This conversation with Susanne from Naturzauberwerke is part of an interview series with women who, like me, feel a special connection to nature. I will be talking to different women and learning more about them and their approach to nature.

I will then share these stories with you here, so that you too can discover the most diverse insights and approaches to nature.

Naturzauberwerke
Herbal knowledge from Pinzgau

Tell us a bit about yourself

I'm Susanne and I come from the Salzburg region, specifically from Pinzgau. I am exactly what you would call a "herb witch," just without a wart on my nose.

I think that's fitting, and when I sit here in my small but lovely shop, it's perfect. I find many things in my garden and the surrounding nature that I process into good and healing products.

How long have you been pursuing this calling?

Almost 8 years now. When I'm not processing plants, I lead herb walks and give workshops on various nature topics. Natural home remedies and natural cosmetics are my specialties, and the practical application is also important to me: how to make an ointment, how to help with minor ailments. Whether for babies or adults, you'll find products for every age group with me.

You have a shop?

We converted the ground floor of our house. There's a dedicated seminar room where my workshops and seminars take place. I also have my own "witch's kitchen" and a small shop.

What can one buy from you?

Teas, herbal blends, liqueurs, and also natural cosmetics – all pure nature, without preservatives and synthetic additives.

How did you get into this?

As a child, I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, who is also a herb witch. We learned so much from her as children. From an early age, I knew what arnica was, and St. John's wort oil was always with us. Of course, also calendula and all the other classic herbs; I learned a lot from my grandma back then.

Later, during puberty, it faded into the background a bit. Other things were more important then. But with the birth of my first daughter, I really rediscovered natural medicine and then completed several training courses. At some point, my decision was firm: I didn't want to go back to my old office job, and eventually, I dared to start my own business.

My 4 children are always with me when we go up the mountain to collect herbs.

Where do you prefer to spend time in nature?

We prefer to be in the mountains. The peace, the solitude, and the view into the distance – for us, it's simply most beautiful on the mountain, and many wonderful and healing herbs also grow there. For example, I prefer to collect St. John's wort on the mountain, where the herb has completely different growing conditions than in the valley and can thus develop and gather its true power.

What is your favorite plant?

I feel a strong connection to arnica. It's robust and incredibly healing, though not necessarily beautiful. It often looks a bit ragged. It's not perfect and has its quirks – just like all of us. That's what I like about arnica. It's also one of the classic medicinal plants that almost everyone knows.

Here in Pinzgau, arnica is not protected and can be collected – always with care, of course, and not in large quantities. I also only collect the ray florets and leave the flower heads so that the plants can continue to reproduce. I then process it into a tincture for sore muscles or into a salve used for sports injuries. Arnica hardly grows at all in lower altitudes. There is a cultivated arnica species, but it doesn't have the same ingredients as mountain arnica. If you want arnica, you have to go to the mountains.

Which plants are particularly close to your heart?

All of them!

I like nettle and ground elder just as much as coneflower or lavender - each has something to offer and each has its own effect. I pick out what I currently need.

What grows in your herb garden?

I have about 200 different plants in my herb garden. It's a wild mix and everything blends into one another. A sea of calendulas, cornflowers, poppies, various melissa species, thyme species, coneflowers, and many more. Dandelions and ribwort plantain grow in between – they aren't planted, they just appear. Weeds, which don't exist for us herb women, also have their place in my garden.

If you had to choose one direction?

That would probably be the natural pharmacy. This is knowledge that has existed for so long; today we use the same plants that were used 200 to 300 years ago. It is important to me to pass on this knowledge. So that my children also learn that you don't have to run to the pharmacy for a small scratch. I can treat it with things from my own garden.

What can I do for a cut wound?

Depending on the size of the wound, bloodroot tincture is applied, followed by some St. John's wort oil or spruce resin salve. I also love working with pure essential oils extracted from plants.

Herbal knowledge was not very popular for a while, but it is becoming "trendier" again, and many people are becoming interested and want to build up their knowledge in this area.

Much of the old knowledge was also lost due to the witch burnings. Witches knew which herbs were good for what. However, since knowledge at that time was mainly passed down orally and not written down, much was lost. It is important to me to pass on my knowledge, which is why you can find many recipes on my blog and on Instagram.

Many years ago, I also completed training in traditional European medicine, and in my products, I use native plants that are also suited to us and our bodies. They grow right outside our doors and in our garden and certainly give us the strength and energy we need.

I also like to use turmeric or ginger, but we also have great native roots like horseradish, for example. It's a natural antibiotic and can help us with many things.

Take us on one of your herb walks.

My herb walks are always very individual. Although I almost always walk the same route, it's always different. We often start with the nettle, and the participants are already completely fascinated by everything you can do with it. They are not long walks either, because so much grows left and right that we can explore. We always find different, but all wonderful plants. It always depends on the season what is currently growing and what we then find and discuss. So it's always different and always exciting.

What else can I do with you?

I offer many different workshops throughout the year on various topics. We do smoking rituals, make soap, put together our own home pharmacy, and much more. There's also a salve-making course. There, we learn from scratch how to make healing salves, and then we compare them to see what a cream consists of and how it's made. You can make a face cream or hand cream with me and then recreate it at home. It's always important to me that you only need a few ingredients for a recipe. It should be simple and effective. Then you can make it at home too.

For example, I don't have anything store-bought in my bathroom: toothpaste, shampoo, creams—everything I use is homemade. For example, I use one cream for my entire body.

In my courses, I always "meet" the participants at their level of knowledge. Everyone can start where they are. You'll learn the basics with me, which you can then implement step-by-step at home. For a deodorant, you only need coconut oil, baking soda, and cornstarch - if you like, you can add a little essential oil for scent, but you don't need it for the effect.

Some certified products like lip balm or hand cream are also available ready-made in my shop.

Where can we find you?

Virtually, I'm on Instagram and Facebook. And also on my website. There you'll find a blog and a small online shop, and of course all information about my workshops and herb courses. I'm always happy to welcome visitors to my "workshop" and shop in Piesendorf.

You can find more interviews about amazing women and their connection to nature here:

Karin from Naturspirit
Stephanie from Atempause
Susanne from Naturzauberwerke
Tina from die Kräutermacherei
Melanie from Mint
Anja from Gänseblümchen & Sonnenschein
Andrea from Fermentista
Andrea from Yoga Cuisine
Marlies from Quendelgrün
Christine from Textpoterie
Doris from Mit Liebe gemacht
Alex from Die Kräutermadame
Bianca from Naturespiritauraspray
Gerda from Grüne Kraft
Judith from Seelenzauber