Red Moon Herbs is located at the Church of the Holy Basil off Davis Creek road in Candler, NC. Jeannie Dunn is the owner and a force of nature when it comes to local Appalachian grown and doing benevolent works for our community.
May 8 was a marvel of an event that included: A guided plant walk with esteemed green man, Adam Bigelow of Bigelow Botanical Excursions; A plant swap just as we hit blackberry winter and the green light to put all our plant starts in the ground; Pouring tinctures for the Appalachian Herb Collective; AND a talk and book signing with author and herbalist, Heather Wood Buzzard. Since Hurricane Helene – Red Moon and Jeannie have been instrumental in the Appalachian Herb Collective – creating and pouring herbal remedies that will be distributed for free at Asheville Herb Collective hubs in Fairview, Swannanoa, Marshall, Barnardsville, downtown Asheville, and more.
We began a slow deliberate stroll through the Red Moon Herb garden and up the hill into the shade garden. Adam told ancient stories of magnolia, while the tulip poplar bloomed above. We learned the secret of the sparkling shimmer when you dip Jewel Flower in water. We renamed all useful “weeds” as “flowers” and all invasive “flowers” as “weeds”. Eg. Multflora weed and Joe Pye flower. We learned all the tri’s of trillium. By the end of the two hour talk, the group of us looked like we had melded into the landscape of the Davis Creek watershed.
The plant swap – evolved all day into the eve – as people brought their abundant plants and took home another’s abundance. Heirloom tomato plants from Jeannie’s family farm – seed saved for generations – was a particular highlight. Although truly – there were so many treasures.
The pour included a Fire Cider Oxymeal (herbs extracted in apple cider vinegar combined with herbs extracted in honey), a tincture for lung relief during spring allergy season, and a tincture for grounded heart that has been a steady go-to as a tonic to combat the community anxiety and stress following a weather catastrophe. All of these are extracts are being poured to be given away by the Appalachian Herb Collective. This batch is going to Root Cause Farm in Fairview, NC for their May 10 herbal and plant giveaway.
Finally Heather Wood Buzzard, long time contributor to Red Moon Herbs, shared stories about her favorite plants and signed copies of her new book: Edible Wild Plants published by National Geographic and co-authored with Mimi Hernandez, RH.
