August 2004

This picture shows the lower herb garden in flower during August 2004

The wonderful colouring of the Echinacea

The Medlar tree in both fruit and flower!

6-21 August - Being on holiday doesn’t preclude some herbal experiences. A large patch of plantain spied during a walk to St Anthony’s head on the Roseland peninsula prompted a further walk to gather some leaves, hoping they would dry during the ensuing damp weather! My nephew developed very sore eyes after kayaking in the sea. With two friends and a small child in tow, we searched the grounds of the campsite for chickweed, eventually spotting some in a flowerbed near to the “big house”. After steeping it in boiling water for ten minutes and adding some salt, the sore eyes were duly bathed and pronounced much better the following morning!

27-31 August - The Bank holiday loomed wet and cold. In between showers, I gathered herbs for winter syrups – hyssop, horehound, Echinacea, sage, thyme, ginger and elderberry – for general coughs and colds and elderberry and Echinacea spiced with ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg for warding off infections over the cold months of the year.

Calling in at the local Tescos for supplies of vodka for tincturing, the girl behind the checkout asked if things were so bad that I had to buy two bottles at a time! I explained to her that I was a herbalist and this was how I made my medicines. She was very surprised and asked if I had any suggestions for her sprained wrist which refused to heal. My advice was to wrap it in compresses of distilled witch hazel and she thanked me very much.

Back at the farm, scullcap, vervain and calendula flowers were consigned to the vodka as examples of tincture making for the workshop the following weekend. I also made a syrup for seasonal affected disorder (SAD) with a combination of lemon balm, St John’s wort and flavoured with the juice and rind of fresh lemons.

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