Chamomile is such a wonderful herb!  It not only helps when you have a tummy-ache or trouble getting sleepy at bedtime, it’s pretty little yellow and white flowers don’t mind if you walk on them and actually say “hi” by releasing a sweet apple fragrance.  

This is one herb that is especially fun to plant. Just get a box of chamomile tea from the grocery store and rub the dried flowers between your hands over the area where you want them to grow.  Then, play some lively music and do a Happy Dance on top of the seeds.  They like it!

Your dancing will help them come in good contact with the earth since you don’t bury them like you do most seeds.  Chamomile seeds need to see the sun in order to grow! 

They also need to stay a little bit wet so, when your dance is over, use your garden hose to spray them with a fine mist.  (Careful - you don’t want to wash the tiny seeds away!)  Do this every day, as often as you need to in order to keep the ground damp.  Soon, you’ll see tiny, fern-like leaves followed by bright little white flowers with sunny yellow centers.  These flowers are the part of the plant you use – not the  not the leaves.  

Chamomile is known as the “Plant Doctor” because anything you plant it next to seems to grow better and healthier.  This little herb is good for you too.  In the old days, they would have said it is “sovereign both inside and out”.  That means it’s good to use on your outside parts (hair, skin, even booboos) and it’s also good for your insides as a tea. (Remember - it was chamomile that Peter Rabbit’s mother gave him when he wasn’t feeling well?)  One of Elsie’s favorite cures for an upset stomach is her:

 (Pooka’s Tips to Parents:  Chamomile is so safe it’s even given to babies who are fussy from teething.  However, it can make anyone who is allergic to ragweed or pollen pretty miserable).

Parsley

You know the green curly leaf that restaurants are always putting on your plate?  That’s Parsley.  I’ll bet you always just left it there and never even tasted it, didn’t you?  You thought it was just some stupid grown-up’s idea of a way to make the meal look pretty and take up room on the plate.  Well, actually, it is.  But it’s a lot more than that!

Back in the old days (and we’re talking all the way back to the ancient Romans here), Parsley was used to get rid of stinky breath and also to help settle your tummy after a large or spicy dinner.  You might want to think about that the next time you have an extra helping of spaghetti and garlic bread, hmm?

 Parsley is also bursting with vitamins.  It even has more vitamin C than an orange does!

  This herb is sacred to the Goddess Persephone and has often been associated with death.  The Greeks made wreaths of Parsley to hang on the graves of loved ones.  However, it is also a protection amulet and the Romans used to tug a sprig into their clothes in the morning to see them safely through the day.  You can also use Parsley for purification by adding a cup of the tea to your bathwater.

It’s an easy herb to grow, but be patient.  The seeds take a long time to sprout – sometimes up to 6 weeks.  (Maybe that’s why the Christians used to say that Parsley goes to the devil seven times before it grows.)  When winter comes, you can move your plants indoors to a sunny windowsill. 

If you move, be sure to leave your Parsley behind and start with fresh plants in your new garden.  Otherwise, it’s considered very bad luck!

Herbal Cold Remedies

Pooka had a bad cold this year.  Elsie doctored him up with chicken soup (he liked that!) She put a kettle of hot water on the hearth and added eucalyptus leaves and the steam that soon filled the room helped him breath.  The eucalyptus also helped kill any cold germs floating in the air.

There’s only so much you can do when a kitty has a cold.  But when you have one, there are many more herbs you can use and ways in which you can use them.

 When Elsie has a cold, one of her favorite treatments is a Special Bath that Granny Witch used to prepare for her. 

Granny would mix equal parts of lavender, wintergreen, camphor and rosemary oils with some sea salt or kosher salt.  She’d make it pretty strong and then dump a few handfuls into a bath with the water as hot as Elsie could stand it.  Then, Elsie would climb into the bath, draw the curtains around the tub to keep the steam in, and sink down til the water was almost up to her chin.  There, she’d just relax, inhaling the therapeutic (healing) fragrance.  After about 10 minutes, the water would suddenly too warm!  That’s because the wintergreen oil in the formula opens the pores (tiny little breathing holes all over your skin)

 At that point, she’d jump out and Granny would bundle her up all nice and warm so she didn’t get chilled and give her a nice hot cup of Cold Tea,

Granny's Cold Tea

3 Parts each of Mullian, Coltsfoot, Peppermint, Licorice, Ephedra (Ma Huang) and one part fresh ginger.

Put about 3 tablespoons of the herb mixture into a teapot.  Add 2 cups of boiling water.  Put the lid on and let it brew for about 10 minutes. Sweeten with honey and add lemon.

 Granny Witch also would make a Cough Syrup that sounds yucky, but is, in fact, yummy!  When Elsie was little, she would even pretend to cough so Granny would give her some.

Granny's Cough Syrup

Thinly slice one red onion.  Layer the slices in a bowl, sprinkling each layer liberally with brown sugar.  Cover the bowl and set in the refrigerator overnight.  The next day, strain off the syrupy brown liquid and take a tablespoon of this as needed for coughs.

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since 11/13/07