As I hiked through nature parks in early Spring, I observed that not all plants or trees grow or sprout all together. Some plants develop leaves or flowers in early Spring and some in Summer. Nature seems to be choreographed perfectly to provide us with necessities. Questions that come to my mind: How do plants grow or who programmed them to grow at their optimum time? In addition, how are we connected to their sprouting time ?

There is one tree that catches my attention at the earliest Springtime, and it is Magnolia. As we transitioned from Winter to early Spring, we tend to be tired, feeling sluggish and often are sick from cold and flu. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we need the Yang energy to ‘wake’ up from hibernation. Magnolia is such an amazing tree that cannot wait to develop buds and flowers sooner before it grows the leaves. Magnolia trees develop these ‘hairy’ buds, and the little hairs remind me of nasal hair. When these hairy buds bloom, beautiful flowers, ranging from white to pink to dark red, emerge. Some species even have amazing scents.

So, why are Magnolia trees in such hurry to bloom in early Spring when temperatures are still low?
Magnolia buds have traditionally been used in Transitional Care Management (TCM) for sinusitis (infections of sinus) and Spring allergies. The fuzzy hairs on the buds can be rubbed off when dried. The buds can be crushed to make tea for treating runny nose or sinus infections. The Magnolia flowers have warming energetic to provide us with the Yang (or warming) energy that we need to kick start and awaken our inner energy from hibernation.

Mother Nature has programmed the necessary botanicals for our well-beings. In our modern high-tech society, I would say that we need to learn to use nature’s programmed applications (Apps) once we are connected. We learn from ancient experiences, observations and practices using our senses.
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As mentioned earlier, Magnolia buds can be made into tea. Magnolia flowers, particularly the light pink type, can be cleaned and soaked in rice vinegar overnight. The petals turn into delicious appetizers that taste like Japanese ginger. The pickled petals can be a warming substitute on sushi platters.

When these petals fall from trees, I feel the generosity of nature, as if food and medicine are sprinkled’ for us to use. This is a classic example of our connections with the natural world.
I feel very grateful to live and learn old wisdom and to live as one with our natural world.

Every spring I wait for the “Spring Thunder and Lightning “. When I was a kid, I was told by my po-po ( grand ma) that the Spring thunder and lightning wake up all the insects and animals from hibernations. Humidity and heavy rain follow after the Spring thunder, and it is usually in June, Father’s Day month.
Coming from a tropical city, I experienced those heavy rain... and those annoying mosquitoes and black flies and many pests insects. In many traditions, people would throw copper metals, like copper pennies in ponds and wishing wells. By doing so, mosquitoes would not lay eggs in those ponds and waters, as the eggs would not survive. During this period in China, for thousands of years, people would hang wormwood outside their doors and windows to keep the pesty mosquitoes and bugs out. People made and carry sachets and pouches so they would not be bitten by the bugs, as sometimes the bugs often carry diseases. In fact, the sachets were given to the empresses by the emperor in history to protect the Chinese royals.
Father’s Day is just around the corner, and many fathers like to go fishing or hiking , golfing or other outdoor activities. I would like to share this recipe containing the herbs that are used traditionally in sachets to keep one from insect bites. Insects do not like the scents of these herbs...in fact, some says insects are afraid of these plants.

Here is what I put in my sachets: (10 grams of each herb)
Wormwood ( 艾草）
Cloves ( 丁香）
Patchouli (藿香）
Peppermint（ 薄荷）
Honeysuckle (金銀花）

I put all these dried herbs in a blender and ground them into smaller pieces/ powders. I stuff the grinds in a sachet. The blend smells so beautiful... it is subtle with a hint of joy ( from the peppermint). This is a much better choice than the chemical insect spray. 

​Fathers can carry the sachets in their pockets. In addition, one can smoke these herbs to keep bugs away when outdoor.  Amazingly, most of these herbs are harvested during this Spring rain time. It is almost a gift from Mother Nature for us to use.
I made a big sachet for my father and I placed it in a pouch made from Fish leather... Process of tanning fish leather is a very old technique and does not use toxic chemicals. Fish leather is tanned using tannins ( often use teas and tree bark, like cedar). The leather can be dyed using berries and plants. I collect fish skins from restaurant wastes（ saved for me by chefs) when I need them.
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I hope this can inspire everyone and making that human-plant connections! I wish all the fathers a healthy and fun day on Father’s Day!