I’m passionate about herbalism, gardening, and ecological education. I’ve written for the Herbal Tea and Garden blog for years. In 2021, I co‑founded Tisanji to make ecological knowledge easier to use. Today, I share the joy of connecting with plants and help others create resilient green spaces.
Why take up gardening and herbalism when you’ve got a good job producing rolling equipment?
Passion guides me—the urge to share the fullness plants bring into my life. Some are called medicinal for their active compounds, yet I feel each one carries its own form of healing. They invite us into respect, presence, and grounding, offering quiet lessons that reach far beyond chemistry.
What brought me to herbalism?
I think my love affair with plants goes back to my childhood.
A pebble slipped into my shoe during an outdoor gathering when I was a little girl. It rubbed my skin until a blister formed. A lady saved my day by putting a plantain leaf between my wound and my shoe. So this common plant, which I’d seen hundreds of times before without paying any attention, was useful! I wondered how many plants there were around me that could make my life more beautiful.
It was a magical time when I believed fairies visited me and asked to hold their balls on my land. Since then, I’ve seen plants as powerful, mysterious beings waiting for us to reopen the channels of communication.
Their powers fascinated me, yet many species were also dangerous and toxic. The risk of misidentifying or misusing them made me uneasy. Finding reliable information felt overwhelming. Since “La flore laurentienne” was too difficult a book for the young girl in me, it took a while for the dream to come to realization. I limited my use to my trusty plantain, nasturtium, aromatics and roses…
Years later, during a meditation, I remembered the plantain girl. It was clear: I wanted to realize this dream of partnership with medicinal plants. So I enrolled in several correspondence courses at the Herbothèque, and in person with an experienced herbalist: Chantal Beaulieu at Herbes de vie.
What’s next?
At home, we’ve taken out all the grass and planted a permaculture of vegetable, ornamental and, of course, medicinal plants. In all, over 160 species live side by side, creating a diverse environment that’s always buzzing with foragers and birds. That said, I remain faithful to the rose, which still sits at the center of my medicine wheel, and to the greater plantain, which shares its bed with its European cousin, the lanceolate plantain. As for fairies, I’ve lost our direct contact, but if they exist I’m sure they often come and dance in my yard.
I’m very keen to share my knowledge of plants. My aim is to encourage you to let plants into your daily life a little more, with the knowledge you need to feel confident and secure, but above all in an atmosphere of playfulness and with plenty of room for improvisation… I don’t want to force-feed you rigid recipes, but rather share principles and tips to enable you to explore, discover and co-create with the world of plants. Would you like to join in?
