it's yawning hippopotamus season!

this mug, which belongs to John's parents, inspired my hippopotamus revelation

The Motherwort is blooming! Motherwort is a lovely plant that helps soothe anxiety and even out cycles, such as an irregular heartbeat or fluctuating hormones. It can be a little bitter for tea, but it's lovely as a tincture or a glycerite. It's a potent herb that's readily available to us.

The proper time to harvest Motherwort is when the plant is flowering, which is now! I typically harvest the top third of the flowering plant.

Whenever folks come to the garden when the Motherwort is flowering, I make them peer up close at the tiny pink flowers. They look like tiny yawning hippopotami! It sounds crazy, but it's true. I've tried to take pictures, but it's really something you'll have to see for yourself ;)

It might seem silly to search for hippopotami among herbs, but it's actually a very helpful thing to do. Often, when we don't know plants that well, we have "plant blindness," an affliction in which we see a wall of green, rather than a thriving community of diverse species. Taking the moment to snoop out silly characteristics is a stellar way to combat plant blindness.

with the smile of a sleepy hippopotamus,

Amanda

P.S. If you’re not able to come harvest fresh motherwort, and your local herb farm doesn’t have any, you can get it from Mountain Rose Herbs.

if you look closely at the side profiles, you can almost see it!