These past few weeks, I have been deeply in love with spring. Specifically, spring in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Here are some pictures that I have taken while on my way somewhere or another:
The last two were taken on my way out to visit a friend who was staying the weekend in a cabin out near the Parkway past Canton. We went hiking near a spot where my teacher, Daisy, had taken me in one of her classes find Pedicularis. I was hoping to find some to at least sit with and mediate by, and was thrilled to see a huge patch not long after we got in the woods. I sent my friends ahead while I stayed with the Pedicularis, making a flower essence and harvesting a very small amount for a tincture for myself.
While the flower essence sat in the sun to infuse, I wandered a little further on to sit by the small creek. I spied a beautiful plant that I wasn’t familiar with, although I think I had seen it a few years ago while looking for Pedicularis in another spot with Daisy. There were three skinny, straight stalks with bunches of white flowers. Near the top of the stalk, the blossoms were completely closed into little white balls, but the lower they were, the more open they became until at the bottom of the cluster they were completely open. Delicate white petals and thread-thin offshoots with coral pink tips. Naturally, I wanted to get my camera to photograph them, but they insisted I draw them instead.
I didn’t know the name of the plant or anything about any potential medicinal uses or flower essence properties, but I was in love. One of the beautiful things about working with plants on a vibrational/energetic level is that you get to talk to them. Don’t know the vibrational essence of a plant? Sit with it and ask it. Then listen.
My initial thoughts were that it was very similar to black cohosh in its essence. The flower shape, although very different in size and arrangement, share a lot of characteristics with black cohosh’s flowers. Some of the leaves of this mystery plant even had blackness in the center of the leaves which reminded me of the darkness in the joints of black cohosh. Black cohosh as a flower essence helps us to move through our fears. It helps us to face our dark places, as well as our power without fear. In my experience, it has a real witchy feel to it, while foam flower felt more like fairy magic.
When I got home, I looked through my books and determined it was definitely Foam Flower. I had a name! A few days later, I headed over to the Botanical Gardens to see if I could find any of my favorite flower, Dwarf Crested Iris. Well, I sure did find some and wouldn’t you know who was surrounding her (along with a lot of other beauties)? Foam Flower!
The next day, I got an excited text from Daisy letting me know she had spotted some Dwarf Crested Iris out in Candler with her class. I asked her what she knew about foam flower (since she’s the one who taught me most of what I know about flower essences), and she said she didn’t really know it well but couldn’t wait to learn.
So the next free afternoon I had, I took my flower essences making supplies out to Candler to find my favorite irises. I couldn’t find them in their usual spots, but I did find a Pink Lady Slipper in bloom (and many with only buds or leaves out yet):
I headed deeper into the woods, but still found no irises. Somewhere in the woods, my phone told me I had a voicemail from Daisy, but I didn’t have the reception to listen to it. I eventually gave up on the woods and headed back out to try to look more closely in the area I remember the irises growing. I walked toward the creek and look what I saw:
All glowing with late afternoon sun and all. I decided to give up on the irises and spend some time with my new friend, foam flower. At this point, I finally had reception and listened to Daisy’s message. She was very excited to tell me about what she had just learned about foam flower: Just after our texting about the plant, she sent her students off into the woods to find plants to sit with and make essences of. Of the students found foam flower and decided to work with it. At the end of the day, she shared her experience of the plant with the class, which Daisy said was basically what I had said about foam flower- she was describing what Black Cohosh does energetically. She said it would help her to overcome her fear and to do her spiritual work in a more powerful way without the fear she had been feeling surrounding it.
So I sat down and took a little journey with it. I went energetically to the forest circle where I meet my spirit guides. I asked Foam Flower to join us there, which it did, and actually embodied a somewhat human form. I could then ask questions and speak with the essence of the plant. I learned that Foam Flower essence helps those who work in the spiritual realms to do so without fear (because it can be kind of freaky sometimes), to not fear coming into our own power (because that can be terrifying also), and to be able to tell the difference between energies that intend to help us in our work, and those who do not. It’s so perfectly fitting for where I am right now that I intend to work with it regularly for a full year. I made an essence that day and have started taking it several times a day. I plan to visit with it often, energetically and otherwise, and to call on it when I need its help. You’re welcome to do the same. It made sure to tell me (as with most plants) that you don’t really need the flower essence. You can just call it into your field and your body, and it’ll be there.
The flower essence, steeping in the sun
And just in case you weren’t convinced that I’m a complete nerd for this plant, here is a video of it I took while the essence was steeping.
The figure was started in the painting class I took a few months back. You can see what the under painting looked like in this post. 
