Harvesting flowers at the Herb Sanctuary

Last Saturday I spent the day at Springfield Herb Sanctuary in the Cotswolds at one of my herbwife mentor Sarah's monthly workshops.  She showed us round the herb beds which are now full of plants in flower.  We picked Calendula flowers to make a double-infused oil to take home with us.  We were each invited to see which flower we felt drawn to and to make a flower essence with it.  In the afternoon we harvested lots of the flowering herbs for drying and making remedies with.  For details of the workshops at the Herb Sanctuary see http://kitchenherbwife.blogspot.co.uk/p/springfield-sanctuary-workshop-dates.html 

 Chamomile, Calendula & Lavender in flower

Calendula

 Meadowsweet in flower

 Motherwort & St John's Wort

St John's Wort

Wormwood & Catmint

Wood Betony flowers

Shakespeare's Rose

 Harvest of flowers

I was drawn to the beautiful Apothecary's Rose which was in full bloom next to the summer house and picked a few petals to make a flower essence with spring water from the natural spring at the Sanctuary.  The jar of water & petals was left next to the Rose bush in the sun to infuse for a few hours, then the petals were removed and the water decanted to half fill a clean jar, then the other half was filled with brandy to preserve the essence.  This is the mother essence, to be used diluted 9:1 in small doses for subtle energetic effects to uplift and renew interest in life when feeling stressed and bogged down.  Rose petals are calming & uplifting, they help with anger & frustration & give courage to defend your boundaries.

 

 Apothecary's Rose 

Making Rose flower essence

 Rose flower essence

We picked all the Calendula flowers and used these to make double-infused oil.  This was made by dividing the flowers into two lots and putting the first lot in a bowl with sunflower oil which was then put in a slow cooker filled with water up to the level of the oil to infuse for 2 hours.  The oil was strained and the first lot of flowers was discarded then the second lot of flowers was put in the bowl with the oil and infused for another 2 hours.  The oil was strained then carefully poured into jars, taking care to leave the cloudy aqueous layer at the bottom of the jug as this could make the oil go bad. 

Used externally Calendula speeds the healing of wounds, it is also useful for minor burns, eczema and psoriasis.  It stops bleeding so can be applied as a styptic.  Deep wounds should be left to heal before using Calendula as the outer skin healing before the deeper layers could seal in infection.  It is good for bruises & sprains as it enhances local blood circulation.

I also picked the Calendula flowers from my small patch in the allotment and used these to make a tincture with vodka, which will be left to macerate for a few weeks then strained, dosage 5-30 drops 1-4 times a day.  Taken internally it treats a variety of problems with mucous membranes such as intestinal or bladder problems.  It also helps broken bones heal faster.  It helps regulate menstruation and prevent menstrual cramps.  

 Picked Calendula flowers 

Making double-infused Calendula oil

 Calendula oil

Calendula flower tincture

The St John's Wort flowers were painstakingly all picked from the large patch at the Herb Sanctuary.  These were divided between us to put in jars and fill with oil, to be left on the windowsill in the sun for a few weeks.  I have covered mine with muslin to protect it whilst letting water vapour evaporate.  I also picked the few St John's Wort flowers on the small patch in my allotment to make a small jar of tincture with vodka, to be left in a dark cupboard for a month then strained and bottled.  This can then be taken in doses of 1-4ml three times a day.

St John's Wort is the herb of Midsummer, it begins flowering on or around the Summer Solstice.  The flowers should be picked on a sunny day around midday, this is when the active constituents are at their strongest.  It traditionally has powers of protection against evil and unseen forces.  

St John's Wort oil is excellent for the skin, particularly burns and hot infected eczema.  It is a natural mild sunscreen & is helpful for sunburn.  It has anti-bacterial & anti-viral properties.  It also relieves pain, particularly nerve pain such as that caused by shingles and can be combined with other pain-relieving oils such as Meadowsweet & Agrimony to make a healing & pain-relieving salve.  It can be taken internally as a tincture at the same time.  St John's Wort helps with digestive problems such as difficulties absorbing nutrients, ulcers, heartburn & bloating.  It has a decongesting & strengthening effect on the liver & gallbladder.  St John's Wort has become well known in recent decades as a natural treatment for depression, particularly Seasonal Affective Disorder.  It is officially recognised as a treatment for mild to moderate depression in Germany.  Taken as a tincture or flower essence it will help improve sleep quality.  
 
Caution - if taking anti-depressant medication or any other medication including the contraceptive pill or you are pregnant St John's Wort should not be taken internally without supervision of a qualified herbalist or medical practitioner as it can lower the level of some medication in the body due to it's action in helping the liver break down & eliminate toxins.  Another caution is that St John's Wort can increase the photosensitivity of the skin and increase risk of burning particularly for fair skinned people, so it should be avoided if you burn easily or are out in the sun a lot.

St John's Wort oil

St John's Wort tincture

I took a couple of cloth bags of Rose petals from the Apothecary's Rose and the Shakespeare's Rose home to make into various remedies.  These are two traditional Rose varieties used in herbalism.  I made a double-infused oil, using the same method as for the Calendula oil using a small pan inside a slightly larger pan with water simmering on a low heat.   I put Rose petals to steep in vodka to make a tincture.  This will be strained in about a month's time and combined with the Rose oil with beeswax to make a moisturising, soothing skin cream.  I made Rosewater by simmering a pan of Rose petals in water for 20 minutes.   This was then left overnight then strained.  The strained water was measured and 1/3 of the volume added as vodka to preserve it.  This can be used as a cooling astringent on the skin.  The remaining Rose petals were put in a jar with brandy to make Rose petal brandy. 

Making double-infused Rose oil

 Rose petal oil

Making Rose water

Rose water after straining

Rosewater

Rose petal tincture

 

Rose petal brandy

I picked some Meadowsweet flower heads in the allotment.  Some of these were cut up with scissors and put in a jar which was filled up with 60% vegetable glycerine and 40% water to make glycerite for internal use, 1 teaspoon three times a day when needed.  The rest was used to make a double-infused oil for external use for muscle aches & pains, backache, sciatica, painful joints & arthritis.   

Meadowsweet was a sacred herb of the druids and was used in the past to treat malaria & fevers.  Meadowsweet contains salicylic acid which is the active ingredient in aspirin so it is very helpful for aches and pains used externally in oil or salve.  Taken internally it is helpful for pain, particularly due to arthritis and rheumatism.  It is also excellent for stomach problems such as indigestion, heartburn, gastritis & hiatus hernia and does not damage the stomach in the way aspirin does.  It is soothing for stomach upsets including children's diarrhoea.  It is also helpful for cystitis & urethritis, kidney stones & gravel.  It helps to eliminate toxins & urea.  Caution - if you are allergic to aspirin you may also react to Meadowsweet.

 Meadowsweet Glycerite

Meadowsweet oil

I took home a large bunch of Catmint, otherwise known as Catnip.  Some of the Catnip was put in a jar with honey to make Catnip honey.   Some of it is being dried to use for tea. The rest of the Catnip leaves & flowers were put in a jar with vodka to make Catnip tincture, dosage 10-60 drops 1-3 times a day or 1-3 drops as needed, such as before meals or before bed.    

Catnip has a pleasant mild minty flavour.  It is a gentle nervine, good for relieving the effects of stress and anxiety, insomnia & restlessness.  It is also useful for stress-related stomach upsets, headaches & irritability.  It is helpful for toothache, including for teething infants, who can be given a cloth dipped in cooled catnip tea and frozen to chew on.  It is also useful for colds and fevers.  It is also helpful for mild gut or menstrual cramps.  Caution - it can cause heavier menstrual flow.  It is slightly bitter so helps promote digestion.  It has a gentle action and is suitable for infants, it has calming effect and promotes sleep and relives colic & diarrhoea. 

 

 Catnip tincture

Catnip in honey

I took some Wood Betony flowers home to make into tincture with vodka to be used in doses of 5-10 drops three times a day as a treatment or a teaspoon three times a day as a tonic.  I have also dried some for use in teas & infusions.  Wood Betony was highly regarded in ancient times and was regarded as having powers of protection against evil.  In modern times it has been recognised as a nerve tonic, it helps to calm & relax, to relieve stress on the mind & body.   It is an excellent remedy for insomnia caused by nervous tension.  A cup of tea or a few drops of tincture in the evening are useful for this.

It is helpful for headaches including tension, migraine & liver headaches.  It also helps to improve concentration and memory, so is helpful for exams and similar situations.  Betony acts on the solar plexus and is helpful for a range of digestive problems as it harmonises the actions of the whole digestive system.  It stimulates the appetite & improves weak digestion but also soothes & calms the digestion and is helpful for conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, gastritis & colitis.  It is an excellent tonic herb for older people and people recovering from long-term illness or people who just feel run-down generally.  Caution - do not take during pregnancy.

Wood Betony tincture

Dried Wood Betony
 

I picked a small amount of Chamomile flowers, leaves & stalks, these were chopped up and put in a jar with vodka to make a tincture, dosage 15-30 drops three times a day.  The tincture is calming and helps sleep.   It calms the stomach and is helpful for mild gut cramps & digestive upsets, including for colic in infants.  

 

Chamomile tincture

 For more photographs of the Herb Sanctuary in flower see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153492879852938.1073741901.657002937&type=1&l=5fcb7d0885

References

'Hedgerow Medicine' Julie Bruton-Seal & Matthew Seal.

'Practical Herbs 1 & 2' Henriette Kress.

'Wild Drugs' Zoe Hawes.

The gifts of Spring - beauty, food & medicine

I spent Saturday 11th April at Springfield Herb Sanctuary on a work day.  I helped dig over a bed which will be used for planting herb plants.  I kept the Dandelions and Docks I dug up to take home to turn into Dandelion tincture and Dock tincture.  I also had a walk round with Sarah, my herbwife mentor, seeing all the herbs that are coming up in her herb beds at the sanctuary.  This is really helpful for learning to identify plants at different stages of growth, which is one of the things I am learning as an apprentice herbwife.  Sarah very kindly let me dig up a young Tansy plant to take home to plant in my own herb bed for future use. For future events at the Sanctuary see http://kitchenherbwife.blogspot.co.uk/p/springfield-sanctuary-workshop-dates.html

At Springfield Herb Sanctuary

 View from the Sanctuary over the Cotswolds

The herb beds I helped to dig

 Elecampane coming up

 Lady's Mantle 

Solomon's Seal

For more photos see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153255717357938.1073741890.657002937&type=1&l=6c20633d26

Back home in the kitchen I put Dandelion roots & leaves into a jar and filled the jar with vodka to make a another batch of tincture.  I have been taking 2 half teaspoons a day since decanting the first batch, it definitely seems to be helping with my digestion.  I washed and chopped up the Dock roots into a separate jar to make tincture, which should be helpful for poor absorption, anaemia, skin problems, sluggish bowels, constipation & liver congestion.  Any dock with yellow roots can be used as this indicates the presence of the medicinal compounds.

Last weekend I harvested a big bag of Nettles and a bag full of Cleavers at the allotment, plus a few Wild Garlic leaves.  Some of the Nettles were used for Nettle Aloo (see recipe on previous post) as part of a dinner for friends, accompanied by raita made with natural yoghurt and finely chopped Wild Garlic leaves.  I also made Nettle Pasties (see recipe below) to take to the woods for a New Moon picnic.  My husband got in the act and made Nettle Soup with onion, potato, celery and nettles, with some Miso added at the end to make a nice rich dark nourishing broth.  The Cleavers were roughly chopped and put in a jar with vodka to make Cleavers tincture, which should be useful for lymph congestion or swollen glands such as Tonsilitis.

I also paid a visit to the woods and picked Hawthorn leaves to make a tincture with brandy, which can be combined with tinctures of the flowers and berries as they appear, to get the maximum benefit.  Hawthorn is renowned as a tonic for the heart and circulatory system.  My husband dug up a patch of Lesser Celandine, also known as Pilewort, after the nodules on the roots which look like haemorrhoids.  This is an example of a traditional plant signature in which physical features of plants were thought to indicate what sort of conditions the plant would be beneficial for.  And indeed Pilewort is a remedy for piles, both as dried herb used to make an infusion for internal use and to make an ointment from fresh herb by making a double-infused oil and adding beeswax, to use externally.

Recipe for Nettle Pasties - makes 2 large pasties or 4 small pasties

Pastry:

8oz plain flour

Pinch of salt

4oz butter

3-4 tablespoons of cold water

- Sift the flour & salt into a bowl, add the butter chopped into lumps and stir to coat the butter in flour.

- Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

- Sprinkle the water over the mix and stir with a round-bladed knife till the mixture sticks together in large lumps, if it is a bit dry add a bit more water.

- Collect the dough together into a ball.

- Knead it lightly on a lightly floured surface to make a smooth dough.

- Wrap the dough in cling-film and leave in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.

Filling:
Large colander of washed nettle tops with stalks removed
Medium onion finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves very finely chopped
1 medium mushroom finely chopped
Wedge of blue cheese crumbled
2 beaten eggs
Salt & pepper to taste
- Saute the onion to soften it, add the garlic & mushroom.
- Steam the nettle tops in a little water for a few minutes till well wilted.
- Squeeze out the liquid with a wooden spoon, drain the liquid into a jug to use in stock for soup.
- Mix the vegetables with the cheese & eggs, add seasoning.
- Roll out & cut the pastry to make rounds.
- Put filling in the middle of pastry rounds and top with another round, press the edges together all the way round to seal.
- Use any left over pastry to make pastry decorations, stick on with a little water.
- Bake in a medium oven for about 25 minutes.
- Eat hot or cold, they are perfect for taking out for a picnic.

Nettle Pastie

Dock roots being prepared for tincture

Dock Root Tincture

 Cleavers Tincture

Hawthorn Leaf Tincture

Lesser Celandine/Pilewort

Making Pilewort Double-infused Oil

References

'Hedgerow Medicine' Julie Bruton-Seal & Matthew Seal

'Letting in the Wild Edges' Glennie Kindred

'Wild Drugs' Zoe Hawes

A magical Spring Equinox and recipes using spring plants

Last weekend I attended the first workshop of the year at Springfield Herb Sanctuary, which focused on identifying plants as they are beginning to grow.  We tried Nettle tea and Couch Grass root tea, both of which are good for the urinary system amongst many other benefits.  I picked some Chickweed, Dandelion tops & roots from weeding, Burdock burs to plant and some violets to take home with me.  The workshops at the Sanctuary are open to anyone interested, you don't have to be an apprentice to attend, information on the workshops for the year including the weekend Herb Festival in September can be found here http://kitchenherbwife.blogspot.co.uk/p/springfield-sanctuary-workshop-dates.html

 

Daffodils and one of the springs which gives the Sanctuary its name

 

Twisted Hazel at Springfield Sanctuary

 

Chickweed

 

Violets

Last Sunday I washed & chopped the Dandelion roots & leaves I had gathered when weeding at the Sanctuary and put them into a jar with vodka to make a tincture for general health maintenance, acute skin eruptions, digestive problems, recuperation from chronic illness, sluggish liver, gout, eczema & psoriasis and for overindulgence in food & drink (uses from 'Hedgerow Medicine' by Julie Bruton-Seal & Matthew Seal). I also made Violet syrup, which is useful for constipation & coughs, particularly for children.  The infusion was a bright green colour but magically turned pink when heated with sugar and lemon juice.  I made infused oil with some of the Chickweed from the sanctuary, which should be useful for skin problems particularly eczema. I also decanted the Cramp Bark tincture & Hawthorn Bark tincture started previously.   I picked more Nettles in the woods to make a second batch of Nettle tonic (recipe on previous post) and decanted the first batch, it was hard messy work wringing out the fluid from the jelly bag, but I tried to get every drop I could as it is full of herbal goodness.

 Dandelion tincture

Recipe for Violet Syrup 

- Fill a clean jar with violet flowers & leaves, cover with boiling water.

- Leave to steep overnight with lid on.

- Strain out the leaves & flowers.

- Measure the amount of water left.

- Put the water in a pan and add 150g of sugar for every 200ml of liquid

- Add juice from half a lemon.

- Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes.

- Pour into sterilised bottles.

- Keep in the fridge.

- 1-2 teaspoons at night for constipation or coughs, particularly for children.

Based on recipe in 'Wild Drugs' by Zoe Hawes.

 

Violet Syrup

Recipe for Chickweed Oil

- Gather chickweed and leave to wilt overnight to reduce moisture content.

- Put half the amount of chickweed you have in a bowl or pan inside a larger pan, cover with sunflower oil.

- Heat the oil with gently simmering water in the larger pan underneath the small pan for 2 hours.

- Strain the oil and return to the pan with the second batch of chickweed, heat for 2 hours.

- Strain the oil through muslin into sterilised jars.

 

Chickweed Oil
 

This weekend started with the magical occurence of a solar eclipse on the Spring Equinox.  We watched it at our allotment.  There was an eerie dimming of the light as the moon gradually moved over the face of the sun and the temperature dropped several degrees during the eclipse, at maximum eclipse our breath was steaming in the cooler air.  As the moon moved on the light brightened and it became a glorious warm spring day, it truly felt that spring had arrived.  I picked nettles and other greens in between keeping an eye on the sky.  Later in the day I went back to plant rose bushes, an Apothecary's Rose and a William Shakespeare Rose, which are both highly regarded for medicinal purposes.  I transplanted Lungwort which I found under brambles in a vacant allotment and scattered some Burdock seeds up towards the wild end of the allotment in the hope that they will come up so I have Burdock to harvest in the future.

Smile in the sky as the moon partially covered the sun

Lungwort

 newly planted Rose bush and Lungwort

Back home over the weekend we had friends staying so I tried out my Nettle Soup on them, which was well received.  I also tried putting Nettles in with scrambled eggs and made Nettle Aloo using Nettles rather than spinach which were both very tasty.  My husband made a Sourdough loaf and mixed some Nettles in with the dough which came out well.  As the Spring is well and truly upon us it was high time to start planting some seeds.  We went to visit Smiths Nurseries on the outskirts of Coventry http://www.smithsnurseries.co.uk/ which has an excellent selection of herb and wildflower seeds.  I started off some herb seeds in a seed tray and a few in pots for the kitchen window sill, in a nice little container I was given as a present which includes a useful box just the right size for keeping packets of seeds in.  

Herb pots for the kitchen windowsill

Recipe for Nettle Aloo -  side dish for 4

500g potatoes - chopped into medium size chunks

A large onion - finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large cloves garlic - very finely chopped

1/2 a red or green chilli - very finely chopped

2cm lump of root ginger - very finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon of black mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon of turmeric

Colander of washed Nettles with stalks removed

Juice of half a lemon

Salt & black pepper to taste

- Boil potato chunks in salted water until tender.  Drain & set aside.

- Heat the vegetable oil in a pan.  Add the onion & cook until soft & just starting to brown.

- Add the garlic, chilli, ginger, mustard seeds & turmeric, cook briefly stirring so the onion & spices don't burn.

- Add the cooked potatoes and a medium wineglass of water.  Bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes.

- Turn up the heat and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the potatoes have absorbed the spices.

- Add the Nettles & season with salt & black pepper to taste.

- Cook for a couple of minutes till the Nettles have wilted and are bright green.  Check the seasoning and add the lemon juice.

- Serve as a side dish with curry, rice, yoghurt & chutney.

Adapted from a recipe for spicy spinach & potatoes in 'Tender volume 1' by Nigel Slater 

Nettle Aloo