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People everywhere are hungry for clear, practical, scientifically-validated information about how to make safe and simple use of herbs in their day to day lives. I too was once hungry for this kind of information. I discovered that working (and playing) with herbs did not need to be complex and confusing. It could be sheer pleasure. For me it was like walking down a path where a wonderful surprise is revealed at every turn. |
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Nowhere is the sacred power of plants more evident than in the help they offer us by countering the negative effects of stress. Herbs can help clear everything from anxiety to depression, addiction to sleeplessness - even burnout. The loving energy of plants pours forth in abundance whenever we need it most.
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COURAGE WHEN YOU NEED IT Borage - the lovely Borago officinalis plant-was the first choice of Celtic warriors. They painted their bodies with it, drank borage wine and raced into battle naked. The belief that borage brings courage to those who eat and drink it is as old as recorded history. The Roman scholar Pliny called it euphrosinum and insisted that it lifted depression while the Greek Dioscorides wrote in his De Materia Medica that borage 'cheers the heart and lifts depressed spirits.' |
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I use this herb in foods to help keep my spirits high. I toss a handful of leaves into the pot when I am making soup stock. I add its flowers and young leaves - which have a cucumber-like flavor - to my salads. You will find the gorgeous little borage flowers candied on the top of expensive cakes in Europe. I have never made borage wine but it is on my list of things to experiment with in the future. Borage does not dry well. Neither does it freeze so use it fresh in your foods and make tea from its leaves and flowers. You can grow this lovely plant in pots indoors. The borage flower alone is uplifting. Its tiny hairs and delicate flowers soften my heart. It is almost too beautiful to touch. |
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The classic definition of a herb is a non-woody plant which dies down to its roots each winter. This definition is far too limiting. It was probably made up by 19th Century European botanists who had never seen the rainforest in which, of course there is no winter to die back in. Neither had they ever heard of woody trees and shrubs such as hawthorn and ginko and elder which are some of the best selling herbs on the market these days. I define a herb as a medicinal plant. It can come from any climate and be a leaf, a bark, a flower or a root. It can be home-grown or wild, a weed, a spice, a plant which is used for its healing or culinary or beautifying properties. Once you discover the power of herbs it is easy to become so enthusiastic about them you go overboard trying to use them for everything. It is not wise to take lots of different plants all at the same time. Or you might start to think that since a small amount of something is good for you, taking twice or three times that amount will be even better. It isn’t. If you want safe and sane herbal help here are a few guidelines to follow:
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