Summer Is Here!
Hello herbal enthusiasts! Ah, summer, hot, sticky, colorful and wonderful. For us gardeners, the best time of the year. Most of the plants and flowers I try to grow are not only beautiful to the eye but helpful for mind, body and spirit. I’m constantly trimming, cutting and pulling up roots to make teas, tinctures and rubs, things to keep me and my family up and running, especially when the body don’t feel like-you know what I’m talking about. This week I completed a Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) and Willow(Salix alba) tincture. Both plants are known to have healing properties. Meadowsweet can be used as an aspirin substitute for Arthritic pain, sprains, back pain. Back in the day, my Herbal Teacher David Winston explained that Meadowsweet is less powerful and takes longer to work but relieves pain for a longer time and it also only mildly thins the blood. White Willow bark can also be used for muscular pain, and like Meadowsweet, does not notably thin blood. When I am h...