About me

My name is Dee, and together with my large family, we are extremely fortunate to call the picturesque Toolangi Mountains our home. Here, we’ve poured our hearts into our hobby farm and self-sustainability, weaving these passions into every part of our daily lives.

My passion for nature and living on the land was deeply instilled in me by my parents and visits to my grandparents’ farm during my childhood. I vividly remember the stunning colours of my grandmother’s preserves in her cellar and the delightful aroma of her freshly baked raisin cakes when we walked in. They lived a simplistic life connected to the land around them, and it immensely inspired me. We attended family harvesting days at their farm, picking apples, making apple sauce, and canning a variety of fruit and vegetables for winter. My parents also rented a plot in a community garden where we worked together and grew the food we ate. These experiences deeply rooted my love for nature and sparked my fascination with sustainable living and growing our own food.

My herbalism journey, even though a long time in the making, began unexpectedly in the early 2000s, when an overseas tick bite left me with Lyme disease. Struggling to find the support I needed within the conventional medical system, I turned to alternative health practitioners and remedies. My intense healing journey was guided by a skilled naturopath and by my own discoveries of the healing properties of our plant allies. I gradually reclaimed my health and, after a 14-month healing journey, have been symptom-free. This defining experience was transformative—it awakened in me an even deeper longing, search, a remembering, and passion to understand the healing power of nature's gifts and to nurture life in harmony with nature.

A few years later, I was very fortunate to be invited to a community apothecary project, an offering by very wise and experienced herbalists. I attended these monthly making days for a year and a half, during which we created a wide variety of herbal remedies using our homegrown and foraged herbs. These remedies were then distributed to the broader community. I learned a great deal from the kind and generous souls who shared their wisdom and experiences with all who attended. To this day, I remain incredibly grateful for this opportunity that firmly rooted my love and passion for herbalism.

I connect with plants on a deep level. Since working closely with them, I have discovered that I can feel their healing properties in my body simply by touching or tuning into them. It is an incredible feeling, and it completely surprised and overwhelmed me when it first happened. I now use this intuitive ability when selecting plants, and it motivates me to grow as many plants on the land around us as possible, as I will only use herbs that I know have been nurtured with love and care and that resonate with me. I trust this intention is felt and received by those who use the remedies on their healing or self-care journey.