Herbal Lore

New Herbs and a Secret Herb!

September 23, 2018 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

Hey, how’s it going?

I’ve been celebrating sunshine by sowing seeds (albeit still with heatpads and glasshouses!). How are your garden plans coming along?

Black elder plants for sale, new zealand

Elder, Sambucus nigra

I have new herbs available for you this season.. I have Elder, Basil Mint and Pennyroyal, I have Greek Oregano, Rue is back and there’s more hopefully coming in (just waiting for those seeds to pop).

Rue, Ruta graveolens

Are you building a new herb garden or wanting to fill in some gaps? Looking for plants for your food forest or some companion plants for the vege patch? I very well will have the herb for you. Always pays to ask even if you can’t see it here on my website.

Now. There’s one herb that I’m not advertising on my website because I’m not actually sure if I’m allowed to sell it… So if you’re reading this and know the plant I’m going to be talking about, you’ll be as excited as I was when I clapped eyes on this plant in a friends garden…

It’s Aconitum napellus, AKA Monkshood, Helmet Flower, Turks-Cap, the Aconite in your homeopath kit..

Aconitum napellus

This is the quintessential plant of the occult. An infamous herb that the Christians of the 15th century loved to peg onto witches. “How is the ointment with which you you rub your broomstick made?” Seriously, this is one of the questions asked in a witches trial, the answer they’re looking for is “Yes sir, I made my flying ointment out of Aconite and Belladonna”. They (they being the witches of course) also made an ointment out of Aconite and other beastlies that would put witches in a “sabbatical” state in which they could leave their physical body to communicate with the spiritual world. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME KIDS!!

From the roots to the seeds this plant is poisonous. It is also quite gorgeous with tall spikes of purple flowers quite similar to delphiniums. If you’re at all interested (and I suggest you should be) here is a list of other gorgeous poisonous plants.

Unlike a lot of other herbs, Monkshood does best in rich soil and some shade. It’s dormant during the winter so make sure you remember where you’ve planted it. If you do have young children make sure they are well educated of its dangers or err on the side of caution and wait til they’re older and wiser before introducing this plant to your garden.

If you’re interested in this fascinating plant use the contact from on the right near the top to get in touch with me.

Right, I’m getting back out there whilst it’s still sunny; can you believe day light savings is next week already??!!

Sweet Dreams are Made of Mugwort

July 27, 2018 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

Dream away my friends and if those dreams aren’t big enough or bright enough maybe you need some mugwort…

Mugwort, artemisia vulgare

The name mugwort doesn’t seem very dreamy though does it (more beer-y), lets change it to cronewort, a name that some people whom work with the healing properties of plants prefer to call Artemisia vulgaris.

Use it in a dream pillow to encourage clear techni-coloured dreams, possibly prophetic (not recommended for childrens dream pillows!). Cronewort has a long history with magic; on one hand to ward off evil, on the other to divine the future.

“Being such a powerful herb, mugwort has long been thought to predict the future. If you want to determine the course of a relationship and don’t want to pay a psychic or fuss with tarot cards, test this old fashioned technique; Plant two mugworts side by side in well drained soil in full sun. Designate one as you and the other as your intended…If the plants grow toward one another, everything will be wonderful in the relationship. If they bend in opposite directions, problems will inevitably arise (staking is not allowed).

So as not to make self fulfilling prophecies and create a sense of doom in an otherwise happy relationship, it’s best to apply this technique to the lives of your friends and then boldly make predictions about them based on the results. Create a whole row of divining mugworts, and expand your focus to foretell the course of a business deal, predict whether a nephew will stay in medical school, and augur the possibility of a year-end bonus – anything that can be predicted negatively or positively by the plants growing apart or together. the law of averages states that you will be right at least half the time, and in the meantime you will have amazed your friends with your herbal prowess.” Mary Forsell author of Herbs.

Medicinally cronewort has similar actions as the other Artemisias (Southernwood and Wormwood)… bitter tonic, stimulant, anti-bilious and emmenagogue but also has the action of a nervine tonic due to its volatile oil (so don’t boil it!). This makes it a grand remedy to regulate periods, reduce period pain and PMS.

Mugwort has been used alongside acupuncture for over three thousand years in the form of moxa. I don’t know a heck of a lot about acupuncture aside from the basics and that my friend Nicky Walker in Kapiti is an acupuncturist (unabashed plug here http://www.nickywalker.co.nz/). Here is a fascinating article about moxa/mugwort and acupuncture.

I have just started growing mugwort this year so will have plants, dried herb and tinctures available in 2019.

Artemis at Stonehenge

July 9, 2018 By SandRa Timmins 1 Comment

I don’t usually talk about the homeschooling part of our life and here I am mentioning another of our “field trips”. They’re just so interesting lately!

So this time we went to Stonehenge Aotearoa in Carterton for a guided tour with emphasis on Matariki. What a freakin’ cool place! Have you been there?

Our group about to go through the Sun Gate and into the ‘henge.

It’s not trying to be a replica of Stonehenge in Salisbury, England. It is our very own Stonehenge made to the specifications of our southern skies including sunrises and sunsets. Everything has been thought of, Kay Leather and Richard Hall have done a terrific job and have so much knowledge. Totally recommend going there and having a tour so you can get a full grasp of the amazing-ness of it all.

Kay Leather talking the talk

Any-hoo; why I am writing about this trip is because they have a beautiful statue of Artemis, which made me immediately think of Artemisia plants. plants which I’m just a little enamoured with at the moment. You know what’s funny though, is through doing some quick research, the plants associated with the Goddess Artemis are actually (according to Wikipedia) Amaranth and Asphodel, but amaranth comes from South America….hmmm, I dinnae know about that one. AND, that the Artemisia plants are actually named after this quite amazing woman from way ago called Artemisia ll of Caria whom was a botanist as well as an army commander and specialist in grieving for her husband/brother (yep, both one and the same). Here’s another article that is quite interesting about Artemis and Artemisia plants with a feminist bent. I think there’s a pretty valid reason why I love these plants!

Artemis Moonstone and the Seven Sisters of Matariki in the background.

What are these plants? There are approx 180 species and I’m not going to name them all even if I could. The most common ones here are Wormwood (A. absinthium), Southernwood (A. abrotanum), Mugwort (A. vulgaris), and French tarragon (A. dracunculus). There is also the annual Sweet Annie (A. annua) and Roman wormwood (A. pontica). All of which have some type of medicinal/household/culinary/spiritual use. There are many others that are just plain gorgeous; Marshwoods in Invercargill sells a few of these (the ornamentals).

I’ve written about Southernwood here and French Tarragon here.

I’ve only just acquired Wormwood and Mugwort this year. The more I learn about them the more excited I get about having them available to use and to sell. (Which unfortunately won’t be this season- they aren’t big enough to propagate from yet).

Wormwood is a bit dime o dozen, if you look for it you’ll see it at the front of driveways in its big blazing silver glory. I’ll bet in many gardens (not all!) little is known of its history and uses…

Artemisia absinthium

According to ethnobotanist Murdoch Riley (author of Maori Healing and Herbal) Wormwood was brought to Stewart Island (Rakiura, Aotearoa) from Australia in the 1860’s by a Scottish captain William Sherburd. “Captain Wormwood” as he was affectionally referred as, introduced it to The Neck solely for the relief of consumption (TB). All the families were given slips of Wormwood to grow with the recommendation of chewing a bit before every meal or to make the bitter tea (with the exception of Rue Ruta gravelons, wormwood is the bitterest of herbs).,

Wormwood slowly inched its way up New Zealand; a plant was recorded as being found in Canterbury by a botanist in 1871 and in Wellington in 1877.

Of course New Zealand is a young country and Wormwood has been used since way back when. In the 14th century it was recommended to be strewn in the chamber to keep the fleas away (you can still do this but perhaps the dog kennel or chicken coop would be more useful). It was also laid among “stuffs and furs” to keep away moths and insects. Seems most Artemisias can be used to keep moths away from stored linen etc.

Was also the herb to have on hand if biting sea dragons were a problem in your area… I believe they the Ancients are referring to the Weever fish which is still an issue today. Other poisons that Wormwood was reputed to counteract were/are; hemlock and toadstools.

The leaves and flowering tops of Wormwood are used medicinally. It’s primary use these days is that of a bitter, which has the effect of stimulating and invigorating the whole of the digestive process which in turn helps the whole body. Which is particularly relevant for todays diets which are more sweet and salty than bitter. Go here and here for more info as to why we need more bitters in our diet.

So as well as being a bitter tonic, Wormwoods other actions are; carminative, anthelemintic, anti-inflammatory, anti-bilious, anti-microbial, emmenagogue, heptatic, stimulant.

If you hadn’t guessed from Wormwoods botanical name… Artemisia absinthium was used to make absinthe and vermouth.

In the nineteenth century it was banned from alcoholic drinks due to all those crazy artists in Paris – nahh! Not just them, everybody else that drank loads of absinthe too.

The oil of Wormwood is a psychoactive and when mixed with alcohol it stimulates the cerebral cortex, causes havoc on the neural system and if taken in large doses can lead to coma and convulsions. Now that would bring a bummer to the party.

It was also used instead of hops in the making of beer but the Artemisia most well known for that purpose was Mugwort, Artemisia vulgare.

Mugwort, artemisia vulgare

This post for some reason has taken me ages though so we shall continue with Mugwort in the next one…

Breath Deep, it’s Chamomile Time

February 6, 2018 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

It’s a busy time of year for me right now, the beautiful sunshine here has been perfect drying weather and I’m a harvesting as much as I can and putting the herbs through their drying routine.

One of my herbs that gives and gives the more you take and take is german chamomile (Matricaria recutita). I hand pick the flower heads every couple of days, it’s a lovely job, if not slightly tedious but at least it smells good! But no matter how much you take, when you dry it, it looks like nothing, so you’ve got to harvest all those multiple times to actually get a decent amount!

Pick me! Pick me!

German chamomile is the preferred chamomile for herbalists as it is less bitter than roman chamomile (Chamomillia nobile), though they both have the same therapeutic effects.

Differences; Roman chamomile is low growing and can be used for scented pathways and/or ground cover, doesn’t even mind the odd mow. Smells like apples in the nicest way!

German chamomile can get quite tall, up to about a meter in light dry soils, in heavier soils and if it gets maybe too much water for it own good it can fall over and get a bit sprawly. In a dedicated spot this is ok but not if its going to fall over plants that would rather have a bit of space to shine.

The flowers are both classic daisies but on closer inspection quite different from each other.

Roman is bigger and flatter.

Roman chamomile flower

Whereas Germans’ yellow centre turns into real dome and its white petals will rise more obviously with the sun.

German chamomile flower

There is also a non-flowering chamomile called trenague chamomile that you find mentioned in gardening books as a good ground cover without bee stings. So far I have not found it outside the pages of a book or magazine in New Zealand. Because it doesn’t flower you won’t be able to get seeds so it would have to be grown from division.

Out there in the wild countryside (or your garden) you may notice a plant that looks a helluva like chamomile. And it is! But before you get out there with your harvesting basket, take a smell… does it smell nice? Reminiscent of apples or some other pleasantness? Ahh, it doesn’t does it? That’s because it is Matricaria inodora, Scentless chamomile. Won’t make a nice tea.

Matricaria inodora, chamomiles look alike but not the same!

There’s also chamomiles bald cousin Matricaria matricarioides, Rayless chamomile – again, just leave it on that old gravel driveway you found it on.

Matricaria matricarioides, Rayless chamomile

Ok, so you’ve got the right chamomile for your garden or you’ve bought your already prepared dried chamomile flowers from me; what is it good for?

Well, me oh my, what is it not good for!

For those in the know, chamomiles actions are; Anti-spasmodic, carminative, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antiseptic, vulnerary, aromatic, bitter, diaphoretic, emmenagogoue, nervine, sedative, tonic.

Which means for the lay person that it is very very relaxing for mind body and soul.

As a tea or a tincture chamomile can help cramps, pain and discomfit. It can calm anxiety and nervousness – for a double banger have a cuppa in a bath that also has a cuppa in it – failing that, put the children in the bath with said cuppa and have something else!

Chamomile is wonderful for children, not just in the bath for those fractious times but also on a teaspoon for teething babies or in a bottle/sippy cup for restless or hyper-active toddlers. Chamomile is also great for healing skin, making a balm out of the flowers makes a great gift for a new baby and his/her mama, go here for my recipe.

Externally it can sooth and relax smooth muscle (muscles you have little control over like your digestive muscles) think colic, wind, general sore puku, nervous indigestion and heartburn. Can I just say here though, don’t brew your tea too long hey, 5 minutes does the trick in my book or it can taste a bit eughh, like green tea brewed too long. Onwards!

It’s anti-inflammatariness (did I make that word up??!) Helps relieve gastritis and pepetic ulcers, colitis and IBS.

Ladies listen up..

The name matricaria comes from matrix meaning mother or womb. Chamomile for all stages of your life… Daughter; helpful for restful sleeps, absent periods due to stress or psychological problems such as anorexia nervosa… Maiden; relax and relieve painful periods, premenstrual headaches and migraines… Mother/midwife; digestive remedy for morning sickness, drunk throughout labour it can relax tension and lessen the pain of contractions, help relieve mastitis… Amazon; can help reduce menopausal symptoms… Crone; rheumatic and gout pains, its anti-inflammatory properties help resolve conditions such as arthritis.

This is really just a brief over-view (nor complete) of how Chamomile can make your life better and I haven’t even gone into its wonderfulness as a flower remedy, aromatherapy oil or homeopath! Feel free to comment below on how you use chamomile in your life~

Go get a little ray of sunshine!

The Elusive Pyrethrum..

August 12, 2017 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

I have been steadily updating my list of herbs that I’m going to be selling this year as I have quite few new ones (wahoo!). And because I’m a bit of a herb geek I really enjoy looking through all my books and sometimes the internet, researching the herbs to give you as much info as possible (hmmm, well I probably edit that info to what I find interesting and miss some useful bits!)

Anyhoo, there was one herb that was evading me in my quest for knowledge and that was Pyrethrum Chrysanthemum cinerarifolium. I guessed that because it doesn’t have any medical benefits that I knew of it wasn’t in any of my herbal medicine books and at that very time I didn’t have access to the internet. So I moved on with my research to Pelargoniums…

Flicking through Mrs. M Grieves Modern Herbal I noticed that the entry below Pelargonium was Pellitory Anacyclus pyrethrum and under Synonyms was Anthemis pyrethrum, Pyrethrum officinarum, Pyrethrum, Pyrethri radix…….Pyrethre, Matricaria pyrethrum.

Bingo!

I thought…

On reading its description and its medicinal action it didn’t sound like what I have.

But the next entry was Pellitory, Dalmation with the botanical name Chrysanthemum cinerarifolium. A-ha! That’s more like it.

But no information.

Next entry, Pellitory, Persian Chrysanthemum roseum with synonyms Insect flowers, Insect plants. And finally we get to the history of the plant we’re actually after….

So back in the day the Insect Powder of commerce was first known as Persian Insect Powder or Persian Pellitory and was made from the closed flowers of Pyrethrum roseum and P. carneum, natives of Northern Persia (that’s Northern Iran to us now). The flowers are beautiful shades of rose and crimson.

Tanacetum coccineum Pyrethrum, Pyrethum daisy, Persian Insect Flower, Painted Daisy

But then along came a species frrom the Dalmation region of Croatia. Turns out Chrysanthemum cinerarifolium was made of stronger stuff and the Dalmation pellitory took the insect stupefying throne out from under the pretty Persian pellitory flower petals.

Chrysanthemum cinerarifolium

I’ve yet to find out why we now call Dalmation Pellitory (Chrysanthemum cinerarifolium) pyrethrum. Pyrethrum was actually a genus name for several plants which are now classified as Chrysanthemum or Tanacetum.

C. cinerarifolium is well tolerant of coastal conditions and grows best on stoney dry sites with plenty of sunshine – and if you have it, on a hillside. Just like its home ground. Apparently the higher the elevation that they’re growing the stronger the flowers are in pyrethene, the active constituent that affects the nervous system of insects. If you’re interested, Kenya is actually the biggest commercial producer of pyrethrum for insecticidal use.

The flowers are harvested at various times of development., the most active are flowers collected when they are fully developed but before they’ve expanded. they’re then dried and ground into a fine powder.

As wonderful as it is to have an organic biodegradable insecticide it unfortunately doesn’t have the discrimination to leave our dwindling bees alone. Pyrethrum is catergorised as level three in terms of its toxicity to bees. Read this article here for more info, take mind it is presuming you’re looking at using a commercially produced pyrethrum insecticide that contains other chemicals. But if you make your own using your own flowers (dried and ground) then carefully dusted onto your plants or applied as a spray very early in the morning or early evening and avoid the flowers it might be ok eh. Could it help in the battle with pysilid??

There are other ways to use pyrethrum in its natural state though….

~the plants can be grown in the garden as a companion plant to keep the insects away from susceptible plants. Apparently it grows well with broccoli.

~a tincture of the flowers can be made then diluted with 10 parts water to be dabbed on your skin as an insect repellent – it is harmless to human beings.

A lot of potential there folks! Get it here.

Right, now I ought to start updating what tomatoes I’ll have available this year!

Marjoram vs Oregano

June 20, 2017 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

They look different, they smell different, they taste different they even grow differently, so why does oregano and marjoram often get thought of as one and the same? Well we’ve got the science community to thank for that by giving them the same genera name origanum. Marjoram is Origanum marjorana (it used to be Marjorana hortensis). Oregano is Origanum vulgare. They are part of the mint family (Lamiaceae).

Origanum is derived from two Greek words, oros (mountain) and ganos (joy), meaning they looked real pretty growing on the hillsides!

Marjoram looked pretty on the hillsides of Portugal where it is a native and Oregano looked pretty on the hillsides over Asia, Europe and North Africa.

Also to confuse matters Oregano has been and can be called Wild Marjoram whereas Marjorams full (common) name is Sweet or Knotted Marjoram. Then there is also Pot Marjoram Origanum onites a species found in Sicily, Greece and Turkey. Now lets twist the confusion a little more with Winter Marjoram Origanum heracleoticum which is now known as Origanum vulgaris hirtum commonly known as Greek Oregano and thought of as the one to have for flavour. I could go on, there are quite a few species mostly ornamental but still interesting, I have a compact marjoram that I was given a cutting of last year from a customer. It’s cute but it’s flavour is pretty mild.

Compact Marjoram

Soo, how do you know which one you’ve got and/or how do you identify that you’re buying the right plant for your purposes (I’ve seen plants mislabeled, tut tut).

Oregano Origanum vulgare

Origanum vulgare

If you want to have medicinal benefits with your plant this is the one that you want. Origanum vulgare can be used for coughs, fevers and tension headaches. The antiseptic properties (thymol and carvacrol) make oregano useful for inflammations of the mouth and throat and used externally for infected cuts and wounds. The aerial parts of the herb is gathered and dried as soon as it flowers and here is where we can identify O. vulgare from the others as it’s flowers are a pink colour. The leaves are a dark green colour, roundish with pointed ends and it grows with a creeping habit, in the ideal spot (good sun and good drainage) it can get a bit OTT! But it’s easy to curb it as it creeps along; unlike mint that dives down and comes up wherever it can! If you can’t find Greek oregano this one is fine as a culinary herb. Some contest it but I personally have found that it has a stronger flavour if grown in a well sunny dry position.

Marjoram origanum marjorana

Origanum marjoram

Sweet marjoram grows upright with reddish stems, the leaves aren’t as hairy as oregano vulgare and during the flowers come out of little knotted balls~ hence its other name Knotted marjoram. It looks quite cool. The taste is entirely different to oregano, oregano is described as balsamic thyme whereas marjoram is a sort of sweet salty lemony minty flavour (that description is with the help of my daughter whom is the ‘nose’ of the family!). Marjoram isn’t as hardy as oregano and in particularly cold places is treated as an annual. Plant it in a sunny sheltered spot and it should see the winter through or even pot it up and bring it indoors during winter~ it is a perennial.

Greek Oregano origanum vulgaris hirtum

origanum vulgare spp hirtum by Dimitrios Zervas

Image from Dimitrios Zervas

Now, how to tell the difference between true Greek oregano and your schmo jo oregano.. The flowers are white, not pink or purple and the flavour is said to be so strong it will make your tongue go numb or at least tingle! It has a similar growth habit as origanum vulgare but not quite as invasive.

It’s a confusing world out there, because there are so many mix ups and it’s one persons word or image against anothers…so you’ve just got to find what you can, taste it, smell it, if you like it-grow it! But hopefully I’ve helped clear up some differences between the plants and you feel a bit more enlightened!

Herb Awareness Week!

March 8, 2017 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

I’m a bit behind the 8 ball this week, because Herb Awareness Week started on the 6th March!

Go check out who and where your local Herb Society is and see what events they have for it, go here to the Herb Federation of New Zealand website to see if there is one near you.

Every year specific herbs are chosen to promote.. this year, drum roll please… the herbs are;

Corriander, Coriandrum sativum.

Chamomile, Matricaria chamomilla/recutita.

Puha, Sonchus oleracues.

*~(I don’t have any in my garden at the moment to take a photo (to be honest I probably weeded it out, bad!) So lets educate ourselves…. It’s really high in vitamin C apparently if you get it young it is high in iron as well. Traditionally used in “boil ups” with pork. The sap used to be expressed, dried and used as a chewing gum as a cure for bad breath or sore gums. Down south it was rubbed on katipo bites… the leaves crushed can also be put on wounds to prevent poisoning (like rose pricks!). A decoction of the leaves can be used to help the placenta come away during childbirth. For this reason it shouldn’t be drunk by pregnant women. All this information I’ve gleaned from my wonderful book Maori Healing and Herbal by Murdoch Riley.)~*

and Red Clover, Trifolium pratense.

I’m having a bit of a love affair with Red clover at the moment, it is wonderful for skin complaints esp. for children, and for all sorts of cough, including whooping cough. I’m making a tincture right now out of the dried flowers that I’ve been collecting over summer, which I’m going to use for our dog..more in my next post!

I got a cracker harvest of coriander seeds this year (see top photo). I use the seed more than the fresh green herb, I’m in the loving side of the camp for coriander, the rest of my family are not. But I find I can sneak in the seeds to meals and chutney without too much ado! Now a thing I have discovered whilst at markets is that a lot of people don’t realise that coriander is an annual and actually a winter herb. I got a lot of people asking why their plants were going straight to seed! Now is the time to start planting your coriander, if, in future you must grow it in summer grow it in the shadiest coolest part of your garden and/or sow every two weeks.

Now German chamomile, where does one begin and where does one end. I know I’ve been meaning to write a whole blog post about chamomile, but perhaps because the quails all ate my chamomile seedlings this year (took me a while to work out why my plants weren’t growing!) that I haven’t been incredibly inspired!

So in full laziness I’m going to direct you to another website that has all the info you need! Go here to Herbwisdom..

Happy herb awareness week! If you haven’t tried any of these herbs this is the time to do it, personally, I’m now on the hunt for Puha!

A Sight for Sore Eyes, Clary Sage

January 15, 2017 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

(white) Clary sage in full bloom

It’s been well worth the wait…Clary sage, Salvia sclarea doesn’t flower til its second year but when it does it’s most dramatic and for plant geeks most exciting!

Let’s start from the start in how to grow these magnificent plants as there seems to be a lot of interest in clary sage.

Clary sage (Salvia sclarea) seedling

Seeds can be sown from early spring to mid summer. The seeds germinate pretty reliably and don’t require any special teasing or molly coddling to come up and grow (unlike some other sages I know, S. Apiana I’m refering to you..) just light and water.

Don’t let the cute little seedlings fool you though.

When you plant them out these puppies need quite a lot of space, they grow huge! You want to give them a radius of about 80cm, particually if you have any low growing plants in the area. As they tend to say in gardening books for big tall plants – “best to grow in the back of the border”. With the flower spikes they grow to a height of over a meter.

The other consideration of course when planting out is that it’s in a nice dry position with a fair amount of sun…in summer AND winter. Once established they need the bare amount of watering. Then the wait begins for the flowers to come out next summer.

Clary sage flower bud

The colours range from pink, purple to white. The scent ranges from delightful lemony fragrance to smelly socks, dependant on the nose of the beholder!!

Flower busting out!

Side story; I came across a gardenia flowering the other day, I love its perfume so I excitidly told my daughter to take a whiff, she leant over and poooh! instantly screwed her face up and held her nose saying “Eurghh! What is that?!” Oh.

Now, apparently, S. sclareas’ first claim to fame was as an adulteration in various alcohol concoctions from Rhenish wines infused with elder flower to beers which “produced an effect of insane exhilararation of spirits succeeded by severe headache” (Mrs M. Grieve) Is that what they put in Beer Chang??

If you go to earthnotes website there’s a recipe for Clary wine amongst other fabolous/interesting herb and fruit based wines..

It’s the use of the seeds that gives clary sage its other name of “Cleareyes”. When soaked in water the seeds create a mucilage coating which can then be used to clear debris from the eye.

The most common use nowadays of clary sage is in its essential oil form. Which is kind of out of my jurisdiction but here’s a website that will tell you all about it!

Catnip, mrreow!

November 14, 2016 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

Catnip. Cats. Cats on high. General thought pattern when thinking of Catnip (Nepeta cataria) eh, but oh there is so much more to Catnip than another cats fun…

Now is probably a really good time to know about Catnip. Especially if you have children that are nervous about these earthquakes, as any cat worth its whiskers will tell you catnip has a sedative action on the nerves giving it relaxant properties. Catnip was actually the tea of choice in Britain before the tea from China came along…

Catnips’ most common and valuable use though is for fevers. Catnips’ brilliance lies in its ability to induce sleep and produce perspiration without increasing the heat of the bodies system. If the fever is part and parcel with a cold blend it with Elder and Yarrow, it makes for a pleasant tea that children might even drink (can sweeten with honey if desired).

Catnip can also ease sore tummy’s, diarrhea, nervous headaches and colic.

So how to, how to…. The leaves and flowering tops are the parts used. It is best prepared as an infusion which is near enough like a tea. Two teaspoons of the dried herb (or 4 teaspoons of fresh) with one cup of boiling water poured over, cover and leave for 10-15 minutes. Dosage wise children may have 2-3 teaspoons frequently, adults in doses of 2 tablespoons. A tincture of the herb can be made but I must admit it’s not incredibly palatable (personal opinion). Mrs M. Grieve tells me that “The young tops made into a conserve, have been found serviceable for nightmare” Catnip jam on toast before bed? And if you’re feeling particularly wealthy but poorly with scarlet-fever, small pox or colds and hysterics a tea made with equal parts Catnip and Saffron is said to be excellent. You’d better bloody hope so with the price of saffron!

Catnip, Nepeta cataria in full flush not yet flowering..

Growing wise Catnip is not fussy with soil but likes to moderately moist if it’s hot. Can be grown in full sun or partial shade, take note though that it can get quite tall and bushy so plant it where it’s got room to groove and won’t overshadow anything more dainty. Catnip is considered a perennial, some say a short lived perennial with a life of 4-5 years. If cats are a problem throw a dishrack over the top of it until it’s big enough to withstand the feline loving.

In our last place I never saw the culprit but I knew it was a white cat from the ring of white fur around my squashed catnip! Always sprung back up though.

Catnip (Nepeta cataria) plant for sale, nz

Squashed, but coming back!

Now, Catnip is different from Catmint (Nepeta musinii), where Catnip is tall Catmint is low growing with a trailing habit. Catnip is the preferred plant for medicinal use.

I best state here that I am not a qualified herbalist and all information here is not professional medical advice and for anything acute and or serious please go see your local qualified herbalist or doctor! But I do grow and sell the plant!

Southernwood for Singles??

November 2, 2016 By SandRa Timmins 2 Comments

Southernwood, Artemisia abrotanum

Southernwood. Lad’s Love. Boy’s Love. Maiden’s Ruin. Old Man. Appleringie. Artemisia abrotanum…..This plant has such a cool history!

In Roman times one of its prescriptions was for balding. When it got introduced to England in 1548 pubescent country boys must’ve got wind of this and started making an ointment out of Southernwoods ashes, that they would then smear on their faces to promote the growth of a beard.

They must’ve been pretty chuffed when it eventually worked because it was also used in bouquets to give to their lasses they were a-wooing… St Frances de Sale says

“To love in the midst of sweets, little children could do that, but to love in the bitterness of Wormwood is a sure sign of our affectionate fidelity.”

Hence (apparently) why it was used in their flower arrangements. Or more heathenly, perhaps it was used because it was once considered an aphrodisiac and was an essential ingredient to make a love potion!

Paganism aside; many people planted Southernwood by their front gate, men would pick a sprig for their lapel buttonholes on their way to church. Haha! Whereas it was customary (a bit more conspicuously) for women to carry large bunches of this plant and (Lemon) Balm to church on the premise that the keen aromatic scent would prevent drowsiness. What does that tell you huh?!

Artemisia abrotanum is the southern wormwood, indigenous to Spain and Italy. It has feathery grey-green leaves (Wormwood Artemisia absinthium has silvery foliage with pinnated leaves) and very rarely if ever flowers, hence it can only be grown by cuttings or division.

It likes a nice sunny situation and handles drought conditions like a champion (’tis best kept on the dry side). Tends to die down a little in winter but comes back lush in Spring. It’s when Southernwood is in this flush of growth (about now) that it pays to give it a little trim to keep it nice and bushy.

You can use those trimmings to strew wherever you don’t want moths, hang in you closet or in those boxes of clothes you’re going to re-invent sometime soon! The scent is disagreeable to other insects including the bee so don’t plant it in your “bee garden”. Wonder if it would work against flies??

Medicinally it is used as an emmenagogue, take note it tastes a bit nicer as a tea than a decoction. Apparently the branches are said to dye wool a deep yellow, oooh natural dye, I know a few people who would be interested in that aspect!

So, naturally I have these plants for sale all ready and waiting for your garden!

Southernwood all potted up awaiting new homes

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