Hypericum perforatum/ St. John's Wort

Been a walking out in the countryside -on the old railway line connecting Welwyn and Hertford, it is a lovely spot. I met up with Tasha, who has just graduated from Lincoln University as Medical Herbalist –woohoo- congratulations you.

She has a brilliant blog –

http://rowanremedies.blogspot.com/ check it out.

She was after some elderflowers for champagne n I had eyes for the Hypericum perforatum or St. John's wort, herb of the sun with his bright yellow flowers that stain ones fingers deep red as you pick it.

So who was St. John???

The Order of St.John of Jerusalem - the monastic community that ran the hospital for the pilgrims in the Holy Land 1048.

"Wort derives from the Old English wyrt, which simply meant plant. The word goes back even further, to the common ancestor of English and German, to the Germanic wurtiz. By the way, wurtiz evolved into the modern German word Wurzel, meaning root."

The Hypericum is Greek for 'over an apparition' I think this is indicative of its anti depressing properties -mental health issues were commonly though of to be a form of possession.

I am using my picked flowers to make some oil -I firstly dried them out for a couple of nights to prevent moulding in the oil and then filled a glass jar and covered with organic almond oil.

It is extra exciting because left for a while out in the sun the pale yellow oil will turn a deep red colour.........

This oil is then used in our hypericum lip balms which are great for cold sores -the antiviral properties of the plant shorten attackes
-and in our healing balm mixed with lavender and calendula oils.

Lime Blossom Harvest

On this lovely chilled Piscean Moon, flower day, we decided to go out a harvesting Tilia or Linden/Lime Blossoms. I have been planning this for a few days and did a reckie mission to find some trees with lower hanging branches hehe.

The trees are so beautiful, often planned around stately homes along the avenues as they grow really straight n tall forming lush walk ways or drives. Apparently Lime trees were planted by royal decree along many roads to ensure that the harvest of its flowers was plentiful, as it was used a lot for its many medicinal properties.

In Celtic time right up to the middle ages, the lime tree was considered sacred and it was common for judicial cases to be heard while the court sat under a lime tree as it was said to inspire fairness and justice.

Whilst we were picking we were enveloped in the light, sweet fragrant and instantly felt refreshed even in the muggy heat. Our fingers became covered in a delicious sweet sticky sap and loads of bugs or different flavours fell onto our heads n bodies, I had to still my nerves as I am not too partial to weird bugs but the calming influence of her Ladyship Lime helped.

Linden helps to lower elevated blood pressure. High blood pressure often causes heart problems. When we live with chronic stress for extended periods, the musculature surrounding the arteries can become permanently contracted. This means that the opening through the artery is narrowed and the heart has to pump harder to get the blood through. Linden has gentle, relaxing properties that make it an excellent remedy for long-term stress, especially when it is affecting the cardiovascular system. We mix it with Lemon Balm, Hawthorn n Rose buds in our Heart n Soul Tea -delicious

D's Bees

Exciting News

Dieter finished off his 'Top Bar Hives’ and put them out in the fields last weekend with a little lemongrass essential oil in dropped around the entrance, apparently this mimics a scent given off by the bees own homing signal.

Anyhow we have a swarm -it has made itself at home and is happily making comb -we went down yesterday to move it into the bigger hive.

I am getting excited now as to how I am gonna process the wax n propolis etc...

Tonsillitus

Elektra was up all night running a fever –pyrexia in medical speak, from the Greek pyretos meaning fire

I have never really used thermometers before but Dieter checked her and she was 38.8 she felt so hot. I gave her some yarrow and elderflower,. Specially to help bring down the fever a bit and help her to sleep. I know the fever is a good thing to burn the infection away – it is a sign the bodies own immune system is working well. But as a mum I needed to help make her feel more comfortable and I also needed some sleep!

She complained of a ' hurting tummy' so I also administered strong chamomile tea.

But this morning it became apparent she had very swollen tonsils - Harry my boy had it last week.

The tonsils are lymph nodes in the back of the mouth and top of the throat. They normally help to filter out bacteria and other microorganisms to prevent infection in the body. A particularly virulent bacterial or viral infection causes them to swell and become inflamed, this is called tonsillitis.

So today I have been brewing elderflowers, sage blossoms and leaf, flowering thyme, lemon balm, marjoram and bay teas straight outta da garden with lots of lemons and honey.

She has also been using the Tonsil Tickler throat spray regularly...

There are lots of aromatic (full of antiseptic oils) herbs to help fight off the infection. Powerful lymphatic herbs encourage the immune system by helping to remove the infection from the area so that it can be safely excreted from the body.

It contains: elderberry syrup, tinctures of ginger, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano.

Poor little mite

Sunny Dayz

Well I definitely enjoyed today’s weather loads more than the wet yesterday - we were out at the Celtic Harmony Camp Brickendon - www.celticharmony.org -which is a lovely place for kids and had a great day despite the rain, hearing tales of Finn MacCoul and the Giant's Causeway, all very interesting!! Harry made me a leather and grass bracelet and Elektra ground grains and made some bread on a fire in a round house.

Today has been a harvesting and production day in the garden with my little girl Elektra -she helped me to cut the delicate Ladies Mantle blooms and the fragrant Sage flowers for drying and also to make a Motherwort tincture. It has been blissful.

We then went around smelling the various fragrancies on all our flowers hehehe

The Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) has grown enormous nearly 1.7m high now, it will flower really soon so I have only taken about half of the leafy stems out. It is my favourite relaxant herb during and just before my period really helping me to properly chill out and alleviate the heavy womb feeling.

Dieter has put his newly built Beehives out into the fields anointed with Lemongrass Essential Oil to attract a swarm -the oil is similar to the bees own homing signal scent.

This evening was spent watching Britains got Talent whilst taking my dried Hawthorn blossoms off spiky branches and into jars.....

Witches @ Chelsea

We are going to Chelsea on Thurdsday to check out the garden we helped to design with some kids in Herefordshire---

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Gd7Lcxlnpws

http://www.homeless.org.uk/places-of-change/Chelsea-2010

Solomens Seal

What brilliant weather we are experiencing I have been out in my garden planting and playing with all my plants -one I have been given this year is Solomen's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum)and what a beauty he is.

My daughter Elektra has sat under the flowering leafy shoots introducing one flower head to another and chatting away there for ages. They look not dissimilar to bells or something musical to me.....

So why is it called after the seal of Solomen??? I think that is the Star of David or 6 pointed star.....

'' The origin of the common English name of the plant is variously given. Dr. Prior tells us it comes from 'the flat, round scars on the rootstocks, resembling the impressions of a seal and called Solomon's, because his seal occurs in Oriental tales.'

Another explanation is that these round depressions, or the characters which appear when the root is cut transversely, and which somewhat resemble Hebrew characters, gave rise to the notion that Solomon 'who knew the diversities of plants and the virtues of roots,' has set his seal upon them in testimony of its value to man as a medicinal root.

Gerard maintained that the name Sigillum Solomons was given to the root partly because it bears marks something like the stamp of a seal, but still more because of the virtue the root hath in sealing and healing up green wounds, broken bones and such like, being stamp't and laid thereon.' ''

taken from Mrs. Gieves.

I also found this really interesting site www.solomonsseal.net with loads of info on the lush plant -I cannot wait to start using it ...woohoo exciting found another friend.

The Dream

There is nothing I would like more than to live in a farm house, surrounded by fields of herbs n trees and have the locals come see me for remedies to all their ails. We would swap my medicines for food they've grown, music they make..... No more forms, no more supermarkets, no more capitalist rubbish.

I am feeling really peeved off this week that I am outlawed whatever I do, as a teenager I left home and went on the road -

I moved about in trucks, vans and caravans in Britain, France and Spain mainly. I met many folk who used herbs and didn't go to the Doctors and was inspired to use nature medicine myself. We had a strong sense of community and looked out for one another.The authorities hated travellers and made our lives incredibly hard. The media wrote rubbish about us and many people were frightened and treated us badly.

When I decided to study Herbal Medicine at University, I moved into a flat and got my head down to work hard for the 7 years it took me to get my degree in Complementary health Sciences. So I did it got a profession but now they say I cannot do this profession cause I need a license to sell the herbal creams, lotions and potions……. This license is £40,000 per product. This really pisses me off. The authorities hate witches and are making our lives really bloody difficult.

So back to the farm house –well I got a lush council house n all my friend n family do come round with all their ails……..

Little Lily Mae

I am buzzing, because I helped to deliver little Lily Mae born to Fi (t'other witch) n Benny on Saturday morning.

Fi had made herself a clary sage bath the night before and gone for a long walk to the local Curry House. Angela Travis from the Herb Society told me that she ate an avocado to bring on her son's birth 29 yr previously, she was recommended it by the GP who'd had his 4 kids born at home all of whom came after their mother ate avocadoes!!!

I was rung at 3am by Fi in labour, I was in Hertfordshire and she in Dorset, so I phone Uncle Pete n he whisked me down there. The whole birth was amazing and the herbs really helped Fi to stay focused and kept her energy levels up.

We make a mix we call 'Labour of Love' -out of the garden, tinctures of Motherwort, Skullcap, Raspberry leaf, Vervain, Peppermint & Nettle syrup and she took a few drops between contraction.

A massage oil made with Geranium, Grapefruit, Clary Sage essential oils and Lavender-infused Almond oil; which we call Bliss in a Bottle, I used it on her back, legs and feet.

She also drunk sips of raspberry leaf tea throughout.

After she birthed Lily Mae she drunk Ground Ivy that she had picked in the week to help to expell the placenta -something reccommended by Susan Weed.

How lovely to have Herbal Birth......

Herbal Health Power

The Currant situation with Herbal Medicine in this country and many other in this crazy western world is totally nutz in my opinion -I have just spent a while reading around the legal bla and what strikes me most is the joke stated everywhere that legislation and licensing regulations is all about protecting the public -protecting the public from what????

They say dangerous herbalists and dangerous herbs hehehe is what I say so I am definatley one of these dangerous herbalists who will not cow down to their bullshite oh and so is Fi and in fact a few others.....

We say educate yourselves, empower yourselves -to at least reckognis the plants in your local area -your gardens, parks and wild spaces -post us your pics of plants you don't know or ones you know and want to learn about.

Making simply home remedies and potions in the way to heal your selves and your families - stay away from the pharmacueticals if you can they are disgusting poluting our whole planet with numerous poisons, polluting our children, most kids have had at least 6 course of antibiotics before they are 3 yrs old what is wrong with garlic???? and loads of vaccines, old peoples -my grandad is on 8 different medications yuk

I see so many patients who are totally imbalanced because of the doctor drugs -numerous ailments are treated with drugs whos side effects mimic symtoms of the ailment they are treating???? So get them detoxing herbs that are prolific everywhere ie nettles, dandelions, red clover, cleavers, chickweed, dock and dry em put em in jars n drink them in place of fancy herbal teas bought in supermarkets....don't get me started on them!

Garlic Mustard aka Jack in da hedge (Alliaria petiolata)

I have notice the tiny delicate four petaled white flowers everywhere this last week, I love this delicious spring green vegtable, tasting like chives and garlic I made a pesto last night by putting lots into the blender with Olive oil, and brazil nuts mmm so nice on my toast this morning!!!

I am adding the flowers to my salad for lunch and have just been eating the heart shaped deeply cerated leaves all day, gonna chop a load up for the mushroom rizotto later. It is part of the wild cabbage or mustard / Brassica family and I am always cautious about this whole family - the garlic mustard has been shown to have measurable amounts of cyanide contained within its structure so I won't be carrying on this feasting just a like blast of it will do me! But saying that I believe it to really healthy and beneficial to me........