MyHerbCorner

Posts Tagged ‘thyme’

It was bad timing by experimenting with blended teas.
As you now from my previous post I had some health troubles.  What I thought was a bad cold turned out to be a bacterial sinusitis.
To break the fever I used the traditional cold and flu tea as well as other tea blends and than even the ‘gift’ from my husband (see previous post ;- )
Now after nothing brought relief I went back to my own tradition of ‘one herb at the time.’
I drank 1 liter sage (Salvia officinalis) tea over the morning and 1 liter peppermint (Mentha pipperita) in the afternoon, as well as additional 1 liter (or more) water to give the kidneys relief.
High amounts of Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) tincture was also on my daily program as well as citrus fruits and honey.
I didn’t use commercial antibiotics and I wont use tea blends anymore.
What brought me relief was also a warm compress over my nose and eyes and just today I thought I should have made some herbal compress (did only water… yes, with a sore head you can’t think far). Maybe some warmed herb pillows filled with thyme or sage would have brought relief too.
Now I am still careful and don’t go outside because even the slightest cold wind is painful for my sinus, teeth and head and I am to scared to worsen again. It will take some more time to recover…
Anyway, tea blends are nothing for me and I am more than happy to be back to my simples

…back? Not really…
I can’t believe it myself BUT I did catch a cold I never had before!
When I got the first sign I treated with Echinacea tincture and a lot of traditional herbal cold and flu tea (equal parts yarrow, peppermint and elderflower) Of course I also drank hot lemon juice water with honey. But it got worse and I had fever for the first time since over 20 years!
I shivered by high temperature (what is called a cold cold because you feel cold even your body temperature is over 38 degree C) and warmed my body with ginger and with a lovely soup of pumpkin (Vitamin B complex), potatoes (Vitamin C), curry (anti-inflammatory) and a LOT of garlic (anti-bacterial)… and then I snuggled under heaps of blankets
Annoying is that I have no taste or smell since 3 days (let me say that this is the first time in my life! I know one day but THREE! That sucks!) I am a person who is relying on smell. That’s one of my most important senses and when it is not working… I can not work… which I shouldn’t anyway… but hey it is Spring and there is a lot to do!
Maybe that’s why I got the cold in the first place, overwork, to much stress, to less sleep and too much coffee and then the trouble of shivering in the cold outside when the New Zealand Southerly sent us a hello from lovely Antarctica.
So, now with a blocked nose I was eager to clean my sinus by making steam inhalations (something I haven’t done since PUBERTY!) I am not a fan of the smell of thyme, but since it is an antibacterial and first thing you use against congestion, I gave it a try (couldn’t smell it anyway hahaha)
Now, this didn’t help and I guess my husband couldn’t stand it longer to see me suffering such a bad cold and so he came back from his business trip to Auckland and brought me THIS…

…what a NICE gift! Grrr! In German ‘gift’ means poison so this is really the right word for this present
OK, here I am and try the chemical club for the hope of relief…
At least I can protect my liver by drinking milk thistle (Silybum marianum) tea

This weekend I was harvesting lemon thyme, thyme and oregano. In Spring this is not only perfect for a fresh supply of herbs, but also to encourage the plants to grow bushy and bless you with a lot more to harvest in a few weeks.

To produce more herb plants you can also divide thyme, oregano, lemon balm and beebalms before they are to high and start to produce flowers.

Think some parts of New Zealand have just the right time to divide plants while others maybe already harvest the second time and in the Southern Alps they will have their first greens.
What an amazing country, you could visit all different regions within a day by plane.

So… enough daydreams, I got some work to do.
I accidentally didn’t check if I have enough comfrey root tincture which I use as liniment for my back problems, so I was surprised to only find comfrey leaf tincture… oops… ok, right time or not, I have to go into the garden and get me some roots…

Aren’t this roots beautiful? You can see why they are called ‘Schwarzwurzel’ (black root) in German.

They are an amazing painkiller if you have back problems, sprain or twisted ankle. Just chop the root thinly and infuse with Vodka for 4-6 weeks (I leave them inside and don’t strain).
If you want to harvest the roots when they are most potent, do it in late autumn or early spring and dry them to make tincture when ever you need them.
Today I made a fresh root tincture because it’s urgent.
When you apply the tincture as liniment you have to check if it is too strong (comfrey alkaloid can make you faint, I once learned that when I haven’t had the time to boil water to dilute the tincture. When my husband rubbed it onto my back I went dizzy and yes… fainted. Strong medicine indeed!)

So, now I have time to enjoy the moon surrounded with pink clouds…

… and an amazing good ‘cuppa’

Normally I drink one herb only and don’t blend them but I just want to try out the effects of this nice tasting tea with St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum),  linden flower (Tilia cordat), bay leaf (Laurus nobilis) and juniper berries (Juniperus communis).
I thought it might be very effective against colds and flu since St. John’s wort is an antiviral, linden flower helps against sinus problems (and make the tea sweet ;- ), bay leaf is known as an antibacterial and to help the stomach and juniper berries are anti-toxic.
So let’s see what I can find out… at the moment I only know that this tea really tastes yummy

Spring is such an awesome season. Everything is lush and full of life. Trees are blooming everywhere and invite you to make a halt and just awe over it’s beauty.

Not only trees are blooming, the garden is also full of colours and joy. I love to collect flowering thyme and infuse it in honey (Please click here on a link if you want to do the same)

Thyme makes also a great wash for your face if you have oily skin or what about a wonderful bath against back pain? On my wiki you find more suggestions, click here for the link on thyme.

Another colour in my garden right now are this mustard flowers. You can add them to salads or just leave them to seed. They are growing pretty fast and I am always amazed over the generosity of nature. You can just sow a few seeds and got plentiful in return.

A colour which really brightens up a day (or salad ;- )

No worry!
Since a few months I only use oat bags to clean my face and whole body.
Just today I made some more and thought to add them to my wiki (Please click here for the link)

They are nice, made out of natural stuff and safe for every skin type (unless some one is allergic against oat)
Oat softens the water and you can add herbal helpers like thyme for acne, calendula for inflamed skin and so on.
Just try it!