Kirchberg's wild side: medicinal herbs and the power of plants
Over the coming months, tours will take place in Kirchberg to discover its wild trees and plants. Take a walk with a medical herbalist to spot plants with health benefits or take part in a theatrical tour to learn about the secrets and virtues of trees and plants.
Herbal walk
Join medical herbalist, Viviane Craig, for a walk on the wild side of Kirchberg.
Herbalism, also known as phytotherapy, is one of the world’s oldest forms of medicine. It involves using plants and natural substances to promote health and treat ailments.
A wander through the park near the d’Coque sports centre will open visitors’ eyes to the uses of some of the most common plants. Learn to identify medicinal plants growing beside the pathway and find out their health benefits and common uses.
Discover how to make a salad of wild leaves and flowers, learn why the old English name for daisy was ‘bruisewort’ and identify a common plant whose leaves can be used as a quick plaster or salve on outdoor cuts and scrapes.
The tour lasts around two hours and requires a pair of comfortable shoes and a little stamina, but d'Coque's parkland is compact and visitors can take regular breaks along the way. Leave with a free comprehensive pocket guide covering the medicinal flora found in the Kirchberg area.
To find out when the next herbal walks take place, click here.
The Green Man
The Green Man’s theatrical tour of Parc Klosegrënnchen, not far from Kirchberg, takes visitors into another world - one where folklore and myth are underpinned by the power of plants.
Visitors have the opportunity to eat trees, herbs and leaves while learning why the devil is connected to the mighty oak tree and how the horse of Norse God, Odin, gifted us magical mushrooms.
The tour lasts two hours but plenty of pit stops make this journey both pleasant and plausible. Leave with a new appreciation of plants, their properties and the folklore and fairytales surrounding them.
Like the folklore and myths he recites, the legend of the Green Man – the masculine counterpart to Mother Nature – is at once timeless and endlessly topical. Some say he comes from pagan origins, a representative of nature and fertility, while others argue he is a Christian symbol used to depict the resurrection of Christ and the notion of rebirth.
The Green Man can be found on every continent and his image has been characterised and chronicled in different cultures. Often depicted as a gargoyle-esque head overrun with a mass of interlocking leaves and vines, he is the image of an untamed wilderness, the force to be reckoned with beyond the civilised garden.
To find out when the next Green Man theatrical visits take place, click here.
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