Michele Collins, RH (AHG), MPH

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.  ~Chinese Proverb

 

This is one of my favorite quotes because it emphasizes how important it is to feed the soul, as well as the body. I would make one minor adjustment and change the flower from lily to peony (the flower pictured above), my favorite flower. I became an herbalist because I have always been inspired by plants. And as they inspire me, the also heal pieces of me that have been touched by fear or doubt. I am inspired by the solitary plant shoots I have found pushing through the pavement in a city or the flowering mimosa blooms that shot straight up through a tree canopy until they found the sunlight they needed to flower.  I am continually awestruck by the sheer  abundance that one motherwort, yarrow, or goth kola plant can share and still thrive.

I like to take pictures of plants wherever I go.  I have pictures of plants in Colombia, the Marshal Islands, Israel, as well as random locations in North Carolina and Maryland.  As part of the website for Spirit Rising Herbs, I wanted to share the pictures I have collected over the years.  It was with great joy that I created the gallery of plant photos that you can access in the menu under Plant Photos or by clicking here.  You can also find individual stories and information about different individual plants (many of which are included in the gallery of plant pictures) in the blog posts about individual plants.  Poke root, peony, dandelion root, purple dead nettle, american ginseng, mimosa are just a few of the plants that are featured in those articles. 

I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.  And may they feed your soul as the continue to feed mine.