Lets start at the beginning.

And so for my list of herbs that I will be working with this year.
Borage            Borago officinalis
St John's Wort           Hypericum perforatum
Vervain          Verbena officinalis
Echinacea     Echinacea augustifolia
Chamomile      Matricaria chamomilla
Rosemary           Rosmarinus officinalis
Lemonbalm     Melissa officinalis
Lavender       Lavendula officinalis
Marjoram     Origanum majorana
Sage         Salvia officinalis
Nettle     Urtica dioica
Fennel    Foeniculum vulgare
Dandelion    Taraxacum officinalis
Chickweed      Stellaria media
Crabapple       Malus
Elder      Sambucus nigra
Hawthorn    Crataega monogyna
Rose    Rosa canina
Willow   Salix  caprea
Plantain, greater    Plantago major

with Elder as my ally. It grows abundantly around where I live and walk the dogs regularly, and my relationship with it in the past has not always been good, yet it still calls to me and I cannot resist collecting the berries in autumn to make wine, which I have had moderate success with. The flowers appeal but I've not yet been brave enough to try to use them again since a disasterous attempt at wine about 8 years ago. The boys call it 'the cat pee tree' and I must admit the smell does not appeal to me either. But since reading Glennie Kindred's books, I feel that it has much to offer and so this is the year to really discover the Elder.

Welcome to my new blog!
Although I am not new to blogging by any means, this one will be a totally new experience for me. This blog has been started to share my journey as a Springfield Sanctuary apprentice and so there will be times when I am blogging about something very new to me but to which other people in the group and in the big wide world may already know so much more about! It is quite scary!
I met some of the other apprentices at the Tonic workshop on Saturday which was great. So many lovely people. It was also when Sarah told me that she would add me to the very large list of apprentices. I was thrilled because I have been interested in herbs for quite a long time, but have yet to be brave enough to make my own remedies. I have used aromatherapy, made jams, jellies and wines from hedgerow fruits and more recently soap, but not an actual tonic or tincture. Very excited indeed.
I have just received my task list for January and it seems I am going to have a very busy time ahead. Especially since I have just de-registered my youngest two again, after a year behind enemy lines!!!
So this is me, and this is where I hope to share my adventures in herbalism. The blog name comes from the workshop on Saturday when I found that I much preferred the brandy based tonics to the vinegar based *shudder* ones!