The lady in the lift

I was recently asked if I'd ever met anyone for a very brief time and found myself thinking about them long afterwards.  I said yes, quite a few.

I met a lady in a lift (elevator) at the shopping centre in 2011.

I had recently had a fall at work, and cracked my elbow so I had my arm in a sling. She had braces on both her legs, on top of long trousers, and had two elbow crutches and a bag of shopping.

She looked at my arm. I looked at her legs. She smiled and I said, “You win!”

She laughed and said, “No, this was not an accident. I have (and she named a condition that I’ve forgotten but which causes muscle weakness).

I said,”I’m sorry to hear that. I know what it is as I recently met two children who have the same condition”.  She named the children and their mother - she knew them.

Then she looked at my arm and said, “Your mother should have taught you about using comfrey to treat that”.

I said, “I am using comfrey on it. That’s why I don’t have a plaster cast”.

She then told me how she made a quick and easy herb ointment by crushing the fresh herb and mixing the juice with plain skin lotion and rubbing it on.

“My neighbours call me a witch,” she said. “But when they are hurt they come over for some magic ointment”.

We got out of the lift. I asked her if I could help with her shopping bag. She said no, she would look after herself as long as she could. I watched from a distance as she walked to her car and went through a complicated process of putting the shopping in and then getting herself in with two crutches.

I knew her for five minutes. I wish I had said more.

I wish she was my friend. I liked her and I think she had a lot to share.

the OTHER teas

The other teas - there are no other teas, tea can only be made from leaves of the tea bush, called Camellia Sinensis.  So what about herbal teas?  They are not tea at all.  They are infusions.  An infusion is made by pouring boiling water over the dried leaves, flowers and/or stems of herbs and sometimes chopped rhyzone or spices, and allowed to steep (sit for a while). Some herbs can be used fresh from the garden. These infusions, or decoctions are actually called tisanes - but, commonly known as herbal tea.

 

Herbal tea often looks like real tea. The taste is similar to real tea and easy to drink, hot, cold or iced. Herbal teas can be made from one herb or a blend of herbs for medicinal uses.  Herbal teas contain no caffeine. As many herbs promote relaxation the most common usage of a herbal tea is to de-stress.  Other uses are to aid digestion, cleanse the body, promote energy, strengthen the immune system, provide antioxidants, stimulate certain internal organs, help restful sleep and avoid catching colds, depending on which herb you use.

To get the most out of herbal tea start with fresh cold water - filtered if possible. Boil the water in a stainless steel kettle or saucepan - avoid aluminium - for a clean fresh flavour.  Use glass or a glazed ware teapot and cups. Herbal tea looks very pretty in glass. A tea strainer is necessity.

Use one heaped teaspoon of dried herb, at least twice that if you are using chopped fresh herbs, or a commercial bag, in a teapot or jug. Add boiling water over the herb, cover with a lid and let it steep for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on which herb used and how strong you like it.  I find 5 - 7 minutes is good. The longer you leave it the stronger the taste and some herbs can become bitter. Herb teas must be strained before drinking and what is left in the strainer can go back onto the garden.

Milk is not used in herbal teas but they can be sweetened with honey or Stevia. For other flavouring add a wedge of lemon, lime or orange, slices of ginger or a few fresh leaves of lemon balm or mint. Cinnamon also adds flavour and warms the body.

Ginger tea is made by grating or finely chopping the root and using as above.  Fennel seeds can be crushed and infused in boiling water. Juniper berries must be boiled to make a tea.

Chopped leaf, crushed seeds and chopped roots of herbs and spices can be added to ordinary tea, and strained, if you don't like it straight. 

Warning: Herb teas can be made of any plant material so it is important to know what you are drinking and what effects it may have. People react differently to herbs and some herbs are fine in small amounts but can cause damage in large amounts. All herbs and many plants contain substances that may interact with medications or cause unwanted side effects. If you are not sure, don't use it.

Taking Dandelion can complicate the effects of other medications. St John's Wort should not be taken with med for high blood pressure and, as Lemon Balm stimulates the thyroid, people with thyroid problems should avoid it. Lavender or mint, can cause problems if used alone in a tea, so are best added to other teas to compliment or flavour.   Some herbs, such as Slippery Elm, Raspberry leaf, and Red Clover should not be taken by pregnant or breastfeeding women or children. Look it up first.

We all have poisonous plants in our gardens. Before picking leaves read a few herb books or browse the tea section of a Health Food shop and read the packet instructions. Many herbs can be purchased in tea bags as well as loose leaf or dried root. If you do pick fresh herbs make sure you can identify them properly. Foxglove is very dangerous and looks a lot like comfrey.

If you hope to use herbal infusions for their medicinal properties remember it is folk medicine, that is information passed from person to person - not always tested in a laboratory.  The strength of herbs can be affected by soil type, age of the plant, time of harvest,  remedy preparation.  I feel some herbs will suit one person better that another and you won't know until you test it - but,  it is still worth trying to find a non chemical solution for many of life's problems.

Some common herbs used for infusions are;

Allspice - upset stomach and common cold.

Anise seed - digestion, fresh breath, soothe a cough.

Chamomile - soothing, calming, anti-inflammatory.

Chrysanthemum - reduce fever, good for liver.

Cinnamon - calming, good circulation, digestion.

Fennel - indigestion.

Herb Robert - immune system, tumours, cancer

Hibiscus - (flowers) sore throat, cystitis, gum disease, high blood pressure.

Ginger root - circulation, digestion, nausea, reduce anxiety, lung congestion and arthritis.

Lemongrass -  calming.

Parsley - diuretic, good for kidney function.

Peppermint - stress relief, digestion, fresh breath.

Rosehip - vitamin C for colds and coughs, tonic for liver, kidney and blood.

Rooibos - (South African Red Bush tea) antioxidants

Slippery elm - stomach cramps, gastrointestinal problems. 

St John's Wort - depression

Cold teas can be applied externally.  Many people use cucumber or cold tea bags as a compress for sore puffy eyes. Make your own using a cotton pad soaked in cooled herbal tea - camomile, calendula, parsley and rosewater all make a refreshing treatment. Lie down with the wet pad on closed eyes for 10 mins.  Do not pour the liquid into the eye and be sure to strain it well, as even a tiny piece of leaf can irritate the eye.

MEANINGS:

CONCOCTION - mixture, brew, preparation, creation, potion, blend.

INFUSION - a drink, remedy, extract prepared by soaking tea leaves or herbs in liquid, introduction of a new element or quality into something.

TEA - a hot drink made by infusing the dried crushed leaves of the tea plant in boiling water or the evergreen shrub or small tree which produces tea leaves, native to southern and eastern Asia and grown as a major cash crop.

HERBAL TEA - a drink made from the infused leaves, fruits, or flowers of plants other than tea, including coffee or cocoa.

HERBAL TINCTURE - herbs dissolved in vinegar or alcohol to be used externally as a wash or taken as a remedy.

REMEDY - treatment, cure, medicine, medication, drug, restorative - a means of counteracting or eliminating something undesirable.


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in the Apothecary

Apothecary - a word not used often these days and one that is not easy to say. It refers to a person who makes and sells medicines. In the middle ages Apothecaries also delivered babies and practiced surgery and dentistry. The apothecaries were the forerunners of pharmacists and chemists.

The apothecary table with the tradition small drawers

An apothecary garden was where medicines were grown, in the form of herbs. During the middle ages most large households had a kitchen garden, for vegetables, and an apothecary garden for the herbs that were to be used in medicines and toiletries. The house keepers of the wealthy, and farmers wives, were skilled in making everything from soap to cures for gout and diarrhoea.  

Large apothecary gardens were created in monasteries and tended by the monks who also acted as apothecaries for the local area. Medicines were prepared and stored in a special room - also known as the apothecary.

Medicinal plants were the only medicine, and drinking infusions or potions, rubbing on salve or piling on a poultice was the way to treat most ailments. The cures offered by what we now call conventional medicine, are often chemical imitations of these old remedies.

In an apothecary garden each plant was known and valued for its curative properties.  Plants were collected from other areas and countries to be studied. Raised garden beds were often used and I was excited when my husband agreed made some for me, as well as terracing other areas of our garden.  It's so much easier to care for the plants when you don't have to bend double or crawl around on the ground with them.

Below are some herbs commonly found in apothecary gardens. All these plants are available today and can be found in many gardens where those who understand them make use of their powers.  Of course many of these cures are traditional and have not been proved by science, which didn't stop apothecaries in the middle ages because they had nothing else, but these days health and safety issues mean that warnings should be given.  Information of how to grow and to use herbs is available online.  I don't add links because new information is constantly being up loaded, adding to the choice of many good websites.

These aloes have been very useful this week.

Aloe Vera:  An easy growing succulent, Aloe Vera does well in the ground or in pots. It is antiseptic and can be used for skin irritations; burns, cuts, grazes and other sores.  This week I used several leaves from this plant, scraping out the gel to treat a wound on my arm where I'd had a skin cancer removed. I was amazed at how well it actually worked - swelling and inflammation gone over night, skin healing up.

The soft gel inside the leaf can be eaten or applied straight to a wound. Cut a leaf close to the bottom of the plant, slice off the sharp sides and cut and peel one side back to reveal the gel inside. This can be applied directly from the plant. Aloe Vera is also used for digestive problems - if you are eating it you can use a teaspoon to scrape the gel away from the leaf skin but do not eat the lining of the skin as it tastes horrible.

My potted Bay trees behind comfrey plants

Bay:  Usually grown as a seasoning bay is an attractive ornamental shrub, or if allowed to grow wildly, a huge tree.  It can be use as decorative topiary, pruned into different shapes. The leaves are very fragrant, especially when dried, and can be broken into hot dishes such as soup and stew. It is used with fish and in homemade tomato sauce and is a necessary component of the French bouquet garni.  The leaf itself is bitter and not really edible and as it does not soften in cooking it is removed before eating.
  

Bay leaves are exceptionally rich in vitamins A, B and C, folic acid and the minerals copper, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, selenium and manganese. They also contain essential phytochemicals and volatile oils. Bay can improve the skin,  remove free radicals and boost the immune system; strengthen eyesight and maintain mucus membranes.  The potassium is important for cell and body fluids, blood pressure and heart rate. 

As a traditional medicinal plant Bay has been used to treat earaches and rheumatism and is used as an insect repellent - though some people find it irritates the skin.  I am very impressed by what I've learned about Bay.

Comfrey:  This is my favourite herb.  Comfrey is a perennial herb that aids healing, though it should not be used on open wounds. It is anti-inflammatory and can be applied to sprains and strains, broken bones and bruises, either by making a quick poultice of crushed leaves and your usual moisturiser or hand cream and applied it straight onto the skin, or by heating chopped leaves in good quality olive oil for half an hour and, when cool, using that for massage. You can also add bees wax to the hot comfrey oil to make a salve.  

Echinacea: This useful and beautiful plant loves the sun and is very forgiving of drought. It comes from North America and was a traditional herbal remedy of the Great Plains Indian tribes.  As an anti-inflammatory it has been used to speed up recovery from the common cold and flu, for urinary tract infections, vaginal yeast infections, herpes, septicaemia, gum disease, tonsillitis, strep infections, typhoid, malaria and diphtheria. It can boost the immune system when taken internally and reduce the effects of upper respiratory infections. Other uses include chronic fatigue syndrome, migraine, acid indigestion, dizziness and, applied to the skin, boils, abscesses, skin wounds, ulcers, burns, eczema, psoriasis, herpes, bee stings and haemorrhoids.  That is a great long list.  Echinacea is available as a dried herb, as a liquid and in capsule form. The fresh leaves, flowers and stems can be made into an infusion (tea) for drinking.

There are warnings for Echinacea - it should not be taken indefinitely, so if you are treating yourself long term it's a good idea to take it for two weeks and then have a week off.  Also some people could be allergic to Echinacea, especially those allergic to ragweed, marigolds, or daisies or if you are on medication for an auto-immune disorder.

New season ginger ready for market

Ginger:  An ancient spice from India, it is used in cooking around the world, often paired with garlic and onion or used in sweet dishes.  Ginger grows underground as a fleshy rhizome.   Planted in spring it grows through the summer and dies back in winter, though the root can be left underground for several months until needed, in a well drained area.  Ginger is found in many apothecary gardens for its antiseptic, analgesic, and antispasmodic properties. It stimulates the heart and settles the stomach. It can be used for colds, flu and muscle spasms, rheumatism, arthritis, migraine, sore throat, cholera, anorexia and to improve circulation and reduce fat deposits and many of these uses are supported by science.

Ginger is also a blood thinner and should be used with care by people on blood thinning medication.

Lemon Balm:  Most of us know this herb as a garnish for drinks and desserts. The fresh leaves can be added to fruit salad, garden salad, fruit punch, sorbet, marinades and sauces for fish and chicken, and combined with butter and pepper to serve with corn and broccoli. Mix it into apple crumble or with honey into a cheesecake.  Lemon Balm is from the mint family, it is antiviral and can be combined with other medicinal herbs. As an infusion it helps to cool the fever from colds or flu, it acts as a relaxant, relieves anxiety, soothes nervous indigestion and headaches. But, a warning here, Lemon Balm stimulates the thyroid so people on thyroid medication should avoid it.

Mint: We all know mint as a flavouring for cold drinks, hot tea and mint sauces as well as sweets and in toothpaste. There is a wide variety of mints and most are also prized for their nutritive and medicinal qualities. Members of the mint family include basil, bee balm, catnip, horehound, horsemint, hyssop, lavender, lemon balm, marjoram, oregano, peppermint rosemary, sage, savoury, spearmint, thyme, and there are  many others.

Traditional mint

While they all have their own medicinal properties most mints share the qualities of being analgesic, antimicrobial, antiseptic, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, digestive, repellent and stimulant.  They are usually found in herbal remedies that treat  headache, migraine, fever, sore throat and sinus and chest congestion.

You can add mint to your bath or the rinse water clean shiny hair. Externally mints can repel mosquitoes and ease the heat and itchiness from bites, stings, rashes, hives, eczema, some fungal infections and other minor wounds. 

As an infusion (hot tea) mint can help ease the symptoms of indigestion and irritable bowel syndrome, heartburn, flatulence, cramps, bloating, diarrhoea, and nausea.  If the common mint does not help try using spearmint, lavender or basil instead. The milder spearmint is also more suitable for children.  Peppermint contains a higher percentage of volatile oils and is considered a strong medicinal herb. 

Mint tea is made by steeping 2 - 4 teaspoons of chopped fresh leaves in 1 cup of just-boiled water for ten to fifteen minutes.  A strong decoction is often the best choice for external uses.

Calendula plant in flower - great for skin problems

I have other medicinal herbs in my apothecary garden including Bergamot, Chives, Calendula, Gotu Kola, Herb Robert, Nasturtium, Parsley, Rocket, Rosemary, Stevia and Yukka.  

I plan to add Dandelion and Liquorice eventually.  It's all a work in progress as I learn about each new plant.

I find the act of tending the herbs, gently plucking away damaged leaves, pulling weeds, mulching and watering has a very calming effect and I like to spend at least an hour in the garden most days and consult my herb books regularly to help my understanding.

One of my wonderful raised gardens

growing a SALAD

Gardening tips from Janine - ha ha ha!  It is funny because I am not a gardener and I keep saying that, but I do like to grow things to eat. I know very little about potting-up, planting-out, watering-in and even less about flowers or bulbs or annuals or staking - despite years and years of watching Gardening Australia.

Dad worked in the garden on weekends, when he wasn't at the beach or on a boat, and I often watched but he never suggested I help. He did a lot of digging, mowing and raking and had a compost area, referred to in those days as the 'manure heap', thought it was only grass cuttings and food scraps. Dad kept us supplied with chocos, green beans, (favourites on the dinner table - NOT), pumpkins, and roses - that's all I remember.

My first interest in plants was in my first year of Art College and I was surprised to find I was pretty good at plant drawing. We all had to bring in something leafy and interesting to draw - not as easy as you'd think. Rose leaves all looked same to me and the vegetable garden was down the back and not on my way to the bus so I picked something from the side of the road or in bushland.  This turned out to be a good thing because by the end of semester I had a huge variety of different plants and leaves in my folio, many of them natives which were not in fashion for gardens then. Most of the other students seemed to draw flower garden plants like hydrangeas or nasturtium or gum leaf clumps. 

So without being in the garden I developed an awareness of different leaf shapes growing in different patterns on the stem - pairs or in steps, and colour variations like lighter on the top and darker underneath.  They don't teach this at school, we're all supposed to learn it by ourselves. Maybe everyone else did, it was just me who had to think it through.

Eventually I worked out how to grow things in pots.  I still didn't become one of those people who produce jungles of plants and masses of things to eat - I wish.  At other times I managed to turn soil with a shovel, remembering what I'd seen Dad do in the garden.  I have produced, over the years, varieties of tomatoes and lettuce, corn, silver beet (we call spinach) green beans, strangely shaped brocholi and lots of herbs.  But, apart from the herbs I have never had more than one or two meals to harvest so there is no way my gardening would feed the family. It is exciting though.

Dad grew roses and I managed Roma tomatoes

Now that I live on a ginger farm and have lots and lots of room to grow things - though finding space in direct sunlight is a battle - you'd think I would be out there growing things all day.  I have tried but my inside hobbies always shout loudest to grab my attention. Being so distracted I have planted. but failed to water, I have watered. but not weeded, I used seedling trays and nothing grew and bought seeds not suited to our climate. 

I did have success with frangapini trees.  They are a big favourite and if I saw one I liked, even in the street, I'd pull or break a bit off, much to the embarassment of my children hiding on the floor of the car.  I knew to leave it lying on the ground until the sticky sap stopped leaking out and then put it on a pot and mostly they grew. Some died when the pot got too small. That's a cruel thing to do to a tree. But some lived and I have 7 lovely, if not a tad stunted, frannies growing along the front of our house. Strangely all, except one, have the same multi coloured flowers, sort of pink and yellow and white. I call them fruit salad flowers. The other tree is scarlet. It's gorgeous. A rich, delicious red. I must break a bit off that tree and grow another. I love the colour. I do not have a white flower frangipani. I thought I did but it grew as a fruit salad.

There are 7 other frannies still in a pot somewhere. It's a big pot but with them all sharing it they have decided to become dwarfed frannies though they present me with full size leaves every summer and lose them every winter - for about 9 years now. Isn't nature brilliant? I must plant them somewhere and give them their freedom. Soon..... I promise.

When we started our little farm it was a herb farm. For several years we grew organic basil, parsley, shallots (onions), garlic, rosemary and sunflowers.  When I say we, it's what big R calls the royal 'we', so it means he grew them and I observed. I have cleaned, weighed and packed boxes over the years. I also label things, do the paper work and pay the bills but I don't dig in the dirt or plant anything.

The parsley was the most difficult to store and transport. There were times when our bath tub was full of bunched parsley waiting for shipping the next day. They went off in polystyrene boxes on wet newspaper.  How does polystyrene go with organic? 

Flat or Italian parsley and curley parsley

One day, while researching for a story I was writing, I discovered cycads - the dinosaur plants. They have very sharp spikes and shallow roots. They get upset and go into hybernation if you interfere with them, they grow alien flowers and the baby cycads are called pups. There are some interesting stories about cycads and I might write about them some time, but you can't eat them so they don't belong in this post. We have several now and I leave them alone and they just get on with it.

Growing things to eat, I have found, can be done in a pot.  The pots I really, really like are self watering pots.  That means I don't have to dig up the paddock with a shovel or remember to water, unless it's been months without rain.  These pots have a plastic tray that sits on a ledge a bit above the bottom. As water trickles through the soil it pools in the bottom for the plant to soak up later.  There is an overflow hole in the side and I usually empty them after heavy rain when the plants have had enough.

I have great success with these self watering pots

I don't use potting mix - it's a bit dangerous if you breathe in the dust and I have many allergies and I don't want to add anything else to the list. I've tried to grow seeds in seed trays. They never grow. Either they die of thirst or I over water them and wash the seeds away. Sometimes we grow vegetables in the paddock in the bare areas after the ginger has been harvested, but I can't use the watering system and it's so far from the house .... the self watering pots seem to suit me best.

I like to use the lovely black dirt that we have in the paddock. Sometimes I mix in a bit of sand and sometimes I forget.  I just scatter the seeds over wet dirt, push them down gently with my finger and walk away.  I look at them each day but don't dare to touch.  So far I have managed to grow salad, even if not every vegetable or herb comes up in the same year.

Here is my salad -

Tomatoes - I have grown some amazing tomatoes in years gone by. I prefer the low acid Roma Tomatoes.  The secret seems to be to grow them in front of a wall that soaks up the morning sun and reflects back onto the plant and also warms them after the sun has moved on. They'll grow in pots too, big pots, but they still like a warm wall behind them.

Chives - they grow very well in pots and are great chopped over any salad or stir fry, in a sandwich or soup to add a light onion flavour.  They are lovely sprinkled over hot potatoes with butter.

Nasturtians - grow anywhere including pots - these are the boring round leaves some people brought to art class.  They have a good peppery flavour so I use them whole in salads or sliced for stir frys, sandwiches, stews and soup.  The flowers can be eaten too or used as edible garnish.

Parsley - also does well in pots -  and is so good for you. I prefer the flat or Italian parsley for a pretty garnish that you can eat, and it goes into any salad dish or stir fry or soup, stew, sandwich - you can even add parsley to bread or scone dough, with cheese and spices.  It goes anywhere.  You can eat it right out of the garden.  Big R likes the curley parsley because it looks good. I usually grow both.

Rocket - grows in pots or in the ground - one of my favourites to eat but i have not had success this year - other people get tons of rocket.... sigh .....

Lettuce - in the ground or a large planter is not hard to grow but it's best to buy good healthy seedlings. A variety is nice. If you stagger the planting you'll have some ready to harvest every week.

Rocket and chives go with everything

English spinach - plant seeds in the ground or a large planter. I'm planning to try it in my raised garden next spring - it's a lovely lettuce alternative or goes with lettuce and again, into almost any salad or hot dish, even on pizza - raw or cooked it's good.

So, there is a salad - growing in pots or a small garden - lettuce, tomato, chopped herbs, whole spinach and rocket.  Add a cucumber - not hard to grow depending on where you live. I did grow one, once.  There are many other good herbs that grow in pots, sage, thyme and dill are popular and the traditional mint is one I intend to have next summer.

Nasturtians and mint in every Aussie garden

My grandmother and all her friends had mint, if nothing else, in their gardens.  
Rosemary was also very common, and both went with the traditional Sunday roast lamb. 

Mint smells nice in the garden, is easy to grow, though cuttings are faster than seeds. It likes a damp corner with shade and once it's established you have it for years. In some gardens it takes over so a large pot is a good option but it  needs damp soil so water regularly.  (Listen to me giving that advice!)  Often is was found growing by a leaky garden tap or outside the laundry where the maid emptied the wash tub.

Of course we are very fortunate to have fresh ginger available at our place, for most of the year, and it adds a lovely lemon-pepper flavour to hot and cold dishes but that is another post for another day.

How a seed tray should work and my result of planting 50 kale seeds - this one shoot lived one day.... sad

Now I am humming the song that Simon and Garfunkel called Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. 

Originally the "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" it is an English folk song from the 16th century 

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

Parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme

Remember me to one who lives there

She once was a true love of mine

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt

Parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme

Without no seams nor needlework

Then she'll be a true love of mine

etc

This is such a long post - I do ramble on but then some people tell me they like that.

There is a comments facility below for your gardening tips and experiences or your comment on how much I do ramble - but it's not like facebook, there is a process to keep the spammers and hackers out.  

Click comment, 

type in the box and then 

select from the drop down menu for your identity (anonymous is fine if you aren't on google) and then click publish - but that's not the end .....

you will be asked to retype some numbers and letters into another little box, it's not the easiest thing to do, but if you get it wrong you get a second turn.... like a game.  

Once you've done it you'll find it easier the next time, 
and I will reply to your message so it's worth it.... (smiley face)