Traditional Healing Herbs are gentle, nature‑centered ways of easing the symptoms of flus, colds,and digestive upsets, of working with chronic maladies, and of giving first aid for minor accidents such as cuts, bruises, and stings. For thousands of years, people have relied on plants for healing. Gathering summer plants for winter remedies is part of the year’s rhythm. There is a magic in the healing herbs of gardens. This magic consists not only of the plants’ reputed medicinal properties, but in the strong sense of connection and interdependence that comes from growing and collecting what you need to stay healthy. There’s a pleasant satisfaction, too, in preparing herbal remedies for your family, your friends, and yourself. When a child catches cold, one can open a bottle and take out a pill or brew a fragrant pot of peppermint‑yarrow‑elderflower tea. Each way of treating the cold has its advantages, but the sweet ceremony of brewing and offering tea may be as much of a remedy as the herbs themselves. Among the joys of summer can be growing and gathering beneficent garden herbs, drying them in big fragrant bunches for winter teas, and preparing a collection of herbal tinctures, syrups, oils, ointments, and cosmetics. In winter, we can use summer’s bounty to keep ourselves healthy.
Pale yellow button flowers appear in late summer on spreading, 2 foot tall clumps. Will tolerate shade but produces more flowers in sun. Divide every few years.
Traditional Healing Uses: Costmary tea has been used to treat upset stomachs, dysentery, liver and gall bladder problems.
Other Uses: Costmary leaves were famously used as bookmarks for Bibles and prayer books. Drowsy worshippers sniffed or nibbled the fragrant balsamy leaves to revive themselves during long sermons. Young fresh leaves add a minty flavor to fruit, salad, iced tea, and punch, or can be added to soup, stew, or roasted meat for a more lemony taste. Use dried leaves in potpourri or sachets.
Harvest: Gather and dry a few leaves at a time throughout summer. Cut back flowers to encourage leafy growth.
Preparation: Pour boiling water on 1-2 teaspoons of dried herb and infuse for 10 minutes, twice a day.
Caution: Do not use during pregnancy.
