About

Hello! I’m Arandena, a community herbalist, amateur ecologist, and passionate earthworker! I live off-grid in a collaborative food forest on Wichita land (Denton - North Texas), where my troupe and I grow food, medicine, and manage a small nature preserve for our local community and cooperative apothecary, Hidden Lotus Herbs.

Our climate-realist future is dependent on green skills and personal proclivities, so I follow my passions to the depths they take me in pursuit of a stronger land-based, nature-integrated culture. My fire is fueled by ecological restoration, natural farming, agro-ecology, permaculture, medicinal & entheogenic plants, foraging, community-based disaster/emergency resilience, and earthen building!

I love to share knowledge about holistic wellness, microbiomes, yoga, massage, and reversing autoimmunity! I’m a practicing herbalist and write a lot about my experience learning from our beautiful botanical and fungal friends.

The practice of medicinal herbalism is a communal wisdom and should be shared, so while I offer individual consultations for personal health issues and handcrafted remedies, I also publish as much as I can through my blog and Youtube to decentralize the skills to those who feel called to accept them.

In my free time, I experiment with wild and natural crafts such as ceramics, fiber arts, and wood working.

Thanks for supporting my journey and sharing a little piece of life with me!

Much love to you and yours,

Arandena

Hidden Lotus Herbs

Hidden Lotus Herbs is a cooperative apothecary, regenerative farm, and herbal practice rooted in the values of climate resiliency and reciprocal relationships with land and community. We strive to follow ethical modalities of farming, foraging, crafting, and distributing herbal preparations. My life partner, Dustin Jarreau, and I founded the business as a partnership and will soon convert it to an official cooperative with our third worker-owner, Autumn Meadow!

Our journey as herbalists and farmers is one of deep appreciation and concern for the Earth and a shared vision of re-igniting humankind’s inherent, vital connection with our natural world.

For the past three years, I've immersed myself in my studies and practices of herbalism, foraging, ecological restoration, native plant landscaping, and permaculture. My personal healing journey with chronic illness sparked my desire to share the transformative power of plants and nature with others. Through Hidden Lotus Herbs, I aim to empower people to explore and feed their ability to heal and make change in the world - with the help of our Earth allies!

My beloved partner, Dustin, brings their radiant angelic energy to this planet as a beacon of compassion, grace, and healing. They are a fountain of knowledge in natural farming, permaculture, fermentation, nutrition, and hearthcraft. He possesses a natural gift for soothing ailments and is a guiding example of dedication and self-discipline.

Our third member, Autumn, is a skilled builder and artist with a knack for engineering and creative solutions. They bring a jubilant enthusiasm to every project and make our farm cooperative possible! They work on much of the artwork and construction projects behind this project.

Together, we’re embarking on a journey to create and foster intentional community rooted in harmony with the Earth. Our dream is to provide sustenance, shelter, and nourishing resources to our local family and to the world.

You can support our small, local farm by buying our products, supporting us on Patreon, donating to our kickstarter, or sharing our website!

Earthworker

I have been working in ecologically restorative landscaping and farming since 2020, professionally with Wildscapers Landscaping and in my own home landscapes. My areas of expertise include lawn replacements, rain gardens, ponds, permaculture, regenerative agriculture, beyond organic, natural farming, and JADAM. I offer designs, consultation, installations, and maintenance work.

View my portfolio here.

Writer & Creator

I publish pieces here, on my Substack newsletter, and on Hidden Lotus Herbs, mainly regarding my path in naturalism and herbalism but occasionally featuring my poetry and musings on love, consciousness, pain, disability, queer politics, and revolution.

My newsletter features monthly educational articles on herbalism and natural farming.

I am also uploading video content on Youtube!

  • Just $25! I am currently offering herbal wellness consultations for a very low price as I continue my studies and enter into clinical practice.

    An herbal consultation will involve an explanation of your full health history and any symptoms or difficulties you’re experiencing.

    You can book a consultation here.

  • My ecological landscaping consultations are currently limited to evenings and are priced at $20/30 minutes, up to one hour.

    If you already have an idea and need a little help getting it planned out, my design fee ranges from $50-$500 depending on size and complexity of the design.

    For hands-on labor, my rate is $20/hr. For tough or long jobs, I have a crew of 3 who can help!

    If you’re interested in working with Wildscapers Landscaping, an established company with a team of experienced designers, you can find more information here.

    Wildscapers is limited to residential projects in Denton County and commercial/public projects in DFW.

    My personal crew is willing to travel, and I’m open to designing landscapes worldwide.

    Learn more about my landscape design work here.

  • Please message me! I’d love to help in any capacity with educational programs of this nature! Regardless of pay, I’m all ears! Just let me know how I can help!

  • Great, I’d love to help keep your home clean, tidy, and non-toxic!

    Shoot me a message or book an appointment!

  • I’m open to discussion and conversation of a wide variety and seek to get involved in the community in any way I can.

    Please don’t hesitate to reach out!

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