MyHerbCorner

Mmmm, the room is scented of the pungent smell of drying yarrow (Achillea millefolium) in it’s flowering peak.

We went to ‘Ocean beach’ today where I was planing to get some fresh ocean water for my yarrow flower essence, but the waves were to forceful and the water therefor not clear enough (please click here for a post about the trip)

At least I was lucky enough to harvest a good bunch of beautiful yarrow. Here is a closed bud picture which was to young to pick. But somehow I am curious if it would be nice as false capers… did you ever tried them out?

Originally I wanted to try out a special yarrow flower remedy of the book Herbalsim an Illustrated Guid, by Non Shaw.
This special flower remedy is used for protection which is helpful for therapists who tend to pick up influences from their clients as well as for people undergoing a radiotherapy.

I hope to be able to get fresh sea water the next time…

What we found on our way home was a big patch of cattails (Typha)

I am so happy! They are so gorgeous and edible from flower to root just every thing! Now I have a small plant in a wet pot at home and hope of a generous patch next year

In Austria we had a small pond with cattails and this small plant will be the source of a new pond I envision…

I also had other great herbal joys today. I was checking on my tinctures and oils and look how gorgeous this colours are!
The flower oil infusion of mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is bright yellow while it’s root infusion in alcohol is dark black. And the thistle (Silybum marinum) in alcohol is brown while the yarrow oil is just lovely dark green.

And look what I found in my pine vinegar!

It is a beautiful vinegar mother!
My mum always made her vinegar herself with the cider of my dad. She took a big jar (5 liters) and filled it with cider. Then she washed a vinegar mother and laid it into the cider. After a few months the vinegar mother changed the cider into a lovely apple vinegar.
Now I have a vinegar mother again and as soon as we have apple season I can make my own vinegar! Hooray!
By the way, you don’t need cider to make vinegar if you have a vinegar mother. You can just give her into a few liters of apple juice and mother nature… aeh… mother vinegar… will do the rest

Since school has started again in New Zealand I was thinking to make some healthy food for the lunch box.
Inspired of Rosemary Gladstars Energy balls which contain spirulina, astragalus and other stuff I don’t use, I made this nice balls rich in iron, calcium and other minerals.

Even picky Aileen was crazy about them and I really had to hide them before all were gone.

If you like to try them out, then please click here for the recipe.

Instead of pine pollen you could use fennel pollen which are now ready to collect in my area.

To collect pollen just bend the flowers over a jar or into a bag and shake them. You will have a nice yellow powder in your jar. This divine powder is the most precious energy deliverer you can imagine!
Have fun!

Last full moon day I was straining my ‘mullein oil‘ which I had infused for 3 weeks.
We had so much sun it was already nice and intense due the sun infusion.
The blossoms turned dark brown and the oil has a beautiful clear yellow colour.

I will use it if some one will need a chest rub for cough and together with garlic infused I will use it as ear drops for ear ache. Therefore you just grate one fresh garlic into a small jar, cover it with mullein oil, lid it and let infuse for at least a hour at a warm place. Then strain and carry a small bottle of it in your trouser pocket so it has body temperature. Drop into both ears and keep them warm. Important is that the oil has body temperature.

Mullein oil is also nice on sore muscles when you need some warm and ’sunny’ remedy.

While my oil was doing fine I had troubles with the mullein stalks I was drying for a long time now.
Normally I was always picking the leaves from the first year mullein’s and dried them but this year I was harvesting the whole plant like Susun Weed.

While my normal harvest of leaves keeps it’s beautiful colour by drying, this mullein on the stalks start to get brown spots or veins…

… and some even change colour to yellow. For me they don’t look that vibrant and full of medicine.
I picked all good leaves from the stalks and will dry them for a few days (even when I have the feeling they are poor in energy, but as simple beverage or ‘body acid balancing tea’ they are fine enough)

I learned my lesson and go back to my roots where I harvested the leaves or flowers only and dry them properly.

The stick for drying will be the one for yarrow, peppermint and others who are doing well

While we in New Zealand enjoy a bountiful harvest with herbs and fruits and all…

… our UK community is trying to get rid of their winter blue.
The subject of the Blog Party on the 20th February is “Emerging From Winter With Herbs”
Find all details here.
Join in and have fun!

When I walk through my garden I enjoy every new herb which I planted or found his way by it self into my little herb corner.
I was lucky to find some elecampane (Inula helenium) in a friends garden. She shared her treasure and now it is thriving very well after a few problems with the full sunny place. The roots are quite big and I got only pieces of it, so wasn’t sure at all if it will grow. It is easy to cultivate this plant by seeds and I hope to get some from my friend whose elecampane is already blooming.

In another small corner burdock (Arctium lappa) is peeking out. This are the first ones I cultivate. In Austria you can still find them wild in some places. We used this plants roots to let hair grow quickly and strong. For that you dig the roots in spring or autumn and make a decoction. Massage it 3-5 times a week onto your scalp. To make the effect even faster and stronger infuse small cut root pieces in olive oil for 4 weeks. Strain and massage it once a week onto your hair. Keep your head warm with a towel and read a nice book for a hour or so. Then wash the oil out and watch your hair grow

So, I guess I should continue my walk…
Do you know what’s growing here?

This are young goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea) plants.
Where they use Solidago canadensis in America, we in Europe used only virgaurea (of course… candadensis is as the word says an immigrant from Canada ;- )

In my wet corner you can find Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica)

When I asked for this plant years ago in an Austrian Apothecary (we are lucky to have alternative medicines and herbs beside chemical drugs in our Apothecaries ;- ) they never ever had heard about it.
At that time I was reading Mary Summer Rains book Earthway and found Gotu Kola.
This book was my first I learned about American medicine and I treasured it for years. You never saw me without it, because there are sooooo many different live aspects in this book. From diet to wild greens as food and medicine and the most interesting… ‘Gateway healing’ (something I will discus in a later post)

Oh look! I see a self-heal (Prunella vulgaris) peeking out under the wandering Jew (Tradescantia fluminensis)

Since I haven’t found much plantain in my area I will make an old fashioned self-heal salve

And here I in a safe corner I grow my lovely stinging nettle (Urtica dioica)

I am sooo happy to finally have her growing in my garden. She is in a place where she can’t spread and I will also keep her from seeding. As you know I live in New Zealand and this country already has it’s problems with invasive European plants and animals.
If you cultivate invasive plants please be responsible and caution enough to keep it in your garden and don’t let it spread!

This not only means if you cultivate herbs, but also flowers like foxglove (Digitalis). As you see in my next picture one plant can produce 100eds of seeds and new plants. Never let foxglove or other garden plants override native places by the seeds which are carried by the wind into every direction. Collect the stalks as soon as they produce seeds and put into the rubbish (unless you want them overgrow your compost ;- ) or if you want to collect seeds be extra careful to pick them at the right time and then throw the rest away.

If you plant comfrey (Symphytum) you have to choose wise, because if you want to dig it out and plant into another spot you will produce new plants with every tiny bit of root you left in the ground.

I am glad to have periwinkle (Vinca minor) at my front door! This is such a lovely herb for tea. Kraeuter-Pfarrer Weidinger an Austrian herbalist said you can pick periwinkle the whole year round and should always take some leaves home with you if you see it. It enhances the blood circulation especially of the heart and brain.

Since I also love to eat edible wild greens which are loaded with minerals and vitamins, I am so happy to find the first wild carrot (Daucus carota) beside the periwinkle. The least people know that you can make a nourishing tea with the leaves of carrots or even use it in meals to prevent bloating.

Here another herb people not really like. It is cleavers (Galium aparine)

Maybe they don’t like it because it is clinching on every bit of your trousers or even skin. Cleavers is just a fine herb for urinary problems or people who tend to have stones or gravel. I think it is a great women herb which is helpful for hormonal imbalances.
If you find this herb you can make a tincture of the areal part (also flowering part is nice) and make a vinegar or alcohol infusion. This herb drys out quickly so best is you transform it quickly into your herbal delight.

Of course you can also make a tasty tea or infusion.