is available from Lady of the Herbs online shop.
28/09/2026
A plant doesn’t simply grow according to its potential.
It responds to the world around it.
Soil, water, light, temperature, neighbouring plants, all of these influence what can thrive. And we’re not so different.
Our environment matters. Sometimes supporting wellbeing isn’t about pushing ourselves harder. It’s about looking at the conditions we’re living in and asking:
What needs more nourishment?
What needs more space?
What needs to change?
🌿 We are ecosystems too.
Today, I celebrate the people, plants, knowledge and stories that make up our living heritage. Happy Heritage Day, South Africa. 🇿🇦🌿
And as an herbalist working with our indigenous medicinal plants, I feel a responsibility to help keep some of that knowledge alive, to learn, to share, to grow these plants, and to protect them for the generations that come after us.
🇿🇦
Happy Spring Equinox! 🌼 Spring has always felt like a little invitation to begin again.
To spend more time outside.
To notice what’s changing.
To get my hands back in the soil.
To watch the wildflowers appear and remember just how much life is happening around us.
I love this time of year because nature doesn’t make a big announcement when it begins to grow again. It just does.
Quietly. Abundantly. In its own time. I guess that’s what I want more of this spring too,less rushing, less screen time, and more time paying attention to the living world around me.
More walking. More wildflowers. More growing. More being present.
A little reminder to myself, as much as anyone else:
We are nature too.
21/09/2026
I saw this quote the other day and it made me think maybe being a healer means being a little bit of a rebel.
Questioning what we’ve been told and looking beyond what’s considered “normal.” Being willing to walk a different path when it feels right.
For me, herbalism is not about rejecting everything modern.
It’s about staying curious.
About asking questions. Observing closely. Learning from plants. And remembering that there is more than one way to understand health and the natural world.
I guess that’s why the rebel and the healer are often the same woman.
📸 credit: Ashleigh de villiers Herselman aka Ethos Gallery, Wilderness
Because sometimes the most productive thing you can do is step away.
Walk until your thoughts get quieter.
Breathe a little deeper.
Experience the landscape around you.
Nature has no deadlines.
And maybe that’s exactly what is needed.
I often find I get more done afterwards anyway.
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