Ian's October 2026 Newsletter

The day after teaching the Level 3 workshop in Sydney my wife Jane and I headed off in search of flowering Sturt Desert Peas. The week before I had seen incredible images from South Australia of massive profusions of this spectacular flower after the best rainfall in over 50 years, including sightings of the very rare white Sturt Desert Peas. In addition, for the very first time, I saw images of a maroon one. There were also some which were half pink and half white.

Decades earlier, I had flown to a very remote location in South Australia after being told by the owner that all-black Sturt Desert Peas had been spotted on her property. We spent the day searching in vain, but it lit a fire of desire to see some of these more exotic variations.

Exotic Sturt Desert Peas

I developed the Level 3 workshop to give participants the opportunity to experience the magic of making Flower Essences for themselves. I devoted a whole chapter in my first book to this topic as it’s such an extraordinary thing to encounter firsthand (see below). Of all the flower Essences that I make, Sturt Desert Pea has had the most extraordinary flow of events leading me to find them in flower to create an Essence:

In 1987, the head ranger at Uluru in Central Australia had assured me that I would find a 4-kilometre stretch of road past Kulgera that was lined with flowering Sturt Desert Pea. Seventy kilometres after passing Kulgera, I found myself in South Australia with no Desert Pea to report!

The locals back at Kulgera weren’t too sure where I would find this plant, but some mentioned that it had been seen a couple of years before, 25 kilometres along the railway line. Apart from that, I would have to travel into the Simpson Desert, which seemed too far away and too rugged.

Instead, I decided to follow my intuition and head up one of the dirt roads leading out of Kulgera. A little further on were eight houses, all in the same government style, dropped starkly in the middle of kilometres of red dust. Here I eventually tracked down a very warm and friendly man from Serbia whose work took him along the railway line, where he told me Sturt Desert Pea was definitely growing. One of his friends thought I was crazy heading off just before sunset as it would take me nearly three hours’ travelling along a terrible track to get there—and all for a few flowers.

Where Ian first saw the Sturt Desert Pea in 1987

This land is truly in the middle of nowhere and at times totally barren and flat for a full 360-degree view. I raced with the setting sun to get there before dark. At the point where the sun dipped behind the railway line right on sunset, I came to our landmark and there, far off in a ditch, was the Sturt Desert Pea, just as I was told it would be. I pulled out a chair and meditated around the powerful flowers, alone in the middle of the desert, just me, the Desert Pea- and the flies.

As you may expect, the power of the Sturt Desert Pea matches the energy in which its essence was conceived and is a remedy for removing very deep hurt, grief and sadness.

On another occasion, making the Essence I had been instructed to call the police station at Marla, in the very north of South Australia. They told me there had been some out in flower but they had pulled a tourist over who had picked them all and decorated her car with it! They also suggested a specific indigenous woman, who they said would know if there were any Sturt Desert Peas out, though I would need a permit to enter the aboriginal community. After tracking down where this woman lived, I arrived to find a Telstra man in front of her property. I asked him if he knew her. At that point a car was speeding up the driveway and the Telstra man jumped out in front of it and said ‘this man wants to speak to you’. She happily told me I would find some on the “golf course” nearby. Neither Rory McIlroy nor Tiger Woods would ever be seen playing on this green! It was only red earth but right where she said, there were Sturt Desert Peas and they were probably the only ones around for hundreds of kilometres.

Sturt Desert Pea Near the Golf Course

More recently, I prepared it when there were no reports of it being in flower. However, I had a strong gut feeling that I should travel to the Flinders Ranges—a two-hour flight from Sydney, followed by a five-and-a-half-hour drive—and that I would find it there.

Checking into the National Park after arriving I again asked the rangers of any sighting. “None locally but you may find some in Roxby Downs”, they offered and it was only a 5-hour drive! As it happened, standing behind me was a woman also waiting to check in to the campground with the ranger. She overheard my conversation and told me that she had just come back from an area 4 hours north and had come across some Sturt Desert Peas on a walk. Very excitedly I asked her to point out on a map exactly where she had seen them. The only problem was thatit was a very rough dirt road to get there and I was in a standard rental sedan with a very low wheelbase. Nevertheless, nothing was stopping me on my quest, even though there were many times when a high patch of rocks struck the underneath of the car and I was convinced that I had lost the muffler.

Traveling there took a long time, but it worked out that I was able to do the preparation and make the essence with just 15 minutes of light remaining. I was convinced these was the only Sturt Desert Peas in the whole of South Australia and very grateful for all the unseen help and guidance that is present when I am preparing an Essence, especially Sturt Desert Pea.

Ian with Live Wise Health Store Employees. Gawler, South Australia

This month's trip started very well, calling into the health food store in Gawler for nutritious food when leaving Adelaide. On recognising me, they shared how they loved the Bush Essences and had my books and had done the online courses. That night we stopped at Peterborough with the intention of driving on to Broken Hill the next day. Walking through the town that night, we were impressed by beautiful paintings of Sturt Desert Pea in the window of the local gallery. At the same time, Jane thought she heard voices at the back of the gallery in a side room. On trying the front doorknob, to our surprise, it opened and Jane brazenly walked in. It was a Co-op and though the members were having a meeting, we had a great chat about Sturt Desert Peas and bought one of the paintings. They convinced us that we should go up to Blinman in South Australia rather than to Broken Hill, as there had been a fantastic display there recently. The next morning, we quickly altered our accommodation reservations in Broken Hill and headed in the opposite direction on a three-hour drive. We were fortunate to get one of the few available rooms in the local hotel. Just before Blinman, we took a turn off to explore Parachilna Gorge. It was suitable for our two-wheel drive but there was a lot of water covering one section of the road and we decided it was too dangerous to drive through. Rangers came from the opposite direction and thought I'd made the right decision and we went on to discuss Sturt Desert Peas. They advised me that the best location was approximately 28 kilometres on the road to Arkaroola, another unsealed rocky road. I had spotted what I thought was Tall Yellow Top. They couldn't confirm this but advised me to speak to a local indigenous man, Kristian, who they said was a whiz with plants.

Tall Yellow Top 

When I went to visit him, I unknowingly took the wrong road, believing it led to his property. I was met by a man who runs camel trains who said I was in the wrong place. I mentioned to him about the Tall Yellow Top and he knew exactly what it was - even naming it botanically. The magic of Essence-making and the synchronicity that goes with it! With this confirmation I made it up that afternoon. On a recent trip to the Centre, I'd replenished all my mother tinctures but couldn't find any Tall Yellow Top so I was very glad to have the opportunity to replenish my supplies. It's such an important remedy for feelings of loneliness and abandonment and is a key ingredient in our Mood Essence Remedy.

The next morning, driving very slowly and crossing a number of flooded road sections we found the Sturt Desert Pea location. Unfortunately, it was probably 10 to 14 days past its peak time, but the remaining flowers were stunning. After an enjoyable time spent with them, I headed back but was drawn to exploring a creek bed a couple of kilometres away and to my delight I found a lot of Bluebell, another essence I traditionally make in the Northern Territory and a flower that can be hard to find. Four hours later I had this mother tincture completed as well. Bluebell helps to open our heart and to be generous in sharing our feelings and possessions. It is for those who feel cut off and disconnected from their feelings.

Bluebell Mother Tincture

We then continued to Broken Hill and contacted Darrell, the head Ranger there, who has over the years let me know when and where to find the elusive flower. On one occasion, the very day before I was about to fly to Broken Hill to make it, Darrell called to say there had been a hailstorm the previous night, which had wiped out all the Sturt Desert Peas and advised me to cancel my trip.

Ian & Darrel - Living Desert Ranger 

We met him at the Living Desert State Park and he took us out on the buggies to some remote parts where a few weeks earlier there'd been masses of Sturt Desert Peas. Unfortunately, they had all gone to seed. His final tip was to travel 4 kilometres where there might be a chance to see them. Darrell was right on the money again! Although there were plenty of Sturt Desert Peas in flower, the sheer number of seed pods suggested that the display would have been truly spectacular just a few weeks earlier.

Sturt Desert Pea Seed Pods

Of all the 71 Bush essences, I would say that Sturt Desert Pea, along with Fringed Violet and Waratah, have the most striking impact when you first see them. They stop you in your tracks. Jane and I had a fantastic time on this journey, being amongst the Peas, one of the deepest healing of all the Bush Essences.

Much Love, Light and Respect

Ian