Miranda Tringis is a pioneering herbalist with a passion for mediterranean herbs, sustainability and traditional herbal wisdom.
She moved from The Netherlands to Cyprus at the age of 19 and evolved from intuitively playing with dandelions as a child to studying herbalism and creating a unique place in Cyprus where she blends education, wellness and ecotourism and where people can reconnect with nature.
She shares her story in this warm and sunny conversation.
About how the failing of conventional medicine got her interested in herbal medicine and how years of experimenting lead to a degree as a herbalist.
About where the idea for a botanical park came from, how it all started, and typical visitors.
About how a garden is a living organism that has the ability to heal.
About the different seasons in Cyprus and the short timeframe for foraging.
About herbal teas and tinctures.
About herbalism schools and the legal framework for herbalists in Cyprus.
About how the sunshine and the soil make for extremely aromatic plants and Miranda's favorite Cypriot herbs.
About the economy of nature and how the continuing of traditions also depends on market demand.
And lots more.
You can find more information about Miranda and the Cyherbia Botanical Park & Labyrinth here: https://www.cyherbia.com/
You can also follow her on Instagram: @cyherbia
Or find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CyHerbia
🌿 I'm looking for more interesting guests to talk about European herbalism and foraging in Europe. If you know anyone that would be perfect for this podcast, please let me know.
If you want to reach out, you can find me on Instagram @wildplantforager, and on Facebook.
You can also find more about me or contact me through my website www.wildplantforager.com
But please don't hang around online for too long. Go outside, and follow your wild heart 💚
🎼 music by Eva LaRuna
Disclaimer:
The information in the WYLDE podcast has been compiled with the utmost care. We try to keep it as current, complete and accurate as possible, yet no rights can be derived from this podcast episode.
We accept no liability for: direct or indirect damages resulting from possible errors and omissions, the content of linked websites, or the opinions of interviewed guests.
Please take into account that transcripts were automatically created by A.I. and may contain mistakes.
The content of this podcast in no way replaces personal medical advice or treatment by doctors and other medical professionals.
[00:00:33]
Unknown:
Welcome to Wild, the podcast for wildlings just like you. Wildlings who want to transform transform the prevalent plant blindness to collective plant wisdom. My name is Liebe Gollle. I've been working as a herbalist and wild plant forager in Belgium since 02/2002. In those years, I've seen a lot of changes. Working with plants has become more popular, but I've also seen time is running out for our planet. As foragers and herbalists in Europe, sometimes we're dealing with different plant species and different cultural approaches towards plants. In some countries, working with plants is licensed, and in others, it's almost illegal.
I believe that together, we can learn from one another and be stronger. There is nothing more empowering than connecting wild souls. Together, we can have a greater impact on restoring the ancient link between people and plants. And that's why for this podcast series, I'm talking to fellow herbalists and foragers in Europe. So if you're ready to find out what you've never been told, but what your soul already knows, welcome to Wild.
[00:02:12] Unknown:
Hello, Wildy. Welcome to a new episode of the Wild podcast. And today, we have Miranda Tringis here. She's a pioneering herbalist and the founder of Syherbia Botanical Park in Cyprus. She has a passion for Mediterranean herbs, sustainability, and traditional herbal wisdom. She has created a unique space blending education, wellness, and ecotourism. And through her works, she inspires thousands of people to reconnect with nature and discover the healing power of plants in Cyprus. Welcome, Miranda.
[00:02:52] Unknown:
Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for having me. It's, a real joy to be, in your company and in the company of other herbalists that, will be listening.
[00:03:04] Unknown:
Yes. And can you tell us a little bit about how you got started with herbalism?
[00:03:11] Unknown:
Well, we go way back, to when I was a very young child, I think when I was around five, six. I grew up in, rural Utrecht in The Netherlands. So I was surrounded by green fields, and I used to always pick flowers for my mom, wildflowers, anything from buttercups to, dandelions. And as a very young child, I have this core memory of, picking dandelions, chopping them up, chopping up the stems and the flowers in, a glass jar of water and leaving them out in the sun, and then after an hour or so to drink that water. Wow. Nobody told me this.
And now, many years later, I know what it was that I was doing. But I was always playing with, with flowers, with wild grasses, always wanting to know what they are. And even though in in my family, herbalism wasn't practiced and, herbs were just, you know, something that you add to your food if you put any at all. So most of that most of my, childhood, memories regarding herbs, they were completely, intuitive. And I remember as a young child, when I was picking flowers, I swear I could hear them sing in the sunshine. And even though my mother uses that, oh, you're just imagining it, because I was a very, over imaginative child. But now I still wonder to this day, you know, I I I'm sure I didn't make it up. I'm sure I could hear them.
And, only recently, I was in, in some in an office somewhere, and there was a plant, a house plant. And I could hear something. And it wasn't with my ears. It was within me. I could hear a scream. And I looked around and I saw this plant and it was bone dry. And I said to the person in that office, can't you hear? Your plant is crying out for water. You should water it. And, of course, they looked at me and said, oh, you crazy woman. You? But I took my water bottle out of my bag and and watered it then and there. So that was, a core, childhood memory with the dandelions. And, what I made actually was a sun brew, and I still this day, I make sun brews as well, particularly, during the summer solstice.
Sun brews are are fantastic, herbal drinks to celebrate solstice with. But when I, I moved to Cyprus, age 19, and when I had my first child, she was in need of herbal medicine after conventional medicine failed. To explain, this was, when she was very, very young, just a toddler, she used to come down frequently with respiratory infections. So laryngitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, all the itises. And our pediatrician would prescribe, antibiotics every single time. So me being a young and inexperienced mom and not at all involved with herbs, I became a herbalist much later. She, became immune to two types of antibiotics by the age of four, and she had no immune system left by that time. So I had to take her out of preschool.
Thankfully, I was a stay at home mom at the time, and I could just look after her and monitor her health. But I said, no more doctors, no more medicines. I am gonna have to start looking for natural solutions. This was before the internet. This was 1996 and 1997. And, so I started reading books and to my great surprise, I learned that the most common plants are also the most effective in dealing with respiratory infections. Plants like sage, mint, thyme, rosemary, they are all absolutely amazing to, use in teas and, and tincture making as well for, combating these kind of, infections.
So at the onset of each cold with the first cough, I started making tea, mainly from mint, and then I would add a little bit of thyme and a little bit of sage because mint, of course, is the most palatable. It's the nicest in flavor. You didn't wanna didn't wanna put my child off. And then I would sweeten the tea with local honey, which is a natural antibiotic also. So, thankfully, she was really, taking to the tea. She liked them. So I I soon found out that, a cold would just be a cold. So a cough for a few days, and after that, it'd be gone. And it wouldn't turn into an infection with phlegm and and, you know, heavy cough and all that. And then I thought, why don't people know this anymore?
And it's really more and more. I I learned that Cyprus used to have a very rich herbal tradition, but people have abandoned the herbs with, the coming of, chemical medicines in the twentieth century. And very soon, they just turned their back on them, even though, like a hundred years ago, every community had their own herbalist and had their own, community healer. And now, of course, that is all gone, and, I I was so enthusiastic with the results of this, that I said, okay. With the herbs, I'm going to rebuild her immune system. It was completely shot. So that took another eight years because, don't forget, something that is completely destroyed in a young body takes a long time to become strong again. And so with herbs and with nutrition, it took me eight years to rebuild her immune system, and I kept reading. So I was like a, a kitchen herbalist without any kind of qualifications at the time.
Then as she grew, stronger and I was using herbs more and more, my cooking was completely transformed, and I started making all kinds of, tea blends and experimenting just the way I did when I was a very young child. You know? However, in 2,004, when my, child was then 10 years old, my husband and I bought a piece of land initially as an investment, not thinking anything of it. It was at a good price. We were looking to invest in land, and that's what we did. Six months down the line, he said to me, you know, this land is just lying there, just sitting there, and it has a soul, and it has a purpose. The purpose of land is to bring forth fruit.
He said to me, yogurt with herbs, why don't we make a herb garden where people can come and visit and learn about, how to, increase their health and and maintain good health and wellness with herbs. And we start making herbal products because you're doing that at home and you're loving it. Why not do it? And we'll make the we'll make the place a fun place. We'll plant a a big labyrinth, a maze, where people can, can play away from, you know, screens, away from urban, environments to just return to nature for a fun day out for their health and well-being and to learn about healing plants of, Cyprus. And so I said, okay.
I was very scared at first, of this project because I knew this was going to be a lot of hard work, and neither of us are, from agricultural families, you know, that we grew up with this. But it seemed like such a wonderful adventure, and so I said, okay. We're gonna do this. But, I will want to go to, study herbalism then and get a degree in, as as a herbalist and to be a proper practitioner, not to not to just be somebody who's read a few books. So the creation of the park took eight years. In those eight years, I studied, for my diploma as a herbalist, and I did my experiments and my practical and all of that.
And we planted the herb garden, failed, planted again, failed again until we got it right. The maze, to to plant a maze, when you plant, any kind of bush, the the baby bush that you plant is maybe, like, 25, 30 centimeters high, and the maze had to become two meters high. That took eight years. So in 02/2012, our garden looked absolutely amazing, and the lavender was in flower. It was dew, the lavender was in flower. And I looked around, and I said, wow, isn't this wonderful? I I need to start inviting people to see this because we were the only ones seeing this. I didn't have a proper infrastructure.
I had a shack where I did all my things, and I I didn't have any kind of lab or any kind of other facilities. It was all very, very spartan. But I had to start from somewhere. So when the lavender was in flower, I put a post on Facebook. There was no Facebook marketing at the time, 02/2012. I was just joining the lavender harvest. And at Saherbia in, Avogora, we're in the village about 20, minutes away from the nearest towns. Joining the lavender harvest, and I was giving bunches of lavender free to take for people to take home, because it was far more than I could, process and that I could work with.
And to my big surprise, over 300 people turned up. I couldn't see them all. I had I I borrowed chairs. I borrowed tables. I bought a few bits and pieces. I only had a small fridge. It was hot at the time. Stuck the fridge with with bottled water that ran out within an hour, but the people loved it. And that was all the encouragement I needed to say, okay. I may not have a proper shop. I may not have proper facilities, but I'm going to open. I'm going to open. And, that's what I did. The first two years, I didn't even have a cash register in my little shack shop. It was just a money box. Anybody could walk away with it, but nobody ever did.
Because the people that came were people that were genuinely interested and, loved an initiative, like this. But then, the ball started rolling, and more and more people were coming. So I needed to have an assistant and then another and then another, and it grew and grew and grew. And sometimes I I liken it to a a little dragon. Like, a baby dragon is the size of a lizard, and you carry it around on your shoulder, and you pet it. And you say, oh, this is my little pet, and I take it wherever I want, but then the dragon starts growing, and it needs feeding. And soon you put it on a leash, and you still are sort of somewhat in control. But then when it grows bigger and bigger, it is in control and not you.
Now the dragon is fully grown, and I may be riding its back, but it takes me where it wants, not the other way around. Because, a garden is a living organism, and a business is also a living organism. And then as new, needs become clear, you have to fill those needs. It's not the other way around. Like, oh, I'm going to do this now. No. The business shows you, and the garden also shows you where it needs attention. Just as certain plants show have shown me, okay, I don't really like it here. I'm going to move somewhere else. And I've seen plants upping and going somewhere else.
That's quite amazing. Or two types of the same, genus, say, cousins of each other that didn't like each other as plants, and the one ousted the other. I've seen that as well. So that that, really taught me that, plants are sentient, beings. And sometimes they get on really, really well. And other times, they they compete and, push each other away.
[00:15:47] Unknown:
Wow. Well, thank you for sharing that journey. It's quite amazing, I think, how motherhood actually brought you closer to what you already had as a child, you know, this natural interest in in what was growing around you. It often goes like that. Right? That motherhood brings us closer to ourselves. I I Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Because that, that peace in us, the mother in us, identifies with mother Gaia.
[00:16:15] Unknown:
And so, yeah, then we start thinking about, natural, natural ways of doing things.
[00:16:22] Unknown:
Yes. And I also like how you got started before everything was already established. It was imperfect. And that's exactly what because I sometimes see some some students and they say, oh, I want to start like a a herbal thing, but but it's not perfect yet, so I cannot start it. But sometimes you just have to take the leap, and and it will get more perfect along the way.
[00:16:49] Unknown:
Yes. That's what I learned. Because don't forget, it took us, eight years in, creation. And so those eight years, we had to have a very long breath putting all of our money, all of our effort, all of our blood, sweat, and tears in this project. And okay. I wasn't ready. But then I thought, if I wait until I'm ready, I will be burned out by then. Mhmm. And I'll I might I might give up hope or, you know, anything might happen. Why don't I just start where I'm at and everything else will, will come? It'll grow. And that's and that's exactly what happened.
[00:17:27] Unknown:
Yes. It's so good that you got started. So I'm wondering, who are exactly the people that are visiting the garden? Is it more like, tourists from abroad or is it also like people from Cyprus that come from other parts of the country? Or how should I how should I see it? All kinds of people. When when, the gardens first opened, it was the
[00:17:52] Unknown:
first, it was foreigners that lived in Cyprus or live in Cyprus that started to come, as they were more open to an initiative like this because there's nothing like it, on the island. Then tourists started to come. And, lastly, the the local Cypriot people. But when they started coming, they really did love it. And, now there's just such a mix of of of people. Schools come and visit because we've written three different educational programs by which children learn about the treasures of nature, and we've made it in such a way that it's a treasure hunt. So I'm not talking to the children.
The children discover by this program. They discover a plant that is really helpful in headaches. They discover a plant that is great for colds and flu. They have to find it. They have to find a picture next to the plant in in the garden and then write down the name of the plant that is on the, sign next to it. So that way, they retain the information a lot better. This is the Montessori principle that I love, because, it it's just wonderful to to go out in Asia and discover things and see things with different eyes. And, I love the educational part of it.
Now we're at a stage that we are, exploring ecopsychology and our relationship with the plant world and how, we, feel a a much deeper connection to the natural world around us. This is again something that I years ago, five, six years ago, I taught a seminar on that for the first time, but completely intuitively. Now my daughter, is, studying for her diploma in eco psychology. So I'm reading into the material as well. And so we wanna do a lot more, with that, in the park for people to really reconnect because what I see all around me, and I'm sure, you see that as well, is that, this generation, but especially the next generations, the next two generations, are completely disconnected from the natural environment.
And this leads to many, many problems, most of the time of a psychological nature because we're not meant to be separated from the natural world around us. We are a part of it, and it is a part of us. And the sooner we realize that and we actively reconnect with nature, we start feeling a lot better, a lot calmer. We can, see things in a in a different light. We're not taken by every wave of, panic or worry. When you go out in nature, you can really come to yourself. You can ground yourself. And a lot of people do that without even realizing it. Just by being in the presence of nature, it it's very, very helpful. And, this is a direction that we want to both my daughter and I, we want to do a lot more in, here at the park.
So there's there's always more Yes. Learn about nature. Now, as a herbalist, of course, I I make herbal medicines and, teas, tinctures. We distill our own essential oils here at the park. Wow. Soon. When the lavender starts blooming in June, we'll be doing daily, extractions of lavender essential oil, which is lovely. It's really, really wonderful. And it's wonderful to do that in front of the people because, obviously, it's, open to visitors. So Oh, I can imagine they're completely immersed in the aromas of the lavender. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. They can really do that, and that's, yeah, that's all part of the experience. Experience that we wanna offer at the park is just that, to, to be enchanted by, the aromas, by the looks, by the the the touch. You have to use all your senses, when you're walking in a garden and, really try and avoid with different eyes. And and then that's when mother nature does a lot of healing within you, even just by walking through a garden.
Even just by walking.
[00:22:22] Unknown:
Yes. And I I love your approach that it's not like some boring educational thing. Like, what I hear from kids sometimes is they go to museum and they say, oh, they really want to trick you into learning something that is actually boring. And they think we don't know it, but we see that they are tricking us into it. But, like, you have this approach of enchantment, and I think that's really nice. That makes it more like a herbal theme park. And, yes, and I agree also what you said about the connection because I think it's one of the diseases of our time and a much overlooked disease, actually.
And through this enchantment, that's that's a great way to get people involved.
[00:23:08] Unknown:
Yes. I and I I just see it when, when people people may not even realize that they have this need. They don't because people are, just dragged down by by life and by the demands of, of modern life. And when, one Saturday, one Sunday, they decide, oh, let's go to the herbal park that we heard about. And, it may just surprise them, what it's, what it does to them and how, how healing it is on a, on a psychological level, and I hope also on a spiritual level. Mhmm. Just by, just by, immersing yourself in, in the presence of nature with all the the smells, the colors, the textures.
That that has been the goal from the beginning. And, yeah, now we're leveling up in that area.
[00:24:06] Unknown:
Yes. And as you said, it's it's so easy. It's like just spending time in nature is something that anyone can do. It doesn't cost any money. It just takes a little bit of time, but and it is working so well for our mental health. So it's it's very accessible for all, and more people really should discover it, I think. So yeah. Yes. There was a massive study covering 20,000
[00:24:34] Unknown:
people who, were asked to spend the time in nature and how much time was necessary per week to, feel significantly better with yourself, you know, how to prove your mental health and how much time was needed. And they found that just two hours a week spending time in nature was enough for people to start feeling significantly better. And so, when you take that into account, that's just less than twenty minutes a day. So every day, if you take a walk, even in a park, if somebody lives in a big city that you can go to a park, just walk in the park or go on your roller blades or on your bicycle and spend time there and try and observe, everything that grows there, at different times of year, then you reconnect different, even better.
It's not just by, you know, walking in a park or taking a walk on the beach if you're near the sea or going to the forest. But when you go regularly and you visit the same natural, spaces, then you also see the seasonal changes. And in, observing what grows, what grows where, what is this plant, and getting interested in what what grows there. Is this edible or is this medicinal? Because you go to any park, wherever there's wild plants, most of them actually are edible and, medicinal. And so it's it's fun for, you know, somebody who's not, who's not had, much experience in nature to just go with an open mind and even just to sit with a plant or sit, with your back against the trunk of a tree.
And then when you close your eyes and you feel, that you're merging with the tree and you feel or you you imagine, you visualize the sap running through the trunk and into the roots, and then you can ground yourself as well and visualize your own roots going deep into the earth. That is healing. That is healing without even taking a medicinal tea.
[00:26:40] Unknown:
Yes. Exactly. So as as you mentioned, the seasons, how are the seasons in Cyprus? Like, I'm guessing compared to Belgium, the winters are a bit shorter, so there's a longer time span to to harvest herbs?
[00:26:59] Unknown:
Winters are very, very short. Cyprus's biggest problem is the lack of, rain. And, every year, the lack of rain is more and more acute, and this year is a critical year, which makes me really, slightly fearful for the future even though I don't really like to voice that. It's just that with minimal rainfall, the the island is drying out, and I see species disappearing. The summers are very, very hot and very, very dry, obviously. So in the summertime, there's very little that grows like in the wild. Only in the mountains, you will find wild plants, that you can still forage during the summer. But our foraging season is early spring. When I say early spring, here, that is February and March.
And that is a very, very short window of time. So it's only two months a year that we can, forage wild edible greens such as, wild mustard, such as, mallow and nettles, one of my favorite plants, nettles. But that's only in February and March because very soon, the temperatures get higher. There's more sunshine, and then everything turns woody and straggly, and then they're no good for for cooking anymore. You can still dry them. But as plant grows grows woody and straggly, then, it's past its, prime. Yeah. So my foraging workshops, I do in in February. Late February. Early March.
And then I get requests, like, in the middle of summer. When are you going to have a a foraging workshop? We're really interested in doing it because they're very popular. In the past, ten years, I've been doing these yearly workshops. It it's it's very, very popular. People want to learn about what grows around them. People want to be able to identify the wild plants and and eat them because, when I first came to Cyprus, my my mother-in-law, she remembered how in the old days, they used to go out every early spring and eat what the land yielded because people were really, really poor here. So, she took me one. So my first foraging, day, and, we foraged mallow and, white mustard.
Now white mustard, of course, it it grows all over Europe. And I remember in those days writing a letter to my mother in The Netherlands. Mom, you would not believe those yellow flowers that we see growing by the roadside. They eat them here, and they're really delicious. They're really peppery. And, even though my mother-in-law at the time, she didn't know why we should she didn't know the constituents of the plant, obviously. She just knew these are edible, and they're good for you. And that was all they needed to know. That's all the people of the island in the early days, needed to know that you can live off the land in, wintertime and early spring.
So yeah. And now foraging is very, very, back in fashion, if I could say that word. I mean, it's popular. It's popular. Yes. Yes.
[00:30:25] Unknown:
Yeah. It's interesting to hear you say that you have, when it comes to harvesting plants, that you have rather, like, a summer break than a winter break. That is, like, an entirely new concept for me. But I can imagine if it becomes very dry and very hot in the summer, yeah, that everything just dries out and yeah. How mainstream is it in Cyprus to work with herbs? Are, like, a lot of people still doing it, or is it, like, completely vanished? Because previously, you you just said that, yeah, a lot of knowledge is is lost already. So
[00:31:00] Unknown:
is there, like, a revival going on right now in Cyprus? Or Yes. There is. There is. And there has been for the past, ten years, even though, the number of herbalists practicing in Cyprus are not many. Mhmm. But, people are interested in, using herbs for, health and well-being as many people have been disappointed by, you know, mainstream medication, and they they try to find natural solutions, especially when it comes to inflammatory situations. And when people are on prednisone, which has so many side effects, and people want to take a more natural route. Or, even with serious illnesses, people come to me and say, do you have something that I can take alongside my cancer treatment?
Even even like that. But also, other chronic situations, and there are chronic situations that we can manage easily with herbs such as osteoporosis, where I, use horsetail. And that's and horsetail, because it's so rich in silica, is so, so good. And then I see, these people coming back after a couple of months, and they said, oh, I I just feel so much less pain right now. I just feel that I have more flexibility in my joints, because, yeah, the, this herb does this herb does wonders for Mhmm. For the joints. And it's what is easier than taking a cup of tea a few times a day? And when I say you need to drink a laser a day, that's four cups. That's doable. You make the tea late in the evening. You let it stand overnight so you've got a very, very strong infusion, and you put that in a flask and drink throughout the day.
That's as that's how simple herbal medicine can be, just a cup of tea that you drink during the day. And then at the same time, when people say, I'm not really a tea drinker. And then, you know, you can make tea into a little me time ritual. This is how I always like to present it. And I always say to people, you know, bring out your nice teapot, the one that you, would only use if you have guests. Why? Why only when you have guests? You you use your beautiful teapot. You use your beautiful mug, because you you deserve that that little break.
Making tea is perpetual. It takes it takes a few minutes to make the tea. So those are minutes that you are away from what you're doing, then you have to wait for ten, twenty minutes for the tea to brew and to cool down so that you can eat and you can drink it. And and that in itself is a beautiful, ritual. And it is it is a a moment of, of rest, a moment, of taking a break from what you're doing. And often, you may find that after your little tea ritual and you're sipping your tea, then the things that you were struggling with before your tea break, they don't seem all that big anymore because you're taking a little bit of distance from what you're doing. Mhmm.
[00:34:10] Unknown:
And you think it's a good time for self care. Yes. Yes. Self care is so often seen as, you know, going to the spa or getting this or this treatment or buying expensive things for yourself, but it can be this easy. Just brew yourself a really nice cup of herbal tea. Yes. I like that. I really like that. So you've told me that there are only that there are not that many herbalists in Cyprus. Is there a lot of connection, in between you? Like Yes. There is connection. Yeah.
[00:34:45] Unknown:
And, many times, if I happen not to have a certain herb in stock or it is one that I don't grow or that I don't make, then I will send a person to a colleague that I know. He makes this, this particular, supplement or this particular, tea he has in stock. So yeah. Or, if my harvest of, a certain type of herb, has is not as plentiful as I need it to be. I can buy from somebody else who's also, planting, who's also growing herbs here on the island. So, yeah, there is, there is that, communication here. There is, a little bit of a community.
By the way, herbs are are available in every single supermarket. There will be a section with some herbal teas as well. Oh, really?
[00:35:34] Unknown:
Yeah. So people So they are very accessible for everyone? Yes. Yeah. And the quality is okay?
[00:35:41] Unknown:
Yeah. The quality is top quality. Actually, in the first in the first century AD, Pliny the elder wrote, the herbs of Cyprus are the best in all of the Roman Empire. What? That's that's a really cool quote.
[00:35:57] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. Is that what brought you to Cyprus?
[00:36:00] Unknown:
No. It brought me to Cyprus. I learned that a lot later. However, the sunshine, the hot the the hot climate, the soil conditions, and the sunshine make for extremely aromatic plants with, a very high quality of volatile oils. So when you take oregano, for instance, a plant very rich in volatile oils, if you, if you just smell a couple of leaves of, of fresh oregano here and you compare that to the way it smells in Belgium, where you don't have the sunshine, where you don't have that climate, it's not the same. It's Yes. Obviously. It it cannot be the same. Yes. Cannot be the same. Just as, certain plants that I started growing here, and I brought, roots and seeds from The Netherlands, such as comfrey, one of, one of the plants that I love very, very much because I used to I used to sip the nectar as a child off of the flowers. And I did couple of weeks ago, I did that again when I was visiting.
And I was cycling, and I saw a few comfrey plants, and I said, oh, I've got to taste this again. And I did. But I I've tried, growing comfrey. It's grown for, like, five, six years, but only under trees. Mhmm. In pots, under trees, so always in the shade. And I had to water it every single day because it's too comfrey in the wild. It always grows near bodies of water. Yeah? Always Yes. Exactly. To the sloth. Yes. Yeah. So, yeah, comfrey, now has disappeared, from here. And I'm not going to I'm not going to plant it again. It just it's it's it's far too hot for, for plants like this.
[00:37:44] Unknown:
Yes. But it's interesting how you because I can imagine that sometimes you also miss plants from The Netherlands when you're in Cyprus. Of course. I do. Yeah. But when I visit them,
[00:37:55] Unknown:
then I, I go I go foraging. Like, mugwort, I, I just needed a little bit of mugwort because I I cannot forage in The Netherlands for the use of my business, only for personal things because I would need boxes and boxes full. But I wanted to make a mugwort, smudge stick, so I just brought back, a small bunch that I, foraged as I was cycling. And, I'll make a smudge stick from that.
[00:38:24] Unknown:
Okay. So and if you're in Cyprus and you want to study herbalism, is there, like, a herbal school in Cyprus, or do you have to go abroad or do it online? Or Yeah.
[00:38:45] Unknown:
It's for people that are interested in taking their health in their own hands, and they want a more in-depth, kind of knowledge. But it will not make one a, a practicing herbalist.
[00:38:58] Unknown:
Mhmm. Okay. So and, like, what is a legal framework in Cyprus? Is is there, like, a thing like a licensed turbolist? What are you allowed to do? What are you not allowed to do? It's the same as in the rest of Europe.
[00:39:13] Unknown:
And, here, they tend to take things very, very literally when it comes to the law. Like, what I see when I visit other European countries, particularly Greece, I see, in, herb shops, I see, herb for cholesterol, herb for diabetes, or herbal mixture for diabetes, herbal mixture for this, for that. With the actual name of the, health problem on it. And if I would do that here, they'd shut me down.
[00:39:43] Unknown:
Yes. Yes. And it's the same in The Netherlands and in Belgium. You know? It's not allowed. Make up we have to make up silly buzz names.
[00:39:51] Unknown:
I know. For for a digestive blend, I have to I have to call it after dinner, something for, mental, or for for, memory and concentration. We call it clarity. We have to find these buzz names. And then even on the back of the packet, you cannot say, this will help you concentrate or this is good for your digestion, even though the German commissionee stated chamomile is one of the best plants to take for stomach upsets. Yeah. But you cannot put that on the packet even though the the very same commission in the EU says, that this, this plant is, has has proven benefits for digestion.
So it's it's such a, it's it's a bit of a mess, in all of Europe, and I think the legislators themselves don't really know what to do. And so they want to on the side of, safety. But also because the, because big pharma has such a big finger in the legislative pie, take a plant like Stevia, for instance. Stevia is a plant originally from, South America, and it was labeled as not proven to be safe, and so you cannot sell the plant within Europe, and you cannot sell the the leaves of the plant, the dry leaves of the plant, which are a natural sweetener. But, that was because they wanted to buy time, and Bayer then, patented the chemical version of, stevia where they isolate those two glycosides, and they just take the one and make that into chemical stevia, which is of very dubious benefit for our health because there are other, other things put into it in order to make it into that, that white, powder, but that was okay. That that is perfectly alright. You can say that that is a healthy product, but the leaf, the original, the way nature made it, cannot be proven if it is safe or not for human consumption. I mean, what on earth is this?
And so that's where we're at with, legislation with, in the herbal field very, very much in, in Europe. I think in, America, things are a lot more, relaxed. Still having said that, I see that in Greece, they don't really, pay much attention to this, but I get audited every single year. And every single year, the auditor will say, so, oh, but you can't really say this or you can't really say that. So now I'm in the process of making brochures for all of the the teas that have medicinal quality. And in a brochure, I can write whatever I like, basically. There's no legislation against what you write in a brochure. I can say this thing this this, tea, will, will give you wings to fly, and nobody can say anything about it. You know? That's how crazy
[00:43:09] Unknown:
it is. A crazy situation.
[00:43:11] Unknown:
It it is. It is. Still, we have to work within, the framework of the law, so we have to abide by that even though I try to fight. I've been fighting for ten years. And, this year, I said, no more. I just I can't do it anymore. I'm on my own doing this, when it comes to, legislation. And it's it's not a battle that we can win. Mhmm. So we have to be creative within the framework of the EU regulations and legislations, even though they're a little bit vague on many, many points. But that's just, that's just the way it is.
[00:43:57] Unknown:
Yes. And I hear you talking about European legislation, but even within European different European countries, there is so much difference into what the the national laws say, like the the difference between The Netherlands and Belgium. Belgium has a lot longer list of, plants that cannot be used in food than The Netherlands. So Yeah. Yeah. It's strange. It's crazy when you think about it because Belgium is such a small country and and, you know, like, one hour driving, and I'm not even one hour, and I'm in The Netherlands. So it's it's a bit crazy when you really think about it. Yeah. Yes. And sometimes I get worried a little bit about the whole European legislation, especially now since the Brexit because, UK has, like, you know, they have this this, they have a legislation of of, medical herbalists and and licensed herbalism.
And since Brexit, whatever is left in Europe, sometimes I'm a bit afraid that they will even make it more strict than it is already today. And then on the other hands, I can on the other hand, I can see this slow but growing movement of of herb folks and herbal people that are and, really, there is more and more of us. So it's like a movement that they cannot pretend any longer that is not there. So, it goes two ways. And I'm I'm wondering about your opinion. How do you see the future of, herbalism either in in Cyprus or in in Europe for, like, the next ten or twenty years?
[00:45:42] Unknown:
Well, I think, that more and more people, turn to natural remedies and want to try out natural remedies. So there's definitely a market for, for herbalists. And when there's a market, then, of course, there will be the products as well. But, it's harder for a consumer to make a choice because if you cannot state on your products, on your tea, on your chamomile tea, somebody who's never seen chamomile tea or chamomile in, say, in a mixture together with lemon balm and, verbena and mallow, which is like soothing, for the stomach and, and some calendula in it. Like, this is mix that I make for the for the stomach, which even can heal an ulcer because it's that soothing to the stomach lining, and you cannot put that on the on the package. So if a person wants to buy something and goes into a shop and there's not a person there to tell them, hey. This is a herb or this is a mix that will help you, for your stomach, then you they don't know what product to choose.
On websites, of course, it's easier to, give the information that you want to give about certain, products. So it's easier for people to buy things, online. But and I don't know exactly, how the legislation, is about, health claims on a website. I think as long as it is not on the product itself, but you can say on your website pretty much
[00:47:21] Unknown:
I'm not sure actually. I'm not even sure how it is in in Belgium. I know, one herbalist from The Netherlands who actually made two websites, one with the info on all the herbs and one where she, sells, like, the tinctures and the the oils and the, so she made two different websites. I don't know how exact exactly how it works, but
[00:47:46] Unknown:
At the moment, at least, they still allow us to make tinctures. Tinctures are very powerful, herbal supplements. They, they're very, very effective. Tinctures, because they're in liquid format, are easily assimilated by the body, So you feel the effects very, very, quickly. To name you an example, urinary tract infections, which can be very, very painful. As soon, as you take a little bit of uva ursi and especially if you combine it with burdock as well, twenty minutes later, you just feel such relief. Yeah. Herbal medicines in the form of tinctures, they're actually my favorite way of taking, taking herbs. I love teas as well, and I drink a lot of, a lot of tea, and many people do that as well. And here in the summertime, because of the high temperatures, we here in the in the bistro at the park, we serve herbal iced tea, which is really, really cooling because we use cooling herbs such as hibiscus and, mint and blackberry leaf, which are all very, very cooling. Mhmm. So, yeah, that's how we we give to people. As soon as they come, they get refreshed with a herbal iced tea. So then a person who's not used to drinking herbal teas, they get a taster. They get a free taster, and then they say, hey, this actually tastes pretty nice. And it it's it really quenches my thirst.
They ask for another, and then they also wanna buy the the tea. So, that's also part of the of the education. Let people let people taste it. Let people try it out.
[00:49:31] Unknown:
And Yes. I like that because some people come to me and they say, oh, but herbal teas, they really taste like dishwater. And I'm like, no. They should not be tasting like dishwater. But it's just like this prejudice that some people have in their heads. There is that. And,
[00:49:50] Unknown:
and, of course, you cannot win everybody over. Some people will say, oh, it tastes like nothing. It's just like water. Okay. Well, it tastes like maybe they have an underdeveloped palate. Who knows? But, people, when they're taken on a tour, they learn, about certain plants, not of course, not about everything because then they will not retain any of the information. But I always like to encourage people to touch the plants, Feel them. Feel the texture. Is it oily? Is it soft? Is it smooth? What does it feel like? What does it smell like? If they dare to pick an, a leaf and put it in their mouth, even better, not everybody dares to do that because they think a plant growing naturally has to be washed before you taste it.
You know, I'm not going to argue with that. But I do encourage people to, have that kind of immersive experience because that's all part of getting to know what grows, in, in your area, but also to, yeah, to get that that hands on experience. And that was really, really important. It's important for us, herbalists, to have a hands on, approach. Because how can you be a practicing herbalist if you don't if you, you yourself, don't know what the plant looks like, feels like, tastes like, if you haven't sat with it, if you haven't, communicated with it in in in certain ways, the way plants communicate to us when it's when a plant tells us, hey. Cut me, because it starts to make little leaves along the side of the stem, and and you've forgotten to, to cut it. And and so plants communicate with us in, in their own unique way.
And that deepens our our knowledge of the plants as well. And who knows? When you spend time and real, significant time with plants, then, you get certain insights that you may find later in some obscure book to be to be true, which is which is really great. When I, sometimes when I go to the mountains and and I I I go for a walk and I see plants that I cannot grow here because the herb garden is here in the lowlands, and in the mountains, there's different plants growing, and a plant may, draw my attention. And then, I sit with it, I think, wow. You've you've you've got quite a presence. You know? And so I sit with it a little longer, and then, insights, come to mind, which I later look up in, in literature.
And I think, yeah, that's what I felt about this plant or what that's what I believe this plant communicated to me. And then again, when you sit with a plant, of course, you touch. Of course, you smell. Of course, you taste it. That's how we, get a deeper knowledge of, of plants. And that's what I tell beginning herbalists as well, to to really spend time with, with plants, but also to make simples. So a simple tea. You wanna get to know yarrow? Make Yarrow tea. How does that make you feel? Drink it for a few days. How, how different what do you feel? Do you feel it's a stringency?
Do you feel, is there any, change in your skin? Do you feel that your your your skin is less less oily or, that your, whatever outbreaks you may have on the skin that they disappear? What does it do to your stomach? What does it do to the urinary system? How you know, to really, really get that kind of knowledge because book knowledge is never enough to Mhmm. To really, become knowledgeable with plants. And, also, when you work with clients, one person may come with, a stomachache. There's so many so many plants that you can, you can recommend for stomach issues. Say for inflammation of the stomach, how many the list is endless.
So Mhmm. You need to really, match the person to the plant that you're going to recommend. And in order to get that deeper knowledge of, of plants, you need to have spent time, you need to have tasted, you need to have experienced, yourself as well as, okay, we all learn about the constituents of plants and and and and how how to use it and and and, plant, chemistry and all of that. But that's that's not where it ends. You, you also have to match the plant to the person. And when you see, you see a person and you do a a a very quick diagnosis either with pulse or iris or just by observing.
Because you see, are they is their skin red? What is their tongue like? How do what is their posture like? Are they fidgety? What kind of person is this? If you see a very nervous person in front of you, and they're fidgeting, and they're, like, all over the place, and their eyes are darting to and fro, then you see, oh, this person needs something really calming. Yeah. And when they come with you come to you with a stomach ache, it's no surprise because, yeah, all their their stress and anxiety sits right there, but then you can match the plant to the person you see in front of you. That's, I think, what makes, herbalism so exciting.
[00:55:29] Unknown:
Yes. Yes. Exactly.
[00:55:31] Unknown:
Combinations. And, I think that is, that is just really beautiful to, to match the person, to the plant. And sometimes when I see a person, a plant may appear next to them in my mind's eye. And I think, oh, you need Oh, wow. I saw that once one person, was standing in the shop. There was a shop full of people, and and this one person caught my eye. And I saw a burdock next to them. And then I woke up to this, to this person. Yes. What did you do? You walked up to them? I walked up to them and says, hi. Can I can I help you? He said, yeah. Yeah. I've I've tried so many things, and, I I have, I have these things on my skin, and he had, like, purple, skin discoloring, and it, like, it just looked like a liver thing. And then I thought, oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Now I see that. I saw on the one cheek and on the arm.
And I said, oh, that's why burdock, was calling because your your liver needs, cleansing, and burdock, of course, has this affinity for the skin. It really cleanses the skin of all kinds of things. And, so I thought, yeah, burdock, because that person was given milk thistle, which appeared to be, too strong, too harsh.
[00:56:50] Unknown:
Yes.
[00:56:51] Unknown:
Yes. The the strongest, human cleanser. But some people need a kind of a different approach and a different, a different remedy. Yeah. That's really
[00:57:02] Unknown:
yeah. Yeah. And I I I like how you said, a while ago that really it's all about learning that plant language, and that is that is what you're teaching. But on the other hand, you're working with, people well, tourists that speak a lot of different languages. So I'm wondering, do you know the plump names in different languages? Or Yeah. You learn that along the way.
[00:57:29] Unknown:
And, in, before the before the war in Ukraine, we had really big numbers of, Russian tourists in Cyprus, and they would really flock to the herb gardens because in Russia and in Ukraine, people still grow up with herbs. People still know the plants that are, healing, and and even laypeople will know, oh, yeah. My grandmother gives me this when I have such and such. And so when I do a tour for Russian people or when my Russian colleague does that for the Russian people, we're preaching to the to the choir. We don't have have to convince them because they already know it. And I I say to Russian people, yeah, take, Yarrow for, you know, urinary and gynecological issue. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My grandmother always tells me to, to take that. So Russians still, to this day, use a lot of herbs, use herbal medicine.
A Russian person will first go to, seek a natural solution. And if the natural remedy doesn't work, then they'll go to the doctor.
[00:58:39] Unknown:
Which is actually
[00:58:40] Unknown:
a nice way of doing it. Right? It's very traditional because they they're very true to their, traditions. They're very traditional people.
[00:58:48] Unknown:
Wow. That's impressive that you know some of the names in different language as well. That's Yes. Because well, of course, when we made,
[00:58:56] Unknown:
signage in the in the garden, the signage has to be in in Greek, in English, Latin, of course, German, and Russian. So, whenever whenever I walk around in the garden, I see the Russian name as well. And so I know, oh, yeah. That's this and that's that.
[00:59:12] Unknown:
Wow. Wow. I'm very impressed by this, really. So what are some of the favorite local Cyprus herbs that you like to work with?
[00:59:26] Unknown:
One of my favorite plants is nettle because it does so many things. So it's nettle season in February. Oh, so you have you have nettle in Cyprus. I was wondering about that. Yeah. In a very early spring. So that'll be February. And very near the park, it doesn't grow inside the park even though I've scattered seeds all over, but nettle goes where it will. And it likes, sort of northern slopes, and it likes, where it gets a little bit more wet. But very near here is a, an orange grove, orange trees, and nettle grows underneath there. So this farmer lets me forage from his, field, and I know it's all clean and, organic.
So I go and forage, and this, the nettles there are the the smaller leafed nettles. So they're not the nasty, very, very, painful nettles. So I don't even need to wear gloves. I just grab them and cut them, and, then I bring them back in in big rubbish bin bags. Yeah. Wow. Because we make soup here in the wintertime and in early spring. Nettle soup is a staple here in our, in the restaurant, and people come especially for the nettle soup because you can't get it anywhere else. Of course, it's quite a bit of a it's quite a task to, prepare the nettles for soup because you can only use the the tops, and they have to be very tender, so none of the, the tougher, stalks.
But I also, love tincturing it, and I tincture it fresh because it's far more potent and powerful, when you use the fresh material. So, I think it's really fresh. And, yeah, nettle is just so it does so many things. It's so good for the heart, for the veins. It has so many vitamins and minerals. It's like taking a, a multivitamin and, vitamin supplement and and, you know, the iron people that with with low iron, within a week, you can get the iron levels back up, especially if they have the nettle soup in the evening, if they drink nettle tea, or if they take the tincture. That's it's just amazing. It's great for the heart and for all the organs, for for lowering, blood sugar levels, for lowering cholesterol, for lowering blood pressure.
Very, very effective. So this is one of my, favorite herbs to work with. Oregano is another one. And, of course, being in the Mediterranean, oregano is, a very, very important plant here, and it it it just smells so, so beautiful here, in this hot climate. I make, I distill it into essential oil. And the oil of oregano, we use it, as a natural antibiotic. Very, very effective for persistent colds, for, any kind of infections. And, of course, you have to be careful with it because it's, it's a hot oil. So Mhmm. It comes with an entire leaflet full of, instructions on how to use it. But, yeah, it's, it's it's very powerful medicine.
Very powerful medicine. I also love, hawthorn when it's, in flower. He had flowered last month, and, I love making hawthorn medicine. I love picking the flowers, the scent of the flowers, and then the bees are visiting it as well. It's absolutely amazing.
[01:03:05] Unknown:
And it goes so quickly. It's like Yes. I don't know. Same in Cyprus as in Belgium, but it's, like, one week, and it's gone. So you have to be very, very quick. And Yeah. It's it's very funny because with the Hawthorn berries, there is such a long window of time to pick them. But with the with the flowers, it's just not so long. When you see them, go for them. Yes. Yeah. Exactly.
[01:03:30] Unknown:
Another another plant favorite of mine is, mountain tea, ironwort, cedarites. It's just when you even if you just look at the plant and you touch it, and then you see next to it, it says ironwort, and then you can see, you know, it's a very strong, powerful, almost square stem, very, very erect, almost papery in, in texture or like carton. The leaves are very, very tough and and strong, and so the plant already communicates to you that, hey. I give you strength. I I'm a Mhmm. I'm a fortifying, herb. And, the flowers are light green with a little bit of, a little bit of white. So it's not the most spectacular flower, but it could here it grows to about a meter, to about a meter high. It's getting into flower. That tall. Wow. Yeah. And, when you touch it, then the the oil and the the the resin gets sticks to your fingers, and for the entire day, your your hands smell of, of this plant is, it's highly, highly aromatic.
Other varieties that grow more up in Greece and in sort of northern, Mediterranean, they are much less, resinous, and they're softer. So, like, in Greece, there are 56 different species of, mountain tea. In Cyprus, we only have two different species. One that grows in the lowland, the one that we grow here, and one that is a wild plant in the mountains. When then if you travel to, to Greece, the plant is less green, but more sort of gray green, a bit sagey in in color, and much softer and fuzzy, really, really fuzzy. So whereas here, it's much tougher and sort of, yeah, leathery or papery in, in texture, but it's a fantastic plant, and it really, strengthens the entire body. It's great for, for the brain. It's great against colds and flu, and and just as a general tonic to give you that energy.
So, yeah, I I just love that plant.
[01:05:51] Unknown:
Wow. Very interesting. And is is there, like, a typical Cypriotic, herbal tradition or a dish with with wild greens or a herbal first aid thing that you would like to share?
[01:06:08] Unknown:
What every Cypriot housewife still knows to this day is, when they make, hawthorn berry jelly, and that is done with the local variety. So with, Nobcratajos mononquina, the, Cratajos azaarolus. So it doesn't make red berries, makes sort of yellow berries, and they're like tiny apples. I used to call them fairy apples. So when they're in season, women go out and they, they gather these, and then they make them into jelly like a jam, jelly. So you you boil them with water and sugar. You don't even need to add any pectin because it has a lot of pectin in itself.
But then they will add to their pan. They will add a few leaves of rose geranium for the aroma. And just a couple of leaves are enough to make this jelly really, really aromatic. The wonderful thing with, hawthorn, jelly is that it retains all its medicinal properties even when you boil it down into, a jam. It's called the the the queen of jams, it's called here. And, every single well, maybe not every single housewife nowadays, but every single Yaya, so every single grandmother still knows how to make it, and they will invariably add, a few leaves of rose geranium.
They do that also with other confit confited, fruits like, the the rind of watermelon. This is this is so beautiful. You know, the economy of nature is just so beautiful. There's nothing nothing is discarded. When it's watermelon season in the summer, there are certain watermelons that have a very, very thick rind, a very thick skin, which is about, like, a centimeter and a half thick. And they will use that rind, chop it up, put it in a jar with syrup, so with a lot of sugar and and syrup, and then add a little bit of, let a few leaves of this, rose geranium, and they make that into a natural sweet, which is served after dinner.
These kind of sweets, even though they're high in sugar, they're much better than, you know, cakes and other, things made with dairy. But nothing goes to waste. Also, the, the hulls of, of new glands of, walnuts, and when they're still in in the hull, then they get confited. And, that is actually a very, it's a medicinal sweet. So that is a traditional thing that, people still make. Also, the rind of oranges or the rind of bitter oranges is confited in this way in sugar and then is, served after dinner. So they they are very healthy in spite of the sugar. They're still, kind of healthy, sweets for dessert.
[01:09:14] Unknown:
Thank you so much for sharing that. Yeah. Like the queen of gems. I love that. I love the expression. That's that's very nice. And it's interesting to see how you say, well, not every woman still makes it, but, like, every grandmother
[01:09:29] Unknown:
still makes it. They all they all still know how to make it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So do you think that
[01:09:36] Unknown:
the next generations will continue these traditions? Or?
[01:09:41] Unknown:
Not the way they used to. Certain people will continue the tradition because there's always a market for it. So a market creates a demand. Now, the the grandmothers of now, they used to be housewives. Just like everywhere else in Europe, there's no such thing as, a stay at home mom anymore. It's very rare because both parents if there is a family, both parents need to work. And so there's less time for, these kind of pursuits, which means that there's fewer people still doing it, but they are, very active in preserving traditions. Cyprus is a very traditional island. Cyprus embraces its traditions, loves its traditions.
And so when wherever there's a village fair, you will see traditional crafts, traditional, let's say, basket weaving. You will see the traditional products. Also, the homemade pastas, the homemade, bread products, herbs, as well as confited, fruits and homemade jams. So, yes, people do people are very keen in preserving, their traditions. Even though there's fewer people that actually are occupied with it, it's not something that is gonna go anywhere. It's not gonna go away. Yeah. They still identify with it, sort of. Yes. Yes. And there's, that's they really want to preserve tradition. Mhmm. Mhmm.
[01:11:15] Unknown:
Okay. So, well, I think we're at the end of our conversation. I was wondering if there was one last message you wanted to share with our listeners.
[01:11:27] Unknown:
Yes. Well, I think when we see when we see nature through the eyes of a child and we are in touch with our inner child and have that sense of wonder, wherever we go, wherever we walk, whether it be on a beach and you look at the sea or you look at the the millions of colors and shapes of the sand, of the individual grains of sand, or you're in a forest and you see all these different colors of leaves, different ways that trees and other plants are growing, just open the eyes of your heart to observe with the heart. And in silence, commune and communicate with the natural world around you, and then you will see that, a whole new world will open up for you. And you'll feel so much more connected, so much more grounded, so much more secure within yourself when you come to realize that you're a part of this beautiful world and this beautiful world is a part of you.
This is a sensation that you can only really, really get to know by experiencing it. And it's as easy as just going out there and spending a little time in nature. And your body and soul will be very grateful to you for doing this. So that's what, I would like to share with all the listeners.
[01:12:56] Unknown:
Wow. That's so beautiful. Open the eyes of your heart. I love it. I really, really love what you said. It's, wow, very meaningful and very it's just lovely. Really lovely. And, yes, I I couldn't agree more actually. So, Miranda, if, if people are interested in your work and they want to know more about what you're doing or they want to, visit your lovely garden, how how can they find out more information about your work?
[01:13:29] Unknown:
Via cyberbia.com. So, our website is quite big. There's lots of blog posts there. There's, my personal story, the story of how it all started. There's information there on all the things that we do, things that we grow. There's an eshop on that as well. So, yeah, syherbia.com is the place to visit. Or on Instagram, our handle is at cyherbia. On Facebook, Cyherbia Botanical Park. And, of course, anybody that, is coming to Cyprus on their holiday, then, do hire a car and come and see us, here and say that leave us into you.
[01:14:13] Unknown:
Yeah. Miranda, thank you so much for this lovely conversation. I wish you a lot of good luck and success with all the projects, everything you're doing. Thank you so much for taking the time for, talking for the podcast. And for you listener, I, hope you're listening to this somewhere outdoors. If you're not outdoors, get out of here and go outdoors, go into nature. Just take some time to become silent and, and get into this connection with nature. It's truly what makes us whole as a person. I hope to see you for the next episode. And in the meantime, keep powdering your nose with dandelion pollen. Bye bye.
[01:15:01] Unknown:
A warm thank you for listening, Wildy. Are you feeling a wild itch after this episode? Well, just head over to wildplantforager.com and feel free to connect with me on social media. I'm looking forward to the next episode. I hope you'll be there. But for now, just go outside and follow your wild heart.
Welcome to Wild, the podcast for wildlings just like you. Wildlings who want to transform transform the prevalent plant blindness to collective plant wisdom. My name is Liebe Gollle. I've been working as a herbalist and wild plant forager in Belgium since 02/2002. In those years, I've seen a lot of changes. Working with plants has become more popular, but I've also seen time is running out for our planet. As foragers and herbalists in Europe, sometimes we're dealing with different plant species and different cultural approaches towards plants. In some countries, working with plants is licensed, and in others, it's almost illegal.
I believe that together, we can learn from one another and be stronger. There is nothing more empowering than connecting wild souls. Together, we can have a greater impact on restoring the ancient link between people and plants. And that's why for this podcast series, I'm talking to fellow herbalists and foragers in Europe. So if you're ready to find out what you've never been told, but what your soul already knows, welcome to Wild.
[00:02:12] Unknown:
Hello, Wildy. Welcome to a new episode of the Wild podcast. And today, we have Miranda Tringis here. She's a pioneering herbalist and the founder of Syherbia Botanical Park in Cyprus. She has a passion for Mediterranean herbs, sustainability, and traditional herbal wisdom. She has created a unique space blending education, wellness, and ecotourism. And through her works, she inspires thousands of people to reconnect with nature and discover the healing power of plants in Cyprus. Welcome, Miranda.
[00:02:52] Unknown:
Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for having me. It's, a real joy to be, in your company and in the company of other herbalists that, will be listening.
[00:03:04] Unknown:
Yes. And can you tell us a little bit about how you got started with herbalism?
[00:03:11] Unknown:
Well, we go way back, to when I was a very young child, I think when I was around five, six. I grew up in, rural Utrecht in The Netherlands. So I was surrounded by green fields, and I used to always pick flowers for my mom, wildflowers, anything from buttercups to, dandelions. And as a very young child, I have this core memory of, picking dandelions, chopping them up, chopping up the stems and the flowers in, a glass jar of water and leaving them out in the sun, and then after an hour or so to drink that water. Wow. Nobody told me this.
And now, many years later, I know what it was that I was doing. But I was always playing with, with flowers, with wild grasses, always wanting to know what they are. And even though in in my family, herbalism wasn't practiced and, herbs were just, you know, something that you add to your food if you put any at all. So most of that most of my, childhood, memories regarding herbs, they were completely, intuitive. And I remember as a young child, when I was picking flowers, I swear I could hear them sing in the sunshine. And even though my mother uses that, oh, you're just imagining it, because I was a very, over imaginative child. But now I still wonder to this day, you know, I I I'm sure I didn't make it up. I'm sure I could hear them.
And, only recently, I was in, in some in an office somewhere, and there was a plant, a house plant. And I could hear something. And it wasn't with my ears. It was within me. I could hear a scream. And I looked around and I saw this plant and it was bone dry. And I said to the person in that office, can't you hear? Your plant is crying out for water. You should water it. And, of course, they looked at me and said, oh, you crazy woman. You? But I took my water bottle out of my bag and and watered it then and there. So that was, a core, childhood memory with the dandelions. And, what I made actually was a sun brew, and I still this day, I make sun brews as well, particularly, during the summer solstice.
Sun brews are are fantastic, herbal drinks to celebrate solstice with. But when I, I moved to Cyprus, age 19, and when I had my first child, she was in need of herbal medicine after conventional medicine failed. To explain, this was, when she was very, very young, just a toddler, she used to come down frequently with respiratory infections. So laryngitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, all the itises. And our pediatrician would prescribe, antibiotics every single time. So me being a young and inexperienced mom and not at all involved with herbs, I became a herbalist much later. She, became immune to two types of antibiotics by the age of four, and she had no immune system left by that time. So I had to take her out of preschool.
Thankfully, I was a stay at home mom at the time, and I could just look after her and monitor her health. But I said, no more doctors, no more medicines. I am gonna have to start looking for natural solutions. This was before the internet. This was 1996 and 1997. And, so I started reading books and to my great surprise, I learned that the most common plants are also the most effective in dealing with respiratory infections. Plants like sage, mint, thyme, rosemary, they are all absolutely amazing to, use in teas and, and tincture making as well for, combating these kind of, infections.
So at the onset of each cold with the first cough, I started making tea, mainly from mint, and then I would add a little bit of thyme and a little bit of sage because mint, of course, is the most palatable. It's the nicest in flavor. You didn't wanna didn't wanna put my child off. And then I would sweeten the tea with local honey, which is a natural antibiotic also. So, thankfully, she was really, taking to the tea. She liked them. So I I soon found out that, a cold would just be a cold. So a cough for a few days, and after that, it'd be gone. And it wouldn't turn into an infection with phlegm and and, you know, heavy cough and all that. And then I thought, why don't people know this anymore?
And it's really more and more. I I learned that Cyprus used to have a very rich herbal tradition, but people have abandoned the herbs with, the coming of, chemical medicines in the twentieth century. And very soon, they just turned their back on them, even though, like a hundred years ago, every community had their own herbalist and had their own, community healer. And now, of course, that is all gone, and, I I was so enthusiastic with the results of this, that I said, okay. With the herbs, I'm going to rebuild her immune system. It was completely shot. So that took another eight years because, don't forget, something that is completely destroyed in a young body takes a long time to become strong again. And so with herbs and with nutrition, it took me eight years to rebuild her immune system, and I kept reading. So I was like a, a kitchen herbalist without any kind of qualifications at the time.
Then as she grew, stronger and I was using herbs more and more, my cooking was completely transformed, and I started making all kinds of, tea blends and experimenting just the way I did when I was a very young child. You know? However, in 2,004, when my, child was then 10 years old, my husband and I bought a piece of land initially as an investment, not thinking anything of it. It was at a good price. We were looking to invest in land, and that's what we did. Six months down the line, he said to me, you know, this land is just lying there, just sitting there, and it has a soul, and it has a purpose. The purpose of land is to bring forth fruit.
He said to me, yogurt with herbs, why don't we make a herb garden where people can come and visit and learn about, how to, increase their health and and maintain good health and wellness with herbs. And we start making herbal products because you're doing that at home and you're loving it. Why not do it? And we'll make the we'll make the place a fun place. We'll plant a a big labyrinth, a maze, where people can, can play away from, you know, screens, away from urban, environments to just return to nature for a fun day out for their health and well-being and to learn about healing plants of, Cyprus. And so I said, okay.
I was very scared at first, of this project because I knew this was going to be a lot of hard work, and neither of us are, from agricultural families, you know, that we grew up with this. But it seemed like such a wonderful adventure, and so I said, okay. We're gonna do this. But, I will want to go to, study herbalism then and get a degree in, as as a herbalist and to be a proper practitioner, not to not to just be somebody who's read a few books. So the creation of the park took eight years. In those eight years, I studied, for my diploma as a herbalist, and I did my experiments and my practical and all of that.
And we planted the herb garden, failed, planted again, failed again until we got it right. The maze, to to plant a maze, when you plant, any kind of bush, the the baby bush that you plant is maybe, like, 25, 30 centimeters high, and the maze had to become two meters high. That took eight years. So in 02/2012, our garden looked absolutely amazing, and the lavender was in flower. It was dew, the lavender was in flower. And I looked around, and I said, wow, isn't this wonderful? I I need to start inviting people to see this because we were the only ones seeing this. I didn't have a proper infrastructure.
I had a shack where I did all my things, and I I didn't have any kind of lab or any kind of other facilities. It was all very, very spartan. But I had to start from somewhere. So when the lavender was in flower, I put a post on Facebook. There was no Facebook marketing at the time, 02/2012. I was just joining the lavender harvest. And at Saherbia in, Avogora, we're in the village about 20, minutes away from the nearest towns. Joining the lavender harvest, and I was giving bunches of lavender free to take for people to take home, because it was far more than I could, process and that I could work with.
And to my big surprise, over 300 people turned up. I couldn't see them all. I had I I borrowed chairs. I borrowed tables. I bought a few bits and pieces. I only had a small fridge. It was hot at the time. Stuck the fridge with with bottled water that ran out within an hour, but the people loved it. And that was all the encouragement I needed to say, okay. I may not have a proper shop. I may not have proper facilities, but I'm going to open. I'm going to open. And, that's what I did. The first two years, I didn't even have a cash register in my little shack shop. It was just a money box. Anybody could walk away with it, but nobody ever did.
Because the people that came were people that were genuinely interested and, loved an initiative, like this. But then, the ball started rolling, and more and more people were coming. So I needed to have an assistant and then another and then another, and it grew and grew and grew. And sometimes I I liken it to a a little dragon. Like, a baby dragon is the size of a lizard, and you carry it around on your shoulder, and you pet it. And you say, oh, this is my little pet, and I take it wherever I want, but then the dragon starts growing, and it needs feeding. And soon you put it on a leash, and you still are sort of somewhat in control. But then when it grows bigger and bigger, it is in control and not you.
Now the dragon is fully grown, and I may be riding its back, but it takes me where it wants, not the other way around. Because, a garden is a living organism, and a business is also a living organism. And then as new, needs become clear, you have to fill those needs. It's not the other way around. Like, oh, I'm going to do this now. No. The business shows you, and the garden also shows you where it needs attention. Just as certain plants show have shown me, okay, I don't really like it here. I'm going to move somewhere else. And I've seen plants upping and going somewhere else.
That's quite amazing. Or two types of the same, genus, say, cousins of each other that didn't like each other as plants, and the one ousted the other. I've seen that as well. So that that, really taught me that, plants are sentient, beings. And sometimes they get on really, really well. And other times, they they compete and, push each other away.
[00:15:47] Unknown:
Wow. Well, thank you for sharing that journey. It's quite amazing, I think, how motherhood actually brought you closer to what you already had as a child, you know, this natural interest in in what was growing around you. It often goes like that. Right? That motherhood brings us closer to ourselves. I I Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Because that, that peace in us, the mother in us, identifies with mother Gaia.
[00:16:15] Unknown:
And so, yeah, then we start thinking about, natural, natural ways of doing things.
[00:16:22] Unknown:
Yes. And I also like how you got started before everything was already established. It was imperfect. And that's exactly what because I sometimes see some some students and they say, oh, I want to start like a a herbal thing, but but it's not perfect yet, so I cannot start it. But sometimes you just have to take the leap, and and it will get more perfect along the way.
[00:16:49] Unknown:
Yes. That's what I learned. Because don't forget, it took us, eight years in, creation. And so those eight years, we had to have a very long breath putting all of our money, all of our effort, all of our blood, sweat, and tears in this project. And okay. I wasn't ready. But then I thought, if I wait until I'm ready, I will be burned out by then. Mhmm. And I'll I might I might give up hope or, you know, anything might happen. Why don't I just start where I'm at and everything else will, will come? It'll grow. And that's and that's exactly what happened.
[00:17:27] Unknown:
Yes. It's so good that you got started. So I'm wondering, who are exactly the people that are visiting the garden? Is it more like, tourists from abroad or is it also like people from Cyprus that come from other parts of the country? Or how should I how should I see it? All kinds of people. When when, the gardens first opened, it was the
[00:17:52] Unknown:
first, it was foreigners that lived in Cyprus or live in Cyprus that started to come, as they were more open to an initiative like this because there's nothing like it, on the island. Then tourists started to come. And, lastly, the the local Cypriot people. But when they started coming, they really did love it. And, now there's just such a mix of of of people. Schools come and visit because we've written three different educational programs by which children learn about the treasures of nature, and we've made it in such a way that it's a treasure hunt. So I'm not talking to the children.
The children discover by this program. They discover a plant that is really helpful in headaches. They discover a plant that is great for colds and flu. They have to find it. They have to find a picture next to the plant in in the garden and then write down the name of the plant that is on the, sign next to it. So that way, they retain the information a lot better. This is the Montessori principle that I love, because, it it's just wonderful to to go out in Asia and discover things and see things with different eyes. And, I love the educational part of it.
Now we're at a stage that we are, exploring ecopsychology and our relationship with the plant world and how, we, feel a a much deeper connection to the natural world around us. This is again something that I years ago, five, six years ago, I taught a seminar on that for the first time, but completely intuitively. Now my daughter, is, studying for her diploma in eco psychology. So I'm reading into the material as well. And so we wanna do a lot more, with that, in the park for people to really reconnect because what I see all around me, and I'm sure, you see that as well, is that, this generation, but especially the next generations, the next two generations, are completely disconnected from the natural environment.
And this leads to many, many problems, most of the time of a psychological nature because we're not meant to be separated from the natural world around us. We are a part of it, and it is a part of us. And the sooner we realize that and we actively reconnect with nature, we start feeling a lot better, a lot calmer. We can, see things in a in a different light. We're not taken by every wave of, panic or worry. When you go out in nature, you can really come to yourself. You can ground yourself. And a lot of people do that without even realizing it. Just by being in the presence of nature, it it's very, very helpful. And, this is a direction that we want to both my daughter and I, we want to do a lot more in, here at the park.
So there's there's always more Yes. Learn about nature. Now, as a herbalist, of course, I I make herbal medicines and, teas, tinctures. We distill our own essential oils here at the park. Wow. Soon. When the lavender starts blooming in June, we'll be doing daily, extractions of lavender essential oil, which is lovely. It's really, really wonderful. And it's wonderful to do that in front of the people because, obviously, it's, open to visitors. So Oh, I can imagine they're completely immersed in the aromas of the lavender. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. They can really do that, and that's, yeah, that's all part of the experience. Experience that we wanna offer at the park is just that, to, to be enchanted by, the aromas, by the looks, by the the the touch. You have to use all your senses, when you're walking in a garden and, really try and avoid with different eyes. And and then that's when mother nature does a lot of healing within you, even just by walking through a garden.
Even just by walking.
[00:22:22] Unknown:
Yes. And I I love your approach that it's not like some boring educational thing. Like, what I hear from kids sometimes is they go to museum and they say, oh, they really want to trick you into learning something that is actually boring. And they think we don't know it, but we see that they are tricking us into it. But, like, you have this approach of enchantment, and I think that's really nice. That makes it more like a herbal theme park. And, yes, and I agree also what you said about the connection because I think it's one of the diseases of our time and a much overlooked disease, actually.
And through this enchantment, that's that's a great way to get people involved.
[00:23:08] Unknown:
Yes. I and I I just see it when, when people people may not even realize that they have this need. They don't because people are, just dragged down by by life and by the demands of, of modern life. And when, one Saturday, one Sunday, they decide, oh, let's go to the herbal park that we heard about. And, it may just surprise them, what it's, what it does to them and how, how healing it is on a, on a psychological level, and I hope also on a spiritual level. Mhmm. Just by, just by, immersing yourself in, in the presence of nature with all the the smells, the colors, the textures.
That that has been the goal from the beginning. And, yeah, now we're leveling up in that area.
[00:24:06] Unknown:
Yes. And as you said, it's it's so easy. It's like just spending time in nature is something that anyone can do. It doesn't cost any money. It just takes a little bit of time, but and it is working so well for our mental health. So it's it's very accessible for all, and more people really should discover it, I think. So yeah. Yes. There was a massive study covering 20,000
[00:24:34] Unknown:
people who, were asked to spend the time in nature and how much time was necessary per week to, feel significantly better with yourself, you know, how to prove your mental health and how much time was needed. And they found that just two hours a week spending time in nature was enough for people to start feeling significantly better. And so, when you take that into account, that's just less than twenty minutes a day. So every day, if you take a walk, even in a park, if somebody lives in a big city that you can go to a park, just walk in the park or go on your roller blades or on your bicycle and spend time there and try and observe, everything that grows there, at different times of year, then you reconnect different, even better.
It's not just by, you know, walking in a park or taking a walk on the beach if you're near the sea or going to the forest. But when you go regularly and you visit the same natural, spaces, then you also see the seasonal changes. And in, observing what grows, what grows where, what is this plant, and getting interested in what what grows there. Is this edible or is this medicinal? Because you go to any park, wherever there's wild plants, most of them actually are edible and, medicinal. And so it's it's fun for, you know, somebody who's not, who's not had, much experience in nature to just go with an open mind and even just to sit with a plant or sit, with your back against the trunk of a tree.
And then when you close your eyes and you feel, that you're merging with the tree and you feel or you you imagine, you visualize the sap running through the trunk and into the roots, and then you can ground yourself as well and visualize your own roots going deep into the earth. That is healing. That is healing without even taking a medicinal tea.
[00:26:40] Unknown:
Yes. Exactly. So as as you mentioned, the seasons, how are the seasons in Cyprus? Like, I'm guessing compared to Belgium, the winters are a bit shorter, so there's a longer time span to to harvest herbs?
[00:26:59] Unknown:
Winters are very, very short. Cyprus's biggest problem is the lack of, rain. And, every year, the lack of rain is more and more acute, and this year is a critical year, which makes me really, slightly fearful for the future even though I don't really like to voice that. It's just that with minimal rainfall, the the island is drying out, and I see species disappearing. The summers are very, very hot and very, very dry, obviously. So in the summertime, there's very little that grows like in the wild. Only in the mountains, you will find wild plants, that you can still forage during the summer. But our foraging season is early spring. When I say early spring, here, that is February and March.
And that is a very, very short window of time. So it's only two months a year that we can, forage wild edible greens such as, wild mustard, such as, mallow and nettles, one of my favorite plants, nettles. But that's only in February and March because very soon, the temperatures get higher. There's more sunshine, and then everything turns woody and straggly, and then they're no good for for cooking anymore. You can still dry them. But as plant grows grows woody and straggly, then, it's past its, prime. Yeah. So my foraging workshops, I do in in February. Late February. Early March.
And then I get requests, like, in the middle of summer. When are you going to have a a foraging workshop? We're really interested in doing it because they're very popular. In the past, ten years, I've been doing these yearly workshops. It it's it's very, very popular. People want to learn about what grows around them. People want to be able to identify the wild plants and and eat them because, when I first came to Cyprus, my my mother-in-law, she remembered how in the old days, they used to go out every early spring and eat what the land yielded because people were really, really poor here. So, she took me one. So my first foraging, day, and, we foraged mallow and, white mustard.
Now white mustard, of course, it it grows all over Europe. And I remember in those days writing a letter to my mother in The Netherlands. Mom, you would not believe those yellow flowers that we see growing by the roadside. They eat them here, and they're really delicious. They're really peppery. And, even though my mother-in-law at the time, she didn't know why we should she didn't know the constituents of the plant, obviously. She just knew these are edible, and they're good for you. And that was all they needed to know. That's all the people of the island in the early days, needed to know that you can live off the land in, wintertime and early spring.
So yeah. And now foraging is very, very, back in fashion, if I could say that word. I mean, it's popular. It's popular. Yes. Yes.
[00:30:25] Unknown:
Yeah. It's interesting to hear you say that you have, when it comes to harvesting plants, that you have rather, like, a summer break than a winter break. That is, like, an entirely new concept for me. But I can imagine if it becomes very dry and very hot in the summer, yeah, that everything just dries out and yeah. How mainstream is it in Cyprus to work with herbs? Are, like, a lot of people still doing it, or is it, like, completely vanished? Because previously, you you just said that, yeah, a lot of knowledge is is lost already. So
[00:31:00] Unknown:
is there, like, a revival going on right now in Cyprus? Or Yes. There is. There is. And there has been for the past, ten years, even though, the number of herbalists practicing in Cyprus are not many. Mhmm. But, people are interested in, using herbs for, health and well-being as many people have been disappointed by, you know, mainstream medication, and they they try to find natural solutions, especially when it comes to inflammatory situations. And when people are on prednisone, which has so many side effects, and people want to take a more natural route. Or, even with serious illnesses, people come to me and say, do you have something that I can take alongside my cancer treatment?
Even even like that. But also, other chronic situations, and there are chronic situations that we can manage easily with herbs such as osteoporosis, where I, use horsetail. And that's and horsetail, because it's so rich in silica, is so, so good. And then I see, these people coming back after a couple of months, and they said, oh, I I just feel so much less pain right now. I just feel that I have more flexibility in my joints, because, yeah, the, this herb does this herb does wonders for Mhmm. For the joints. And it's what is easier than taking a cup of tea a few times a day? And when I say you need to drink a laser a day, that's four cups. That's doable. You make the tea late in the evening. You let it stand overnight so you've got a very, very strong infusion, and you put that in a flask and drink throughout the day.
That's as that's how simple herbal medicine can be, just a cup of tea that you drink during the day. And then at the same time, when people say, I'm not really a tea drinker. And then, you know, you can make tea into a little me time ritual. This is how I always like to present it. And I always say to people, you know, bring out your nice teapot, the one that you, would only use if you have guests. Why? Why only when you have guests? You you use your beautiful teapot. You use your beautiful mug, because you you deserve that that little break.
Making tea is perpetual. It takes it takes a few minutes to make the tea. So those are minutes that you are away from what you're doing, then you have to wait for ten, twenty minutes for the tea to brew and to cool down so that you can eat and you can drink it. And and that in itself is a beautiful, ritual. And it is it is a a moment of, of rest, a moment, of taking a break from what you're doing. And often, you may find that after your little tea ritual and you're sipping your tea, then the things that you were struggling with before your tea break, they don't seem all that big anymore because you're taking a little bit of distance from what you're doing. Mhmm.
[00:34:10] Unknown:
And you think it's a good time for self care. Yes. Yes. Self care is so often seen as, you know, going to the spa or getting this or this treatment or buying expensive things for yourself, but it can be this easy. Just brew yourself a really nice cup of herbal tea. Yes. I like that. I really like that. So you've told me that there are only that there are not that many herbalists in Cyprus. Is there a lot of connection, in between you? Like Yes. There is connection. Yeah.
[00:34:45] Unknown:
And, many times, if I happen not to have a certain herb in stock or it is one that I don't grow or that I don't make, then I will send a person to a colleague that I know. He makes this, this particular, supplement or this particular, tea he has in stock. So yeah. Or, if my harvest of, a certain type of herb, has is not as plentiful as I need it to be. I can buy from somebody else who's also, planting, who's also growing herbs here on the island. So, yeah, there is, there is that, communication here. There is, a little bit of a community.
By the way, herbs are are available in every single supermarket. There will be a section with some herbal teas as well. Oh, really?
[00:35:34] Unknown:
Yeah. So people So they are very accessible for everyone? Yes. Yeah. And the quality is okay?
[00:35:41] Unknown:
Yeah. The quality is top quality. Actually, in the first in the first century AD, Pliny the elder wrote, the herbs of Cyprus are the best in all of the Roman Empire. What? That's that's a really cool quote.
[00:35:57] Unknown:
Yeah. Yeah. Is that what brought you to Cyprus?
[00:36:00] Unknown:
No. It brought me to Cyprus. I learned that a lot later. However, the sunshine, the hot the the hot climate, the soil conditions, and the sunshine make for extremely aromatic plants with, a very high quality of volatile oils. So when you take oregano, for instance, a plant very rich in volatile oils, if you, if you just smell a couple of leaves of, of fresh oregano here and you compare that to the way it smells in Belgium, where you don't have the sunshine, where you don't have that climate, it's not the same. It's Yes. Obviously. It it cannot be the same. Yes. Cannot be the same. Just as, certain plants that I started growing here, and I brought, roots and seeds from The Netherlands, such as comfrey, one of, one of the plants that I love very, very much because I used to I used to sip the nectar as a child off of the flowers. And I did couple of weeks ago, I did that again when I was visiting.
And I was cycling, and I saw a few comfrey plants, and I said, oh, I've got to taste this again. And I did. But I I've tried, growing comfrey. It's grown for, like, five, six years, but only under trees. Mhmm. In pots, under trees, so always in the shade. And I had to water it every single day because it's too comfrey in the wild. It always grows near bodies of water. Yeah? Always Yes. Exactly. To the sloth. Yes. Yeah. So, yeah, comfrey, now has disappeared, from here. And I'm not going to I'm not going to plant it again. It just it's it's it's far too hot for, for plants like this.
[00:37:44] Unknown:
Yes. But it's interesting how you because I can imagine that sometimes you also miss plants from The Netherlands when you're in Cyprus. Of course. I do. Yeah. But when I visit them,
[00:37:55] Unknown:
then I, I go I go foraging. Like, mugwort, I, I just needed a little bit of mugwort because I I cannot forage in The Netherlands for the use of my business, only for personal things because I would need boxes and boxes full. But I wanted to make a mugwort, smudge stick, so I just brought back, a small bunch that I, foraged as I was cycling. And, I'll make a smudge stick from that.
[00:38:24] Unknown:
Okay. So and if you're in Cyprus and you want to study herbalism, is there, like, a herbal school in Cyprus, or do you have to go abroad or do it online? Or Yeah.
[00:38:45] Unknown:
It's for people that are interested in taking their health in their own hands, and they want a more in-depth, kind of knowledge. But it will not make one a, a practicing herbalist.
[00:38:58] Unknown:
Mhmm. Okay. So and, like, what is a legal framework in Cyprus? Is is there, like, a thing like a licensed turbolist? What are you allowed to do? What are you not allowed to do? It's the same as in the rest of Europe.
[00:39:13] Unknown:
And, here, they tend to take things very, very literally when it comes to the law. Like, what I see when I visit other European countries, particularly Greece, I see, in, herb shops, I see, herb for cholesterol, herb for diabetes, or herbal mixture for diabetes, herbal mixture for this, for that. With the actual name of the, health problem on it. And if I would do that here, they'd shut me down.
[00:39:43] Unknown:
Yes. Yes. And it's the same in The Netherlands and in Belgium. You know? It's not allowed. Make up we have to make up silly buzz names.
[00:39:51] Unknown:
I know. For for a digestive blend, I have to I have to call it after dinner, something for, mental, or for for, memory and concentration. We call it clarity. We have to find these buzz names. And then even on the back of the packet, you cannot say, this will help you concentrate or this is good for your digestion, even though the German commissionee stated chamomile is one of the best plants to take for stomach upsets. Yeah. But you cannot put that on the packet even though the the very same commission in the EU says, that this, this plant is, has has proven benefits for digestion.
So it's it's such a, it's it's a bit of a mess, in all of Europe, and I think the legislators themselves don't really know what to do. And so they want to on the side of, safety. But also because the, because big pharma has such a big finger in the legislative pie, take a plant like Stevia, for instance. Stevia is a plant originally from, South America, and it was labeled as not proven to be safe, and so you cannot sell the plant within Europe, and you cannot sell the the leaves of the plant, the dry leaves of the plant, which are a natural sweetener. But, that was because they wanted to buy time, and Bayer then, patented the chemical version of, stevia where they isolate those two glycosides, and they just take the one and make that into chemical stevia, which is of very dubious benefit for our health because there are other, other things put into it in order to make it into that, that white, powder, but that was okay. That that is perfectly alright. You can say that that is a healthy product, but the leaf, the original, the way nature made it, cannot be proven if it is safe or not for human consumption. I mean, what on earth is this?
And so that's where we're at with, legislation with, in the herbal field very, very much in, in Europe. I think in, America, things are a lot more, relaxed. Still having said that, I see that in Greece, they don't really, pay much attention to this, but I get audited every single year. And every single year, the auditor will say, so, oh, but you can't really say this or you can't really say that. So now I'm in the process of making brochures for all of the the teas that have medicinal quality. And in a brochure, I can write whatever I like, basically. There's no legislation against what you write in a brochure. I can say this thing this this, tea, will, will give you wings to fly, and nobody can say anything about it. You know? That's how crazy
[00:43:09] Unknown:
it is. A crazy situation.
[00:43:11] Unknown:
It it is. It is. Still, we have to work within, the framework of the law, so we have to abide by that even though I try to fight. I've been fighting for ten years. And, this year, I said, no more. I just I can't do it anymore. I'm on my own doing this, when it comes to, legislation. And it's it's not a battle that we can win. Mhmm. So we have to be creative within the framework of the EU regulations and legislations, even though they're a little bit vague on many, many points. But that's just, that's just the way it is.
[00:43:57] Unknown:
Yes. And I hear you talking about European legislation, but even within European different European countries, there is so much difference into what the the national laws say, like the the difference between The Netherlands and Belgium. Belgium has a lot longer list of, plants that cannot be used in food than The Netherlands. So Yeah. Yeah. It's strange. It's crazy when you think about it because Belgium is such a small country and and, you know, like, one hour driving, and I'm not even one hour, and I'm in The Netherlands. So it's it's a bit crazy when you really think about it. Yeah. Yes. And sometimes I get worried a little bit about the whole European legislation, especially now since the Brexit because, UK has, like, you know, they have this this, they have a legislation of of, medical herbalists and and licensed herbalism.
And since Brexit, whatever is left in Europe, sometimes I'm a bit afraid that they will even make it more strict than it is already today. And then on the other hands, I can on the other hand, I can see this slow but growing movement of of herb folks and herbal people that are and, really, there is more and more of us. So it's like a movement that they cannot pretend any longer that is not there. So, it goes two ways. And I'm I'm wondering about your opinion. How do you see the future of, herbalism either in in Cyprus or in in Europe for, like, the next ten or twenty years?
[00:45:42] Unknown:
Well, I think, that more and more people, turn to natural remedies and want to try out natural remedies. So there's definitely a market for, for herbalists. And when there's a market, then, of course, there will be the products as well. But, it's harder for a consumer to make a choice because if you cannot state on your products, on your tea, on your chamomile tea, somebody who's never seen chamomile tea or chamomile in, say, in a mixture together with lemon balm and, verbena and mallow, which is like soothing, for the stomach and, and some calendula in it. Like, this is mix that I make for the for the stomach, which even can heal an ulcer because it's that soothing to the stomach lining, and you cannot put that on the on the package. So if a person wants to buy something and goes into a shop and there's not a person there to tell them, hey. This is a herb or this is a mix that will help you, for your stomach, then you they don't know what product to choose.
On websites, of course, it's easier to, give the information that you want to give about certain, products. So it's easier for people to buy things, online. But and I don't know exactly, how the legislation, is about, health claims on a website. I think as long as it is not on the product itself, but you can say on your website pretty much
[00:47:21] Unknown:
I'm not sure actually. I'm not even sure how it is in in Belgium. I know, one herbalist from The Netherlands who actually made two websites, one with the info on all the herbs and one where she, sells, like, the tinctures and the the oils and the, so she made two different websites. I don't know how exact exactly how it works, but
[00:47:46] Unknown:
At the moment, at least, they still allow us to make tinctures. Tinctures are very powerful, herbal supplements. They, they're very, very effective. Tinctures, because they're in liquid format, are easily assimilated by the body, So you feel the effects very, very, quickly. To name you an example, urinary tract infections, which can be very, very painful. As soon, as you take a little bit of uva ursi and especially if you combine it with burdock as well, twenty minutes later, you just feel such relief. Yeah. Herbal medicines in the form of tinctures, they're actually my favorite way of taking, taking herbs. I love teas as well, and I drink a lot of, a lot of tea, and many people do that as well. And here in the summertime, because of the high temperatures, we here in the in the bistro at the park, we serve herbal iced tea, which is really, really cooling because we use cooling herbs such as hibiscus and, mint and blackberry leaf, which are all very, very cooling. Mhmm. So, yeah, that's how we we give to people. As soon as they come, they get refreshed with a herbal iced tea. So then a person who's not used to drinking herbal teas, they get a taster. They get a free taster, and then they say, hey, this actually tastes pretty nice. And it it's it really quenches my thirst.
They ask for another, and then they also wanna buy the the tea. So, that's also part of the of the education. Let people let people taste it. Let people try it out.
[00:49:31] Unknown:
And Yes. I like that because some people come to me and they say, oh, but herbal teas, they really taste like dishwater. And I'm like, no. They should not be tasting like dishwater. But it's just like this prejudice that some people have in their heads. There is that. And,
[00:49:50] Unknown:
and, of course, you cannot win everybody over. Some people will say, oh, it tastes like nothing. It's just like water. Okay. Well, it tastes like maybe they have an underdeveloped palate. Who knows? But, people, when they're taken on a tour, they learn, about certain plants, not of course, not about everything because then they will not retain any of the information. But I always like to encourage people to touch the plants, Feel them. Feel the texture. Is it oily? Is it soft? Is it smooth? What does it feel like? What does it smell like? If they dare to pick an, a leaf and put it in their mouth, even better, not everybody dares to do that because they think a plant growing naturally has to be washed before you taste it.
You know, I'm not going to argue with that. But I do encourage people to, have that kind of immersive experience because that's all part of getting to know what grows, in, in your area, but also to, yeah, to get that that hands on experience. And that was really, really important. It's important for us, herbalists, to have a hands on, approach. Because how can you be a practicing herbalist if you don't if you, you yourself, don't know what the plant looks like, feels like, tastes like, if you haven't sat with it, if you haven't, communicated with it in in in certain ways, the way plants communicate to us when it's when a plant tells us, hey. Cut me, because it starts to make little leaves along the side of the stem, and and you've forgotten to, to cut it. And and so plants communicate with us in, in their own unique way.
And that deepens our our knowledge of the plants as well. And who knows? When you spend time and real, significant time with plants, then, you get certain insights that you may find later in some obscure book to be to be true, which is which is really great. When I, sometimes when I go to the mountains and and I I I go for a walk and I see plants that I cannot grow here because the herb garden is here in the lowlands, and in the mountains, there's different plants growing, and a plant may, draw my attention. And then, I sit with it, I think, wow. You've you've you've got quite a presence. You know? And so I sit with it a little longer, and then, insights, come to mind, which I later look up in, in literature.
And I think, yeah, that's what I felt about this plant or what that's what I believe this plant communicated to me. And then again, when you sit with a plant, of course, you touch. Of course, you smell. Of course, you taste it. That's how we, get a deeper knowledge of, of plants. And that's what I tell beginning herbalists as well, to to really spend time with, with plants, but also to make simples. So a simple tea. You wanna get to know yarrow? Make Yarrow tea. How does that make you feel? Drink it for a few days. How, how different what do you feel? Do you feel it's a stringency?
Do you feel, is there any, change in your skin? Do you feel that your your your skin is less less oily or, that your, whatever outbreaks you may have on the skin that they disappear? What does it do to your stomach? What does it do to the urinary system? How you know, to really, really get that kind of knowledge because book knowledge is never enough to Mhmm. To really, become knowledgeable with plants. And, also, when you work with clients, one person may come with, a stomachache. There's so many so many plants that you can, you can recommend for stomach issues. Say for inflammation of the stomach, how many the list is endless.
So Mhmm. You need to really, match the person to the plant that you're going to recommend. And in order to get that deeper knowledge of, of plants, you need to have spent time, you need to have tasted, you need to have experienced, yourself as well as, okay, we all learn about the constituents of plants and and and and how how to use it and and and, plant, chemistry and all of that. But that's that's not where it ends. You, you also have to match the plant to the person. And when you see, you see a person and you do a a a very quick diagnosis either with pulse or iris or just by observing.
Because you see, are they is their skin red? What is their tongue like? How do what is their posture like? Are they fidgety? What kind of person is this? If you see a very nervous person in front of you, and they're fidgeting, and they're, like, all over the place, and their eyes are darting to and fro, then you see, oh, this person needs something really calming. Yeah. And when they come with you come to you with a stomach ache, it's no surprise because, yeah, all their their stress and anxiety sits right there, but then you can match the plant to the person you see in front of you. That's, I think, what makes, herbalism so exciting.
[00:55:29] Unknown:
Yes. Yes. Exactly.
[00:55:31] Unknown:
Combinations. And, I think that is, that is just really beautiful to, to match the person, to the plant. And sometimes when I see a person, a plant may appear next to them in my mind's eye. And I think, oh, you need Oh, wow. I saw that once one person, was standing in the shop. There was a shop full of people, and and this one person caught my eye. And I saw a burdock next to them. And then I woke up to this, to this person. Yes. What did you do? You walked up to them? I walked up to them and says, hi. Can I can I help you? He said, yeah. Yeah. I've I've tried so many things, and, I I have, I have these things on my skin, and he had, like, purple, skin discoloring, and it, like, it just looked like a liver thing. And then I thought, oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Now I see that. I saw on the one cheek and on the arm.
And I said, oh, that's why burdock, was calling because your your liver needs, cleansing, and burdock, of course, has this affinity for the skin. It really cleanses the skin of all kinds of things. And, so I thought, yeah, burdock, because that person was given milk thistle, which appeared to be, too strong, too harsh.
[00:56:50] Unknown:
Yes.
[00:56:51] Unknown:
Yes. The the strongest, human cleanser. But some people need a kind of a different approach and a different, a different remedy. Yeah. That's really
[00:57:02] Unknown:
yeah. Yeah. And I I I like how you said, a while ago that really it's all about learning that plant language, and that is that is what you're teaching. But on the other hand, you're working with, people well, tourists that speak a lot of different languages. So I'm wondering, do you know the plump names in different languages? Or Yeah. You learn that along the way.
[00:57:29] Unknown:
And, in, before the before the war in Ukraine, we had really big numbers of, Russian tourists in Cyprus, and they would really flock to the herb gardens because in Russia and in Ukraine, people still grow up with herbs. People still know the plants that are, healing, and and even laypeople will know, oh, yeah. My grandmother gives me this when I have such and such. And so when I do a tour for Russian people or when my Russian colleague does that for the Russian people, we're preaching to the to the choir. We don't have have to convince them because they already know it. And I I say to Russian people, yeah, take, Yarrow for, you know, urinary and gynecological issue. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My grandmother always tells me to, to take that. So Russians still, to this day, use a lot of herbs, use herbal medicine.
A Russian person will first go to, seek a natural solution. And if the natural remedy doesn't work, then they'll go to the doctor.
[00:58:39] Unknown:
Which is actually
[00:58:40] Unknown:
a nice way of doing it. Right? It's very traditional because they they're very true to their, traditions. They're very traditional people.
[00:58:48] Unknown:
Wow. That's impressive that you know some of the names in different language as well. That's Yes. Because well, of course, when we made,
[00:58:56] Unknown:
signage in the in the garden, the signage has to be in in Greek, in English, Latin, of course, German, and Russian. So, whenever whenever I walk around in the garden, I see the Russian name as well. And so I know, oh, yeah. That's this and that's that.
[00:59:12] Unknown:
Wow. Wow. I'm very impressed by this, really. So what are some of the favorite local Cyprus herbs that you like to work with?
[00:59:26] Unknown:
One of my favorite plants is nettle because it does so many things. So it's nettle season in February. Oh, so you have you have nettle in Cyprus. I was wondering about that. Yeah. In a very early spring. So that'll be February. And very near the park, it doesn't grow inside the park even though I've scattered seeds all over, but nettle goes where it will. And it likes, sort of northern slopes, and it likes, where it gets a little bit more wet. But very near here is a, an orange grove, orange trees, and nettle grows underneath there. So this farmer lets me forage from his, field, and I know it's all clean and, organic.
So I go and forage, and this, the nettles there are the the smaller leafed nettles. So they're not the nasty, very, very, painful nettles. So I don't even need to wear gloves. I just grab them and cut them, and, then I bring them back in in big rubbish bin bags. Yeah. Wow. Because we make soup here in the wintertime and in early spring. Nettle soup is a staple here in our, in the restaurant, and people come especially for the nettle soup because you can't get it anywhere else. Of course, it's quite a bit of a it's quite a task to, prepare the nettles for soup because you can only use the the tops, and they have to be very tender, so none of the, the tougher, stalks.
But I also, love tincturing it, and I tincture it fresh because it's far more potent and powerful, when you use the fresh material. So, I think it's really fresh. And, yeah, nettle is just so it does so many things. It's so good for the heart, for the veins. It has so many vitamins and minerals. It's like taking a, a multivitamin and, vitamin supplement and and, you know, the iron people that with with low iron, within a week, you can get the iron levels back up, especially if they have the nettle soup in the evening, if they drink nettle tea, or if they take the tincture. That's it's just amazing. It's great for the heart and for all the organs, for for lowering, blood sugar levels, for lowering cholesterol, for lowering blood pressure.
Very, very effective. So this is one of my, favorite herbs to work with. Oregano is another one. And, of course, being in the Mediterranean, oregano is, a very, very important plant here, and it it it just smells so, so beautiful here, in this hot climate. I make, I distill it into essential oil. And the oil of oregano, we use it, as a natural antibiotic. Very, very effective for persistent colds, for, any kind of infections. And, of course, you have to be careful with it because it's, it's a hot oil. So Mhmm. It comes with an entire leaflet full of, instructions on how to use it. But, yeah, it's, it's it's very powerful medicine.
Very powerful medicine. I also love, hawthorn when it's, in flower. He had flowered last month, and, I love making hawthorn medicine. I love picking the flowers, the scent of the flowers, and then the bees are visiting it as well. It's absolutely amazing.
[01:03:05] Unknown:
And it goes so quickly. It's like Yes. I don't know. Same in Cyprus as in Belgium, but it's, like, one week, and it's gone. So you have to be very, very quick. And Yeah. It's it's very funny because with the Hawthorn berries, there is such a long window of time to pick them. But with the with the flowers, it's just not so long. When you see them, go for them. Yes. Yeah. Exactly.
[01:03:30] Unknown:
Another another plant favorite of mine is, mountain tea, ironwort, cedarites. It's just when you even if you just look at the plant and you touch it, and then you see next to it, it says ironwort, and then you can see, you know, it's a very strong, powerful, almost square stem, very, very erect, almost papery in, in texture or like carton. The leaves are very, very tough and and strong, and so the plant already communicates to you that, hey. I give you strength. I I'm a Mhmm. I'm a fortifying, herb. And, the flowers are light green with a little bit of, a little bit of white. So it's not the most spectacular flower, but it could here it grows to about a meter, to about a meter high. It's getting into flower. That tall. Wow. Yeah. And, when you touch it, then the the oil and the the the resin gets sticks to your fingers, and for the entire day, your your hands smell of, of this plant is, it's highly, highly aromatic.
Other varieties that grow more up in Greece and in sort of northern, Mediterranean, they are much less, resinous, and they're softer. So, like, in Greece, there are 56 different species of, mountain tea. In Cyprus, we only have two different species. One that grows in the lowland, the one that we grow here, and one that is a wild plant in the mountains. When then if you travel to, to Greece, the plant is less green, but more sort of gray green, a bit sagey in in color, and much softer and fuzzy, really, really fuzzy. So whereas here, it's much tougher and sort of, yeah, leathery or papery in, in texture, but it's a fantastic plant, and it really, strengthens the entire body. It's great for, for the brain. It's great against colds and flu, and and just as a general tonic to give you that energy.
So, yeah, I I just love that plant.
[01:05:51] Unknown:
Wow. Very interesting. And is is there, like, a typical Cypriotic, herbal tradition or a dish with with wild greens or a herbal first aid thing that you would like to share?
[01:06:08] Unknown:
What every Cypriot housewife still knows to this day is, when they make, hawthorn berry jelly, and that is done with the local variety. So with, Nobcratajos mononquina, the, Cratajos azaarolus. So it doesn't make red berries, makes sort of yellow berries, and they're like tiny apples. I used to call them fairy apples. So when they're in season, women go out and they, they gather these, and then they make them into jelly like a jam, jelly. So you you boil them with water and sugar. You don't even need to add any pectin because it has a lot of pectin in itself.
But then they will add to their pan. They will add a few leaves of rose geranium for the aroma. And just a couple of leaves are enough to make this jelly really, really aromatic. The wonderful thing with, hawthorn, jelly is that it retains all its medicinal properties even when you boil it down into, a jam. It's called the the the queen of jams, it's called here. And, every single well, maybe not every single housewife nowadays, but every single Yaya, so every single grandmother still knows how to make it, and they will invariably add, a few leaves of rose geranium.
They do that also with other confit confited, fruits like, the the rind of watermelon. This is this is so beautiful. You know, the economy of nature is just so beautiful. There's nothing nothing is discarded. When it's watermelon season in the summer, there are certain watermelons that have a very, very thick rind, a very thick skin, which is about, like, a centimeter and a half thick. And they will use that rind, chop it up, put it in a jar with syrup, so with a lot of sugar and and syrup, and then add a little bit of, let a few leaves of this, rose geranium, and they make that into a natural sweet, which is served after dinner.
These kind of sweets, even though they're high in sugar, they're much better than, you know, cakes and other, things made with dairy. But nothing goes to waste. Also, the, the hulls of, of new glands of, walnuts, and when they're still in in the hull, then they get confited. And, that is actually a very, it's a medicinal sweet. So that is a traditional thing that, people still make. Also, the rind of oranges or the rind of bitter oranges is confited in this way in sugar and then is, served after dinner. So they they are very healthy in spite of the sugar. They're still, kind of healthy, sweets for dessert.
[01:09:14] Unknown:
Thank you so much for sharing that. Yeah. Like the queen of gems. I love that. I love the expression. That's that's very nice. And it's interesting to see how you say, well, not every woman still makes it, but, like, every grandmother
[01:09:29] Unknown:
still makes it. They all they all still know how to make it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So do you think that
[01:09:36] Unknown:
the next generations will continue these traditions? Or?
[01:09:41] Unknown:
Not the way they used to. Certain people will continue the tradition because there's always a market for it. So a market creates a demand. Now, the the grandmothers of now, they used to be housewives. Just like everywhere else in Europe, there's no such thing as, a stay at home mom anymore. It's very rare because both parents if there is a family, both parents need to work. And so there's less time for, these kind of pursuits, which means that there's fewer people still doing it, but they are, very active in preserving traditions. Cyprus is a very traditional island. Cyprus embraces its traditions, loves its traditions.
And so when wherever there's a village fair, you will see traditional crafts, traditional, let's say, basket weaving. You will see the traditional products. Also, the homemade pastas, the homemade, bread products, herbs, as well as confited, fruits and homemade jams. So, yes, people do people are very keen in preserving, their traditions. Even though there's fewer people that actually are occupied with it, it's not something that is gonna go anywhere. It's not gonna go away. Yeah. They still identify with it, sort of. Yes. Yes. And there's, that's they really want to preserve tradition. Mhmm. Mhmm.
[01:11:15] Unknown:
Okay. So, well, I think we're at the end of our conversation. I was wondering if there was one last message you wanted to share with our listeners.
[01:11:27] Unknown:
Yes. Well, I think when we see when we see nature through the eyes of a child and we are in touch with our inner child and have that sense of wonder, wherever we go, wherever we walk, whether it be on a beach and you look at the sea or you look at the the millions of colors and shapes of the sand, of the individual grains of sand, or you're in a forest and you see all these different colors of leaves, different ways that trees and other plants are growing, just open the eyes of your heart to observe with the heart. And in silence, commune and communicate with the natural world around you, and then you will see that, a whole new world will open up for you. And you'll feel so much more connected, so much more grounded, so much more secure within yourself when you come to realize that you're a part of this beautiful world and this beautiful world is a part of you.
This is a sensation that you can only really, really get to know by experiencing it. And it's as easy as just going out there and spending a little time in nature. And your body and soul will be very grateful to you for doing this. So that's what, I would like to share with all the listeners.
[01:12:56] Unknown:
Wow. That's so beautiful. Open the eyes of your heart. I love it. I really, really love what you said. It's, wow, very meaningful and very it's just lovely. Really lovely. And, yes, I I couldn't agree more actually. So, Miranda, if, if people are interested in your work and they want to know more about what you're doing or they want to, visit your lovely garden, how how can they find out more information about your work?
[01:13:29] Unknown:
Via cyberbia.com. So, our website is quite big. There's lots of blog posts there. There's, my personal story, the story of how it all started. There's information there on all the things that we do, things that we grow. There's an eshop on that as well. So, yeah, syherbia.com is the place to visit. Or on Instagram, our handle is at cyherbia. On Facebook, Cyherbia Botanical Park. And, of course, anybody that, is coming to Cyprus on their holiday, then, do hire a car and come and see us, here and say that leave us into you.
[01:14:13] Unknown:
Yeah. Miranda, thank you so much for this lovely conversation. I wish you a lot of good luck and success with all the projects, everything you're doing. Thank you so much for taking the time for, talking for the podcast. And for you listener, I, hope you're listening to this somewhere outdoors. If you're not outdoors, get out of here and go outdoors, go into nature. Just take some time to become silent and, and get into this connection with nature. It's truly what makes us whole as a person. I hope to see you for the next episode. And in the meantime, keep powdering your nose with dandelion pollen. Bye bye.
[01:15:01] Unknown:
A warm thank you for listening, Wildy. Are you feeling a wild itch after this episode? Well, just head over to wildplantforager.com and feel free to connect with me on social media. I'm looking forward to the next episode. I hope you'll be there. But for now, just go outside and follow your wild heart.
Introduction to Wild Podcast
Guest Introduction: Miranda Tringis
Miranda's Herbal Journey
Creating Syherbia Botanical Park
Visitors and Educational Programs
The Healing Power of Nature
Herbalism in Cyprus
Future of Herbalism in Europe
Understanding Plant Communication
Favorite Local Herbs and Traditions
Final Thoughts and Connection to Nature
