Summer News : July 2026
Dear friends, colleagues, and supporters
With this Newsletter we would like to share with you some of our progress in this first season at Heart Spring. Over and over again we feel blessed by the support and interactions with many of you. Bringing these gardens about with both plants and people requires much time and effort, however everyday we feel encouraged and enthused by what this endeavor brings our way.
Summer is a time of achievement, at least in the plant realm. That is, a majority of the plant species we cultivate have come to their culmination, flowering and again flowering, as well as developing their full foliage. They come in succession, some racing ahead with a purposeful “mission”, others needing just the right level of temperature, moisture, etc to thrive. Just like us…
The classic chamomile has come and inundated us with a profusion of flowers that just keep coming and coming, even as we pick and comb through their abundance regularly. Now these flowers have been dried and stored away, awaiting their future task. Another old friend, calendula, is showing up with equal generosity, welcoming all with its warm orange blossoms and uplifting fragrance. These and other flowers such as arnica, bachelor button, and mallow have been harvested regularly thanks to several faithful volunteers coming each week.
The first harvest of the other medicinal plants is almost complete This includes the mints, catnips, tulsis, thyme, oregano, sage and more. All are destined to create our future teas and other products, still to be fully formulated. These plants must be carefully dried and to this end we have created a simple temporary system by transforming the Mettabee greenhouse into a drying shed. The freshly harvested plants are spread on specially constructed drying trays laid on top of the greenhouse tables. Fans at both ends move the air in and out, and a shade cloth hangs above to prevent bleaching. We rely on sunny warm weather to reach a first stage of dryness. The semi-dry crops are then brought over to a dehumidifying cabinet in the barn to reach a crisp state. It’s working well.
We have made good progress on the making of plant extracts for the Uriel pharmacy. Together with the Healing Plant Garden at Camphill Village we make between 60 to 100 extracts every season and now in our 7th year and in our new home we are able to meet 90 % of their requirement. This includes plant extracts made from perennials we have moved successfully, wild-crafted species , and of course the annuals. The main conservation method we use involves a 7-day process of active fermentation that allows the plants to give the whole breadth of their healing power.
A very nice space for a workshop named “Garden View” is being prepared for us to process all this further. Elizabeth Rivers, founder of Mettabee Farm, has generously made an existing building temporarily available to support our transition. Isn’t it amazing? Bit by bit, as the season unfolds, solutions come to us or we come to them, so Heart Spring can become.
The Gardens becoming is also growing from the human fabric which, little by little, is gently woven : the faithful presence of those who volunteer, but also the circle of those who have “taken us in” and connected to us, even seeking to work with us. This includes those who have generously donated to Heart Spring.
In addition to our monthly garden walks and work parties, we have dedicated Wednesday morning specifically for those who want to lend a helping hand. Gradually this becomes known and the team of helpers expands. We have had a group from Triform Farm coming regularly to help with larger projects, and the children coming to camp at Mettabee have also been in the garden harvesting flowers.
The garden is full of blossoms and beautiful plants. The hummingbirds, butterflies, honeybees, and native pollinators have certainly noticed that we’re here, and are in the garden all of the time. Come and join them! The gardens are there to be experienced and seen. We are always open for visitors even when we’re not there. Don’t be shy.
Thank you all for your presence and your help!
As these lines are written - July 29 - we are experiencing a major rain event. Over 9” of rain have fallen in 36 hours and we can now witness some vulnerabilities of this beautiful valley. The culverts and drains have not been able to handle the volume of runoff coming from 2-3 directions and have created in some areas serious flash floods. The farm track has been completely washed away that accesses the pond field and the area of our understory plantings, and the hedgerow along the road, planted with roses, white cedars and cherries, has been badly damaged. The rest of the gardens and Mettabee Farm infrastructure have thankfully been spared.
To end on a brighter note:
At this time of the summer our gaze has begun to turn to the future, to the next season when we will start in earnest developing the fields adjacent to the current fenced garden area. It is a time where we attempt to get to know the features and configuration of the landscape, and to see how our vision and mission can best be inscribed here with its specific intention but also with practicality. It is a patient work - a dialogue - a creative partnership with the land. This is what we’re really here for. Stay tuned for design updates!
In deep gratitude,
Jean-David Derreumaux and Ben Davis
