Herbology & Early Spring.
The Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh are currently running a free exhibition on herbology, and it had been on my list to visit for a while. This past Friday my mum and I headed along early one sunny afternoon to see the exhibition and take a walk around the gardens.
The exhibition is in the main visitor building at the west gate and takes up a modest space on the ground floor. While compact in size, it was still interesting to see what had been pulled together. It was smaller than I had expected and it would have been fascinating to see how it might have developed with a larger space, but it was still enjoyable to spend some time exploring it.
To a certain extent, I think there is a knowledge of plants and homeopathic remedies that has been lost over generations as society has evolved, for better and for worse. It is something that I have developed a growing interest in over the years.
Image of the “Complete Herbal” book from 1846.
There is a book that has been in my family for a long time which my mum recently gave to me. It notes a wide range of remedies and uses for plants. The book, Complete Herbal, was originally published in 1653, with newer editions still being printed today. The version I have was published in 1846. It is a book that I have always been drawn to, even as a child. There was something about the aged pages and the flaking cover that felt almost magical when I was younger, and in some ways it still does now. The handwritten notes scattered throughout the margins, which I have only really begun to decipher as I have grown older, and the beautiful botanical illustrations throughout the book only add to that sense of wonder. I really do treasure it, and as my love for plants and the natural world has grown, so too has my appreciation for the book. Perhaps one day I will also buy a more recent edition, just to see how it has changed over time.
There is a power in herbology that allows us access to forms of health and wellbeing that are not always obtainable depending on our circumstances. Modern medicine has immense value, but it can sometimes prioritise quick or immediate solutions. There are many conditions that cannot be easily treated or cured, and which may benefit from more holistic approaches.
With my fibromyalgia, for example, there is still so little understood about the condition and there is no clear cure. Because of this, many of the things I have been drawn towards in order to regain a sense of control or normality have been more holistic treatments that help me manage my symptoms. It also encourages a deeper awareness of the body, learning to listen to the signals it gives and what they might be trying to tell us.
Plants and the natural world hold a quiet power that we sometimes forget in modern society, and perhaps do not always show the respect it deserves. At a time when the world feels increasingly polarised and full of conflict, the natural world can offer a sense of grounding and respite.
After the exhibition we went for a walk around the gardens. While it was cold, barely above zero degrees, it was sunny and in Scotland even the sight of the sun in early spring can feel powerful. It felt as though the gardens were beginning to wake up. Birds and squirrels darted about and the first flowers and bulbs were starting to appear. Even though you are in the centre of the city, it feels like a calm and quiet place, where for a moment you can step away from everything else.
