MyHerbCorner

Posts Tagged ‘books’

On Trademe I found this lovely little book called Herbal Medicine, by Dian Dincin Buchmann.

It’s full of recipes and great info.
Many of the recipes are hand down by Dian’s grandmother who learned some herbal treasures from Gypsies in Romania.
Others are the reflection of old books like Culpeper and Gerard, but also from modern scientific friends of her.

One recipe I would like to share with my dear friends in New Zealand and other Southern Hemisphere people who feel the cold of winter is an ‘Anti-flu preparation’

Anti-flu recipe

2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup boiling water
1 cup apple cider vinigar

Grind together cayenne and salt and add boiling water. Steep until cool. Then add the vinegar and store in a bottle.

Adults can take 1-2 tsp every half hour. You can dilute it with water in an egg cup if it is to strong for you.

For prevention just take a teaspoon once a week (or every day if you like)
This is like a home made flu shoot and worth to try.
I used it to taste and was surprised to find yellow mucus the next day when I blow my nose! I had some mucus up there for a long time and never got rid of it… until now
Even my husband (you know… normally using the pharmacy stuff…) tried it! Gosh! You should have seen his face! He forgot that I had mentioned there is vinegar in it… lol
Think he will tell me today that he is fine only to escape my ‘new medicine’

But he can’t escape everywhere because since I learned more about cayenne pepper I keep up to give it into every meal we have
Cayenne is sharp to the taste, but mild to the digestive tract.
It is actually an aid for the digestion and a nutritional source of vitamin C.

An energy drink is described by adding a quarter teaspoon of cayenne to fresh pressed or unsweetened grapefruit juice. This drink can be taken on a trip into the mountains or for long distance driving. Maybe you guys up there in the Northern Hemisphere like to try this
Dian says this drink is also helpful for during exam periods or times when alertness must be maintained over a prolonged period.
I sure gonna try this!

For the May blog party our host Debs of Herbaholic’s Herbarium suggested to step out into the wild and find a herb we are not familiar with.
That was hard for me since I chew and use wild greens for over 35 years and the ones I don’t know which are growing here in my new home in New Zealand wouldn’t be any help for my herbal friends in the UK, right?

But then I got my box of herbs and found a treasure I have not really used before, even it’s growing wild in Europe where I’m coming from…

…it’s Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria)

I have heard this name so many times I was curious to experiment with it and bought a plant from Linda’s herbs.
Agrimony is a leafy perennial which dies back to a rosette in winter.
Here a pic of my new friend.

This plant is growing in Europe, America, parts of Asia as well as here in New Zealand.
It can be 30 to 100 cm tall and grows along edges of forests, hedges and meadows.

In Australia and New Zealand Agrimony shows of it’s spikes of small yellow flowers from December to April while it blooms from June to August in the Northern Hemisphere.
My books say that it is easily grown from seeds and that it will freely self seed when planted in the garden. It prefers an open sunny place and well drained soil.
Older plants can be divided in late winter or early spring and of course this herb is frost and drought resistant.

The stems of Agrimony are described as downy to rough and reddish.
The leaves are numerous divided into pairs that are oblong, toothed, deep green and also downy with a slight apple scent. Actually the leaves are green above and silvery green beneath.

The yellow aromatic five petaled flowers are packed closely together in elongated spikes (therefor the common names Church Steeples and Stickwort)
5 petaled flower points out that Agrimony belongs to the Rosacea family.
The seeds are followed quick after flowering and are bristly hooked.

There are other Agrimonias like Agrimonia gryposebala which can be used like Agrimonia eupatoria.

Agrimonys Latin name Eupatoria has an association to Mithridates Eupator (d. 63 BC) who was a celebrated herbalist and King of Pontus in northern Turkey (ancient Persia)
It is said he had profound knowledge of plant lore and devoted much of his time to the study of poisons and their antidotes.

Agrimonia comes from the Greek ‘argemone’ which points to the treatment of eye disease. It was used in ancient times as an eye wash by inflamed eyes.

In German Agrimony is called ‘Gewoehnlicher Odermenning‘ which is said to have it’s German name from the word ‘ottermaechtig.’ This points to the use against snake bites because otter means adder in English.

Agrimony was the herb of the goddess Pallas Athene and is mentioned in many herb books of medieval times. Galenos, Plinius and Dioskorides mentioned it in the use for fever, stomach- , liver-, gall and digestive problems as well as chronic pains and dropsy. Folk medicine got its wisdom out of this books.

In the fifteenth-century Agrimony was an important ingredient in France for a healing water known as ‘arquebusade’ which was used to treat wounds of those hit with an arquebus or old fashioned hand guns.
In England in the sixteenth- century wounds were commonly treated with a mixture of Agrimony (or egrimoyne), mugwort and vinegar.
Agrimony was also a traditional remedy for fever by a few North American Indians.

Anglo Saxons considered Agrimony as an excellent wound healer and used it also for snake bites.
For internal bleeding a crazy mixture consisting of fresh plant pounded with human blood and flesh of frogs was recommended (I sure don’t try out this recipe!)

Traditionally it was used by herbalist as a sleep inducing remedy. Funny, but the plant itself possess no known narcotic properties. It was believed that when the Agrimony is placed under a person’s head, it will induce a deep sleep in the person and the sleep will last as long as the herb is kept near the person (gonna try this but I am very skeptic… )

Culpepper described Agrimony as moderately hot and moist according to the nature of Jupiter.
It is under Jupiter and the sign cancer and strengthens those under the parts of this signs.
Agrimony is good for gout externally as oil or ointment and internally in an electuary (herb infused in honey), syrup or juice extract.
As salve made with pork fat it draws splinters, thorns or other things which went into the flesh.
This salve is also helpful for sore colds and cancer.
The juice dropped into the ears for ‘foul and imposthumed’ conditions, for all conditions of cold or heat.
Internally coughs, relaxed bowls, jaundice and other liver aliments, gout, skin eruptions, pimples and even blotches.

Modern herbalists consider Agrimony beneficial for toning the digestive tract and for easing indigestion and colitis. It is also recommended for gallstones ( since the sixteenth century a traditional remedy of the surgeon and herbalist Gerard who prescribed Agrimony for ‘naughty livers’)

Agrimony’s blood staunching and anti-inflammatory properties have been established by experiments in China.
In Chinese the herbal medicine of Agrimony is recommended for excessive menstrual flow, while in European folk medicine a lotion or ointment may be used externally to speed up the healing of wounds (looking forward to try this out :- )

The astringency of the herb is useful to tone the skin in beauty products (can’t wait to try this out!)
The astringency makes it also a herb for treating inflamed gum, sore throat (gargle) and to staunch bleeding and encourage clot building.

Drinking and gargle with Agrimony water was once popular under public speakers and singers

My old German book also reveals that Agrimony cleanses the intestine (bowl) is healing for hardened liver and it says there is no better treatment for flushing out kidney gravel.
Further it mentions Agrimony for colds, coughs and hoarseness with mucus (the so called ‘Spring-illness’)
A poultice can be applied by wounds with puss formation and ulcers.

Susun Weed is suggesting in her book ‘Herbal for the Childbearing year’ to drink half a cup of Agrimony tea several times a day before breast feeding to deal with jaundice in babies.
She also writes that Agrimony infusion will correct liver, gall bladder, spleen and kidney problems.

Dr. Edward Bach brought this herb to attention with his flower essence as remedy for tension on all levels.
Here is a nice pic of my Agrimony with dew. I will collect some drops with a pipette and produce a mother tincture.

I will also try out the difference between dew and water of leaves which have been floated on the water (a method used to make a large amount of mother tincture)

Funny, but lately I met people which say to have to much stomach acid. On the website Herbs 2000 I found this wonderful sounding recipe of ‘Anti-acid wine’

You need:
1 cup (40 g) fresh agrimony leaves
3 cups (750 ml) red wine
1/4 cup (10 g) oak bark
1/2 cup (20 g) alfalfa leaves

Macerate the crushed plants in the wine for 1 month.
Strain and drink 2 spoons (25 ml) 3 times daily to eliminate stomach hyper-acidity.

A bath is said to be helpful for wounds which don’t want to heal as well as for an itching rash.
The bath is refreshing for the whole body and for tired feet a foot bath will bring relief.

Since it is astringent and mildly bitter Agrimony helps by diarrhea and is a gentle tonic for the digestion as whole.
Good is it is gentle and suitable for children (can be used in diarrhea in children) and it is a safe herb with no side effects
It can also be used during pregnancy.

Agrimony contains vitamin K and niacin as well as iron and large amounts of silicon.
It also contains luteolin which acts as a cholagogue (a cholagogue is a medicinal agent which promotes the discharge of bile from the system, purging it downward)

It’s active constitution are:

• flavonoids including luteolin, apigenin and quercitin
• tannins up to 8%
• bitter principles
• volatile oil
• cumarins of undetermined nature and about 20% polysaccharides

Actions are as already discussed:

• astringent-tannins
• bitter
• diuretic
• anti-inflammatory
• tonic

Medical uses in our modern time are:

• diarrhea (adults and children)
• chronic appendicitis
• chronic cholecystopathies with gastric sub-acidity
• mucous colitis
• chronic gastritis
• urinary incontinence
• cystitis
• sore throat (gargle)
• chronic nasopharyngeal catarrh (inhalation)

In vitro an aqueos extract was found inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in clinical studies it has shown some positive benefit in the local treatment of cutaneous porphyria.

A dosage of tea (2 flat teaspoons dried herb with 250 ml boiling water infused for 5 minutes), tincture or fluid extract are commonly taken two to three times daily.

The actions of the tea are gentle and is ideally suited to the treat diarrhea, particularly in infants and small children. It can also be used by breastfeeding mothers as an herbal dose to treat diarrhea in their babies.

The tincture is much more potent and has a greater drying effect compared to the herbal infusion, the effectiveness of this tincture also greatly increases if the condition is one which involves the production of excessive phlegm or excess mucus.
A herbal tincture can be used in the treatment of disorders such as cystitis, it can be used in the treatment of all manners of urinary infections, it finds use in the treatment of bronchitis and in the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding in women. It is also helpful in painful, cramping menstruation.

An Agrimony poultice can be applied directly onto the head as a topical relief from migraines – this herbal poultice is usually made from the leaves. Since Agrimony takes tension use some drops of flower extract or Bach flower remedy internally.

A wash can be used to cleanse and disinfect wounds, all types of sores, to treat eczema and in the treatment of varicose ulcers.

A weakened form of a herbal infusion, usually a mix of 10 g herb to 500 ml water can be used as an eyewash to clear conjunctivitis and related eye infections.

The herbal infusions made from the Agrimony can as already mentioned be used to treat sore throats and nasally accumulated mucus.

Combined with other herbs like cornsilk it is a valuable remedy for cystitis and urinary incontinence and has also been used for kidney stones, sore throats, rheumatism and arthritis.

For gallbladder colic blend 1 part wormwood with 2 parts Agrimony and use 1 teaspoon of this with 1 cup of boiling water infused for only 2 minutes (this is very bitter but calms down the gall bladder)
Never sweet the tea!

Agrimony is harvested in hot summer when the first flowers just open (May-June in the UK and November-December in NZ)
Cut the herb a hand width over the ground and dry in the shade (never rip the herb out with it’s roots since it is perennial)
You can also collect only the leaves before they get hard.
When dry store the herb in a closed jar to keep it’s wonderful aroma.

If you have any experience or success with Agrimony I would love to hear from you. Please make a comment or mail me

References:
1 ) Beeren, Wildgemuese, Heilkraeuter, by Grau-Jung-Muenker, Mosaik Verlag GmbH
2 ) Taschenbuch der Heilpflanzen, by A. Dinand, Verlag von J.F. Schreiber, Esslingen und Muenchen, 1910
3 ) Materia Medica of Western Herbs for the Southern Hemisphere, by Fisher and Painter,1996, ISBN 0-473-03982-6
4 ) An Illustrated Guide to Herbs their Medicine and Magic, by Anna Kruger, 1992, ISBN 1-85585-351-5
5 ) Das grosse Buch der Heilpflanzen, by M. Pahlow, Bechtermuenz Verlag, ISBN 3-8289-1839-5
6 ) Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physican, by Nicholas Culpepper, Published by J. Gleave and son, Deansgate, Manchester 1926
7 ) The book of Herbal Wisdom, by Matthew Wood, Published by North Atlantic Books, California 1997, ISBN 978-1-55643-232-3
8 ) Grossmutters Hausapotheke, by Roland W. Fink-Hensler, Gondrom Verlag, 1986, ISBN 3-8112-0468-8
9 ) Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, by Andrew Chevallier, Second Edition Published by DK Publishing Inc., New York 2000, ISBN 0-7894-6783-6

My Austrian friend sent me this lovely picture of her dog ‘Fleur’ running through a field of dandelions (oops, this isn’t Fleur but her similar looking sister Felice ;- )
In the back I recognized some blooming fruit trees and thought about the beauty of spring and use of tree blossoms.

So now I write this post of a tree which most people only see as fruit tree and don’t expect to think as a medical tree (even with the saying ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’)

Apples are not the only health product of this beautiful round shaped tree.
Did you know that you can use bark as well as blossoms and leaves for medicinal products?
Before I write about that I want to show you some apple (fruit) treatments which may come handy…

Apples with the most content of pectin like ontario or boskop are not only high in vitamins and minerals, but also high in fiber and a useful fruit to prevent heart attack.

What I think is interesting is the fact that an apple backed in the oven doesn’t loose it’s wonderful effect to stimulate the circulation system so this is a great choice for children or older people who have gum problems and can’t eat hard fresh apples or have problem with diarrhea if eating grated raw apples.

Like oat and carrot, apple is a remedy people should eat every day. I heard it is even more stimulating in the morning to eat an apple then drink a cup of coffee since the coffee gives you a fast kick and then makes you tired again, while the apple gives you energy over more hours.

Hermann-Josef Weidinger says in his book ‘Mit dem Kraeuterpfarrer durchs ganze Jahr‘ that a fresh apple fine grated and mixed with a Tablespoon of wheat bran is a simple remedy to lower cholesterol level in the blood when eaten before bedtime (I wonder if it may help because it wakes up the digestive tract instead of calming it down during the night?)
Sure that’s not the only thing to do if you have cholesterol problems, but it is ‘one simple’ thing to add to the healthy diet, exercise and fresh air

In the book ‘The answer to cancer’ by Hari Sharma, Rama K. Mishra and james G. Meade is prescribed to prevent cancer by simply eating a stewed apple first thing in the morning. For that a delicious red or yellow apple gets peeled and pierced with 4 cloves. Boil it in a bit of water for 5 minutes or until it is nice and soft. The stewed soft apple is better digested as a raw apple.
Take the cloves out before you eat the warm apple with a cup of warm water.

I like to dry apples for a snack when making a trip.
For that I remove the core of the apple with a special tool…

…and peel the apples. The peel I will dry separately for muesli or tea (look following recipes)
I cut the apples into 5 mm thick circles (if you don’t have this tool just cut the apple in half, remove core and make slices)
Some like to dip them into water with added lemon juice to keep them white.
I just lay them into the trays of our dehydrator (you can also dry them on a string if you like or just on a baking tray in the oven on the lowest temperature)
Chewing on a dried piece stimulates the glandular activity and strengthens the chewing apparatus which includes the blood flow in the ear (something which can be useful when making a hick into the mountains)

A relaxing and nerve soothing tea before bed time is made of dried apple blossoms blended with dried apple peel. You can enhance it’s effect by adding 10 drops valerian tincture and a bit honey (flower honey not honey dew!)

A decotion of apple peel drunken before a meal acts diuretic as well as mild laxative.

My friend Heidi also sent me this lovely spring picture of blooming pear (left) and apple (right) tree.

To collect apple blossoms for tea you don’t need to pick the whole blossom (unless you want to pick some blossoms so the tree produces bigger apples)
Our fore-mothers took their white linen out and spread them under the fruit trees when the petals started to fall down. Then before the evening dew covered the land they went out to get their blossom harvest.

You can sprinkle this petals over your fruit salad or dry for tea.

Of course you also can make a flower-essence. It is lovely for healing wounded hearts (friendship disasters or motherly neglecting…) This blossoms bring a smile to the saddened and lift them up like a loving mother her child.

Fresh or dried apple blossoms make a tea for inflamed respiratory as well as cough. I once heard that flowers are aerial parts and for that used for air problems like cough or inflamed lungs. Somehow it makes sense… even if I have better results with leaves like plantain (which is still an aerial part ;- ) or roots (marshmallow) for a deeper sitting cough…

When spring arrives and the apple tree is producing a lot of new leaves don’t hesitate to collect them and put into soups, salad or stir fries. They are slightly bitter but as you know your liver will thank you

Bark of the apple tree cut from finger thick twigs before they make leaves in spring can be dried and stored in big jars.
They make a wonderful relaxing and skin cleaning bath.
Give 100g of the bark into 1 liter of cold water and bring to boil. Simmer for 5 minutes and give to your tub of warm water. Aaaaaa… like apple or… Aphrodite… you will feel like a goddess!

Of course the beauty section also recommends old secrets around the apple.
In the book ‘100 Pflanzen 1000 Moeglichkeiten’ by Yves Rocher is a (yummy :- ) face mask with apples stewed in milk and applied warm on the face. I guess some french women are still doing this and the idea with the milk alone came into my mind again (see the post with the raw milk anti-wrinkle secret ;- )

In Mr. Rocher’s book is also a syrup made of apples to use as cold remedy.
Cut 1 kg apples into quarters and cook with 1 liter of water. Then strain through a sieve and give ten sugar cubes (or ten tsp sugar) to the liquid. Cook on low heat until you receive a syrup.
Store in bottles in the fridge or cool place.
Take 3-4 spoons a day when you suffer a cough, cold, hoarseness or to reduce fever.

So, last but not least I want to point out that there is no finer menstrum then apple vinegar to make mineral rich herbal extracts. See previous post. Vinegar itself is an antiseptic and detoxifier. It was used for thousands of years to disinfect and treat wounds. I love to make a plantain vinegar to treat insect bites or stings. Click here for a link on herbal vinegar making if you are not sure how to make one.

Enjoy and stay healthy!

After last days windy weather I went into the near forest today.
While inhaling the wonderful morning air I collected some fallen treasures.
A few eucalyptus twigs which I bound together with lavender and hung up at our door for a wonderful scented welcome

And I also collected the fallen twigs of different pines. I love to go to the forest after a storm. You can use fresh twigs without cutting them from the tree and you also use this treasures which would just lay there and rotten otherwise.

For my morning tea I collected some dark leaves of blackberry (Rubus fructosus) and then some greens for the rabbits.

At home I made an infusion of pine needles which are just great in the current season change. They are high in vitamin C and help your body fight against bacteria. Pine is a fine antiseptic as you may know.

I also made a nettle (Urtica dioica) infusion as herbal mineral kick.

Nettle gathered in autumn contains a higher amount of calcium and magnesium then nettle collected in spring which contains a higher amount of potassium and phosphorus.
I think if you want to work with herbs you have to trust your own intuition.
Normally we can use this wonderful gift which leads us to the right herb at the right moment.
Don’t hesitate if you have a feeling that you should pick a herb when you walk by (no matter which season!)

For example last Sunday we went to a river and I saw some plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
I had the feeling I should harvest some (which I did)
And a day later my son started to cough! As you may know my first choice of a child’s cough is… yep… planatin
So while he was in kindergarten I made a cough syrup with the collected treasure.

This happens all the time and I am sure if you think back for a moment it also happened to you (maybe in other cases then with herbs)
People don’t like to hear it but lets face it, this sensing of things is nothing else then simple instinct.
Animals are more connected to their instincts then many people who just think to much. People forgot to trust their inner sensing of things and always think they need someone else to tell them if this is right or wrong… gosh… now I am far away from what I wanted to write… sorry guys!

OK, back to herbal minerals
If you introduce fresh herbs (and of course a lot of weeds like chickweed, dandelion…) into you daily meal, you will have a lot of vitamins and minerals which help you stay healthy.
If you have the feeling you need a mineral kick then try herbal minerals in form of herb vinegars or infusion.

Vinegars break down the hard mineral cells and transfer them into your wonderful extract. Take 1 Tbsp herbal vinegar diluted in water before a meal (this will also help the body to absorb all the minerals from your meal)

You may remember when I made mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) vinegar which is not only a bitter but also high in calcium.

Due the high amount of herbs and long infusing time also a herbal extract (infusion) is a great choice to get the minerals into your body. This can be drunken sip by sip over the day to enhance the effect or just drink half a cup 3-4 times a day.
Even a bone strengthening acorn coffee is a calcium kick (and not a robber like real coffee ;- )

Minerals have different jobs in our body so I try to describe some and add herbs which you can use for it. The herbs are starting with the herb which contain most of the mineral.

Calcium is not only important for teeth and bones but also for muscle function.
Herbal resources are dandelion leaf, nettle, mugwort, shepherds purse, red clover flower, parsley, oats, linseed, rasp berry leaf, cress and thyme.

Chloride regulates fluid and circulation of ions in the bloodstream. It also helps to form stomach acid.
Herbal resources are lemon balm, calendula, horseradish, nasturtium and cress.

Copper is important to build bone and connective tissues as well as for the absorbtion of iron.
Herbal resources are angelica, chickweed, cress, parsley, rosehips, garlic, nettle and red clover flowers.

Iodine is vital for the hormone secretion by the thyroid.
Herbal resources are garlic, onions, cress and parsley

Iron is very important since it carries oxygen to the blood cells.
Herbal resources dandelion, celery, chickweed, oats, parsley, sorrel, chicory, watercress, fennel, rosehip, garlic, horseradish. nettle, red clover, raspberry, linseed (cold infusion), yellow dock (root), burdock (root), thyme, catnip.

Magnesium helps not only bone growth but also nerve and muscle function.
Herbal resources alfalfa, celery, chamomile (tea), mugwort, dandelion, nettle, fennel, shepherds purse, cress, parsley, carrot top, oatstraw, peppermint, chickweed, thyme.

Manganese is used for bone growth and cell function. Manganese works also as antioxidant.
Herbal resources dandelion, parsley, peppermint, alfalfa, cress, raspberry (fruit), chickweed.

Phosphorus is used for energy metabolism, nutrient absorption as well as for healthy bones and teeth.
Herbal resources alfalfa, celery, chickweed, horseradish, rosemary, nettle, parsley, caraway (tea or spice), calendula, sage, cress, dandelion, chicory, raspberry leaf, peppermint, fennel seed.

Potassium regulates heartbeat, fluid and circulation of ions in the bloodstream. It also helps muscle contraction and transfers nutrients to cells. Potassium also aids nerve function… what an important mineral!
Herbal resources alfalfa, calendula, garlic, mugwort, chamomile, celery, catnip, golden rod, oats, parsley, dandelion, nettle, sage, peppermint, borage, chickweed, cress, yarrow, chicory, red clover, lemon grass (tea or spice)

Sodium helps regulate fluid balance and aids nerve as well as muscle function.
Herbal resources lemon balm, fennel, dandelion, chicory, nettle, shepherds purse, parsley.

Sulphur helps produce protein.
Herbal resources calendula, celery, fennel, horseradish, garlic, dandelion, nettle, sage, shepherds purse, plantain, parsley, cress.

Zinc is vital for normal growth. It is used for immune function and enzyme action. It also works as an antioxidant.
Herbal resources garlic, watercress, sage, nettle, chickweed.

There are of course more minerals and more herbs, but I think this is enough for the moment
If you like to know the herb source of another specific mineral just write me.

When you read through the above herbs you might see some coming up in many mineral sections (eg. cress and parsley) If you make a vinegar with these herbs you can add them to your salad or just drink a spoon with water.
If you have a balanced diet with leafy greens like cabbage, whole grain and fish you will get your minerals anyway out of your food.

Book resource for the mineral description:
Encyclopedia of Complementary Medicine, by Anne Woodham and Dr. David Peters

Resource for the minerals in herbs:
Course book by the Waikato center for herbal medicine as well as other studies.
Also a great book of the resources of minerals and vitamins in food and wild greens is Mary Summer Rains Earthway.

Lucinda wrote a lovely post about chamomile (please click here)
While I was sipping a fresh chamomile flower tea I was thinking…

… it’s funny but years ago I couldn’t stand the smell of chamomile because it was always linked to my childhood when my mum stuck me into the bed when I was sick.
Her home remedies for upset stomach or fever in children was chamomile tea with biscuit (sponge fingers) or zwieback.

Alone the smell of this herb sent me back with memories of feeling sick.
No wonder chamomile triggered this trauma of laying in bed and not to be able to go outside (which was the worst part for me… and still is)

But as I already mentioned, since I am here in New Zealand I discovered a new approach to chamomile.
It’s a lovely soothing herb which helped me to cop with a lot of stressful situations and now I really love it!

Even chamomile flowers in my aroma lamp give me a smile!

As you may know I don’t use essential oils which are to strong (actually aggressive) for my fine nose.
So I am always pleased to give aromatic herbs into the lamp.
You can also use chamomile leaves instead which is a nice change.

In my newly purchased book it seems Mrs Griggs mentioned chamomile nearly on every page!

Not only the adults chapter, but also nearly every treatment of a sick child contains soothing, antispasmodic, nerve strengthening and antiseptic chamomile.
As soothing bath before bedtime or when the child has eczema or nappy rash.
As tea for colds, diarrhoea, whooping cough, headache or even hyperactivity.

Isn’t this herb marvelous?!
Click here for some more chamomile treasures.