Today is beautifully autumnal; a crisp, bright morning followed by a dimmly lit afternoon and an all pervading air of quiet, inward, downward energy.

If you like to attune to the cycles of nature, you may notice that this is a time to slow down, to store energy, to reflect on what has gone well and otherwise in your life. It’s a time to sew seeds in your soul and the soil; seeds that will benefit from the transformative powers of winter darkness.

We visited the Hermitage museum this morning. There’s an enormous, somewhat stylish, lawn filled space in the middle of the building, which I hope is home to more than just grass. Close to the inner entrance of the museum is this stately pair of Horse Chestnut trees. Parts of this tree species can be used in capillary tightening preparations.

Back at home, I thought it was time to share a photo of this useful and (I think) beautiful, creeping evergreen herb. It arrived on the wind at “my” tree pit, sometime this summer. It’s such a tasty and interesting little plant, mostly overlooked but offering many uses thoughout the while year. If Ground Ivy sets root on a patch near you, I hope you’ll welcome it and try it.

Lastly, Hollyhock seeds – again! I keep on mentioning them, hoping and dreaming that there will be a few more of these useful beauties growing and being used in the city, as a result. Please collect them and save them to sew next spring, or better still collect them and sew them right away in every dull tree pit or neglected corner of soil you can find! Just rub the soil over a little with your shoe, to make them less obvious to paying birds. No digging required, just plant them and hope! Search this site and others for medicinal uses of this relative of Marsh Mallow.