Return to England: Part II of the Batavia Fever Tale
A Simples & Worts Story from the Year of Our Lord, 1771
A Healing Garden Restored
We returned to England in the spring, battered and too few. Of the ninety-four who had left with high tide and fresh oak, less than two-thirds now stepped ashore.
The village church tolled not to welcome us, but to honor the names carried home only on our breath. I tucked my journal — the 'wort-book' — between folded linens and unstoppered the bundle of seeds I had kept through every port: peppermint, lemon balm, feverfew, and dried calendula heads from a market near Batavia.
At the edge of the field, just beyond the salt-washed stone wall, I began again. Raised beds were mounded by hand. Stones were placed to catch warmth by day and share it back by night. And from those first shoots came a new season of medicine — not for the crew, but for the kin.
I brewed teas for grieving widows, laid lavender across children’s pillows, and taught others to steep bark and bloom before turning to pills. We had returned not just with news of loss, but with the knowledge to ease it.
Though we would sail again, I knew then that every voyage needed an anchor. Mine was this soil — and the healing it could bring.
Apothecary Garden Notes
Herb Use Planting Notes
Peppermint Digestive aid, cooling tea Thrives in moist partial sun, spreads readily
Lemon Balm Calming nerve tonic Grows well in containers or beds, prefers
some shade
Calendula Skin healing, wound wash Sow in full sun, blooms in summer, collect
heads dry
Feverfew Migraine prevention, fever reducer Hardy perennial, cut back after
bloom
Yarrow Styptic and fever support Grows wild in meadows, attracts pollinators
Lavender Sleep aid, skin calming Needs dry soil, full sun, space for airflow
Modern Herbal Garden Perspective
Today, many of the same herbs used in 18th-century seafaring apothecaries thrive in modern gardens across our locations. Peppermint, lavender, calendula, and lemon balm are now staples of herbal wellness. These plants support:
- **Digestion, calm, and rest** (peppermint, lemon balm, lavender)
- **Topical healing and skin repair** (calendula, yarrow)
- **Immune and fever support** (feverfew, yarrow)
Building a coastal apothecary garden not only continues a historical tradition, but it empowers modern herbalists and homesteaders to grow their own remedies with intention and connection to place.
Through soil, seed, and steam, we honor the voyages — and the lives — that brought this knowledge home.
Until Next Time…
I am…
Phil Wilson…
And, Here’s to Living and Herbal Lifestyle with You!