By Jennifer Langstaff -French

The first time I ever met sweetgrass (or fragrant holy grass) was through Rosemary Gladstar’s hands. Like so many of the allies she would introduce me to over the coming years, sweetgrass was brought forth with reverence and grace. Tossed upon the waiting stone beings of the sweat lodge, its sweet and pungent breath filled that dark womb space of my rebirth. As a young teen, lost in a world that held no culture I could cling to, its essence entered my blood through my lungs directly into my anxious heart and gave it hope. Those moments initiated in me an embodied sense of place, one that I learned to turn to, to cultivate, and ultimately to offer on to others.

This was decades ago. So many of my teachers in human form have retired or quieted their voices for future generations to take up the call. And as we muck about, attempting to fill these archetypal shoes, it is always the beings of green who continue to fortify my path. My family and I now tend a botanical sanctuary in our home land of rural Vermont. And while I am thrilled and awed to be the guardian of astragalus (Astragalus propinquus), codonopsis (Codonopsis pilosula), angelica (Angelica spp.), and nettle (Urtica dioica), amongst so many more of our sacred allies, it is sweetgrass that will always bring me to tears, as it is She who found me and guided me home.

This spring we will expand her territory on our land. She has successfully held ground and bears seed, offering her grassy leaves, like the Earth Mother’s tresses, that we braid and share as guidance for all our relations. And as I admit to my lack of success in propagation through seed, I will spread her wisdom through runner roots this year, repopulating the beds of our waterways with her humble and ancient presence. For me, She embodies that deep and sometimes unknown secret of herbal medicine— that we don’t always need to ingest what someone has to offer in order to heal and to grow and that some of the most powerful medicines come solely through their existence. If we can enter the stillness it takes to know this truth, we will find we were never lost and have always been home.

This excerpt from my life as a green nations guardian is in honor of Rosemary Gladstar and United Plant Savers, who have always understood this great and ancient truth and worked tirelessly to ensure that it waits in safety for those who are ready to listen.

Jennifer Langstaff-French has been a lifelong ally to the Green Nations. Educated by the pioneer elders of the field, she currently maintains a botanical sanctuary and honey farm in Rupert, Vermont. Her work is to continue to offer the type of direct contact intimacy that fosters connection between all our relations.