Keep It Movin! Herbal Corner

  Arnica chamissonis Hi Everyone, In last month’s blog I reviewed the hits and misses I had over the last few months. The last activity I spoke about was my attempt to make Arnica (Arnica chamissonis) oil. My dilemma was whether I was going to use my oven dehydrator or a quicker method I read about-picking Arnica flowers and letting them sun dry for about an hour, then using double boiler method to obtain oil quicker. I opted for the double boiler method. Within 3 hours I had a wonderful oil, ready to use!  Sun and air drying the Arnica flowers Using the double boiler method to make the oil-3 hours stove top. This morning I was out in the yard, I deadheaded the spent Arnica flowers, hopefully I will get another batch of Arnica flowers to make more oil! For now, I have a topical oil to address bruises, muscle and tendon pain. It’s a hit! Thanks for hanging with me:). 

 Nothing like a cold, winter day, Brrr! I remember back in the day, before we would go outside, Mom would tell us to, "Layer up!" put on socks, long underwear underneath our pants, hat, scarf and gloves. We would be burning up inside the house but once outside, there was no stopping us. Nowadays, I use the word layer as a part of a herbal protocol. When I am going through cold, flu, I try to hit it at every level. Recently I started feeling a little under the weather-coughing, stiff neck, runny nose. I looked around the house, asked myself, "What do I have that I can start using now?" Like the story in the Bible about the woman and the jar of oil (2 Kings 4-KJV), I used what I had. To perk up my immune system, I started taking 2ml Echinacea (E. purpurea) 3 times/day, for about 4 days-Echinacea is used for acute onset of bacterial or viral infection (colds and flu).  To address my coughing, I combined White Horehound and Wild Cherry Bark Tea-both very good for the re...

                A few weeks ago I planted cuttings of Bacopa.            Bacopa now. It was much bigger. I cut a lot of it to dry and make tincture.                                        I cut fresh Rosemary-on bottom hanger, hung upside down to dry. Lavender at the top drying for another project. Bacopa (Bacopa monnieri) from my mother plant. After some weeks of patiently waiting, I had a nice bunch of fresh plants to work with. As mentioned before (Blog, "Remember What? Who?), Bacopa is a medicinal herb used to enhance cerebral functioning. I decided to pair Bacopa with another herb...Rosemary! The spice? Yes! In herbal medicine, Rosemary is indicated for impaired circulation to the brain, specifically for symptoms of depression or cloudy thinking. The pleasant aroma of Rosemary also helps alert the mind and improves...