wildeherb.com

Hello! Welcome to WildeHerb!

WildeHerb.com is destined to become a sort of online catalog of our little mountain top world. Rural, country, in-the-sticks, or just plain backwoods - we love it, and we’re putting down roots.

Living in south-central Pennsylvania we are privileged to have many of the trees common to areas both to our north and to our south, which makes for interesting scenery and plant life. Our location is far enough inland that we avoid many of the Nor-easter storms that bring extremely heavy snows to our southeastern neighbors. We are also protected from Great Lakes snows by being situated on the eastern edge of the Tuscarora Mountain. Our little slice of heaven is high above the Juniata and Susquehanna Rivers, so the scenery makes for some beautiful drives.

How did I get the WildeHerb idea? Well, one early Spring day a few years back, while taking a break from my graduate studies, a friend suggested that I tag along to see the woodland flowers on a trail nearby. I had never observed such delicate and beautiful flowers as the early Spring blossoms that were popping up all around us. That day I started a new hobby — wildflower walks!

The wonder and amazement of seeing such beautiful blossoms among the brown leaves on the forest floor was awe-inspiring. My friend knew their names and had favorite trails from which to see her favorite posies. I was impressed by the whole uplifting experience. And believe it when I say that during the final stages of completing a graduate degree, one needs a place to let their mind wander away from the books and the latest research hurdles to be overcome.

Anyway, I am excited to see what new plants I can find and photograph this year. Expect to find lots of nature pictures here at WildeHerb.com as I add to this blog. By now I have learned quite a few names of the early Spring woodland flowers and seek to learn more about them and their uses that extend beyond their beauty. From my woodland flower walks I have developed an interest in aromatic and medicinal herbs, and quite naturally, will be gardening beside them again, very soon.

The name, wildeherb, came from a love of herbal plants and the notion that they are naturally from the wild. The “e” in the middle could mean e-Herb, which fits nicely with this online blog, but was originally thought of as a tribute to Wilde, as in Oscar. I was fortunate to see Vincent Price perform a one-man play that brought Wilde’s witticism to my heart. I will always remember the tone of the performance - it was one of inspiration! Before me was a man that I had admired in those old scary movies, but he was playing the part of a literary wit with that softly-haunting voice. A fitting tribute to Oscar, I think, that Vincent was playing his role. Indeed, Mr. Price was simply superb that evening!

Something that I learned that night during the play was that one must be true to oneself, as if Vincent was being true to himself by playing a character who was ostracized from society. I feel some commonality with Vincent and Oscar in my self-imposed exile here on the mountain top. So, my tribute to Oscar, Vincent, and the many queer performers and artists that have gone before us, is this blog — WildeHerb.com — a collection of wild herb and wildflower sightings.