Connecting with Nature through Understanding and Observation

By Vennie Chou, Natural Beauty Products Expert and Teacher

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.