The Oxfordshire Garden Sowing Seeds of Health
If it wasn’t for the odd clue, like the tall, Wild Oat swaying above the other plants, or the bowl of crystal clear water lying on a patch of lawn; this could be any other lovingly-tended garden around a pretty Victorian cottage. There’s Clematis – not the large, showy variety but a small-flowered one, a delicate Honeysuckle and a wealth of countryside flowers like Agrimony, Vervain and Rock Rose.
The pond is home to Water Violet, and trees such as Cherry Plum and Aspen provide shade.
The garden at Brightwell-cum-Sotwell near Wallingford is enjoyed by many visitors, both from the UK and far across the globe. They come to appreciate the plants, not only for their natural beauty but because they represent the life’s work of a man whose mission was to create a system of healing that was simple to understand, suitable for everyone and sourced from nature. This is a garden with purpose; not growing arrangements for the vase or vegetables for the table but flowers with healing potential.
The garden surrounds ‘Mount Vernon’; the former home of the late Dr Edward Bach.
Born in 1886 in Warwickshire, Bach’s ambition at school was to become a Doctor and discover a cure to heal all disease. At the age of twenty, he became a student at Birmingham University, and later moved to London to complete his training at University College Hospital.
He quickly established himself as a brilliant bacteriologist and pathologist. His work was published in medical journals; he saved thousands of lives during the influenza epidemic of 1918 with vaccinations he had developed and, at the end of the 1920’s, his private practice in Harley Street was bringing him an income of over £5,000 a year (about £250,000 today).
He was not satisfied though, for still he found certain diseases which did not respond to treatment.
Bach’s greatest source of research was his patients, and he would spend hours at their bedside talking. He noticed that people suffering from the same condition could have a very different attitude towards their symptoms, and he wondered if this could be the key to a more effective system of healing.
He resolved to find a solution to illness that was gentle and painless, and that treated the patient’s personality, their outlook on life, emotions and feelings. He was sure that once a peaceful mind was restored, the body could start to heal physically. So, in the Spring of 1930, he decided to leave his medical practice and, within a fortnight, had closed his laboratory, made a bonfire to burn the papers he had written, sold his consulting room furniture and set off for Wales where he hoped to source his remedies.
His early disappointment that he had arrived, not with a suitcase full of pestles and mortars to prepare herbs, but mistakenly one full of shoes, turned out to be a blessing as he waded through bogs and marshes, climbed mountains, walked along lanes and through fields. His search for plants extended from Wales into South and East England. He was not interested in the poisonous plants like Henbane and Deadly Nightshade, or the ones that were already in use by the medical profession.
He was convinced that the plants he needed would be found amongst the simple wild flowers of the countryside; but how would he prepare them?
Inspiration came one sunny morning with an observation of dew glistening as it rested on a plant in the sunlight. Bach realised that the properties in the flower, the power of the sun and a pure source of water could be combined to prepare his potent but natural remedies.
He investigated, tested, trialled and researched with faith and determination until he was able to publish his initial remedies: Mimulus guttatus – for ‘fear from a known cause’, Clematis vitalba – for ‘an indifferent, dreamy nature’ and Impatiens glandulifera – for’ impatience and irritability’.
Steadily the repertoire grew – Agrimony for ‘a tormented mind hidden behind cheerfulness’; Vervain for feeling ‘over-enthusiastic and strained’. Thirty eight different remedies were eventually developed.
Although Bach’s system was a huge success, it was radical for the time and the General Medical Council threatened to remove him from their register for advertising his work and using ‘unqualified assistants’. As one of Bach’s key principles was that the remedies should be simple to understand and harmless he saw no reason why his colleagues, although not medically trained, should not help others.
Today, many of the garden flowers are descendants from those originally planted by Dr Bach and the remedies prepared from them are sent all over the world. The Wild Oat swaying above the lower carpet of colour is for those who have ‘difficulty deciding what occupation to follow’ and flowers from the Aspen tree can help ‘vague, unknown fears’.
More widely known is Bach’s ‘Rescue’ combination; and bottles sit in many a handbag or pocket for unexpected shock, accident or upset.
In addition to the garden, visitors can see Dr Bach’s consulting room, complete with handmade furniture, original reference books and stock bottles. The air of peace and serenity should lift your spirits, but if it doesn’t, perhaps you will find your own answer in a little brown remedy bottle available at the shop.