Welcome to the Medicine Garden
Clinic of Herbal and Complementary Medicine
46A High Street Emsworth. Tel: 01243 378555
Steve Taylor, B.A. Hons, M.N.I.M.H.
Herbal medicine crept up on me, one instant I was without a defined direction,
the next I seemed to be doing exactly what suited me perfectly- working with
my friends the plants!
There was a period in my life when the sun-light filtering through the trees and
the sound of wind in the leaves sustained me through difficult times when
I was young and away from home. Out in nature I was at ease and any troubles I had
would melt away.
However, I knew little about plants or their uses until I began to travel, when I saw cultures that still used and depended on the natural resources of their environment to provide for most of their needs. Only then did I begin to appreciate how entwined the creatures of this planet are with the plants that have provided us with everything, including the air that we breathe.
While travelling in the Amazon region of Ecuador my girl-friend became very ill with dysentery, and none of the medicines in the local pharmacy had worked. We were staying in a place called Misahualli in a basic hostel for travellers and migrant workers. The hostel only had water for one hour each day, a family of rats in the ceiling and a parrot in the defunct shower block, it was no place to be suffering a severe bout of sickness of any kind let alone one which required a working toilet! I then heard about a small boarding house on the edge of the forest run by a local woman which was said to be clean and well run. When we arrived the owner saw how unwell my girlfriend was and soon appeared with a glass containing a local remedy made from the juice of a forest plant. Within hours the stomach cramps subsided and by the next morning she was feeling much better and her appetite was returning, it was only a matter of days until we were able to continue our travels.
A few years later after further travelling in Africa I came across information about the National Institute of Medical Herbalists and the College of Herbal Medicine, this provided me with an opportunity to learn about an art and science that would enable me to work in a field that I was excited about and also help me to find a more balanced way of living with nature in a sustainable way.
As a herbalist my interest is mainly in the plants that I know best- the native plants of Britain and Europe- and the traditional uses which are recorded in the memories of Folk Medicine. This has lead me to study the medicinal approaches of old England through the works of Nicholas Culpeper, many books on Folk medicine and also working with a traditional Romani healer. The wisdom of these traditions is still available to us today and comes alive every time we approach a plant with the hope of healing in our hearts. The names and stories of plants open up a doorway we can enter to enable us to share a perception of the natural world that our ancestors knew- a perception of the world as a home of which we are both the inheritors and the guardians, and a place of beauty and mystery.
I have also been involved with the Ethnomedica project, which was started by Gabrielle Hatfeild a researcher into the Oral history of Domestic plant medicine in Britain in conjunction with the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. I am currently involved in researching a traditional treatment for leg ulcers using fresh herbal poultices at the Medicine Garden in Emsworth which is showing a lot of positive results, this recipe came to light through the research of Gabrielle and is outlined in her book ‘Country Remedies’.
I opened the Medicine Garden in Emsworth in 1997 and have had the privilege of running a herbal practice as well as continuing to work as a remedial masseur. Through regular drop-in clinic sessions we offer free advice on all aspects of health and herbal treatment and I would welcome you to visit or call us for any help that you may require.
There was a period in my life when the sun-light filtering through the trees and
the sound of wind in the leaves sustained me through difficult times when
I was young and away from home. Out in nature I was at ease and any troubles I had
would melt away.
However, I knew little about plants or their uses until I began to travel, when I saw cultures that still used and depended on the natural resources of their environment to provide for most of their needs. Only then did I begin to appreciate how entwined the creatures of this planet are with the plants that have provided us with everything, including the air that we breathe.
While travelling in the Amazon region of Ecuador my girl-friend became very ill with dysentery, and none of the medicines in the local pharmacy had worked. We were staying in a place called Misahualli in a basic hostel for travellers and migrant workers. The hostel only had water for one hour each day, a family of rats in the ceiling and a parrot in the defunct shower block, it was no place to be suffering a severe bout of sickness of any kind let alone one which required a working toilet! I then heard about a small boarding house on the edge of the forest run by a local woman which was said to be clean and well run. When we arrived the owner saw how unwell my girlfriend was and soon appeared with a glass containing a local remedy made from the juice of a forest plant. Within hours the stomach cramps subsided and by the next morning she was feeling much better and her appetite was returning, it was only a matter of days until we were able to continue our travels.
A few years later after further travelling in Africa I came across information about the National Institute of Medical Herbalists and the College of Herbal Medicine, this provided me with an opportunity to learn about an art and science that would enable me to work in a field that I was excited about and also help me to find a more balanced way of living with nature in a sustainable way.
As a herbalist my interest is mainly in the plants that I know best- the native plants of Britain and Europe- and the traditional uses which are recorded in the memories of Folk Medicine. This has lead me to study the medicinal approaches of old England through the works of Nicholas Culpeper, many books on Folk medicine and also working with a traditional Romani healer. The wisdom of these traditions is still available to us today and comes alive every time we approach a plant with the hope of healing in our hearts. The names and stories of plants open up a doorway we can enter to enable us to share a perception of the natural world that our ancestors knew- a perception of the world as a home of which we are both the inheritors and the guardians, and a place of beauty and mystery.
I have also been involved with the Ethnomedica project, which was started by Gabrielle Hatfeild a researcher into the Oral history of Domestic plant medicine in Britain in conjunction with the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. I am currently involved in researching a traditional treatment for leg ulcers using fresh herbal poultices at the Medicine Garden in Emsworth which is showing a lot of positive results, this recipe came to light through the research of Gabrielle and is outlined in her book ‘Country Remedies’.
I opened the Medicine Garden in Emsworth in 1997 and have had the privilege of running a herbal practice as well as continuing to work as a remedial masseur. Through regular drop-in clinic sessions we offer free advice on all aspects of health and herbal treatment and I would welcome you to visit or call us for any help that you may require.