Sweet Cicely - Myrrhis Odorata – Umbelliferae family

by Sue Sierralupe

Lacy green patches of Sweet Cicely graced almost every traditional Victorian garden in Europe. This shade tolerant perennial was one of the first to emerge for honeybees in the spring and the last to lose its cheerful display of blossoms in the fall. The Victorian gardener was happy to have Sweet Cicely for its taste and medicinal value as well.

This hardy herb has a delicate anise flavor that sweetens acidic foods like currents or rhubarb. The leaves, root and unripened seed pods are delightfully flavorful, which has earned this garden staple the nickname “Grandma's Candy.” Sweet Cicely allowed children to nibble their way through the garden all summer.

Chefs stirred this plant into the cook pot with cabbage because it reduces intestinal gas along with refreshing the flavor of the meal. Sweet Cicely's secret is an essential oil called anethole. This is the same chemical you can smell and taste in both fennel and star anise. Anethole works to sooth the digestive tract and reduce inflammation.

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Nettle History, Folklore, and Magical Properties

by Candace Hunter

History, Folklore, and Magical Properties of Nettle

Nettle has long been recognized for its bounty of nutrition as well as its sting. Folk medicine and lore worldwide attributes the powers of protection and fertility to this incredible plant. Wisdom handed down from ancient times includes advice on using nettle to protect one's self from lightning, to enhance fertility particularly in men, to reduce the swelling of arthritic joints, to heal the sick and bestow courage on those who carry it as well as how to avoid being stung by nettle. In Kawaiisu tribal practice as in Celtic lore, nettle serves as a threshold guardian. Nettle fibers have been found in burial cloths from the Bronze age, also closely linking this plant with the threshold between life and death, and giving credence to the various folklore bits that describe Nettle as growing from or near the dead.

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The Practical Herbalist Book Reviews by Candace Hunter and Sue Sierralupe:

Slug Bread and Beheaded Thistles by Ellen Sandbeck

Broadway Books, 2000, $10.95, ISBN 0-7679-0542-3

Purchasing: Amazon.com link

Friends, when you click on the above link to purchase a copy of Slug Bread and Beheaded Thistles, Amazon.com will donate a small percentage of the sale to The Practical Herbalist at no extra cost to you. This is one way you can support the work we're doing to provide pratical and reliable information on herbal and homesteading practices to everyone.

Catalog Description

Slug Bread and Beheaded Thistles is a book of reccommendations for organic housekeeping and gardening. The author separates the contents into 3 different catagories: Gardening, Housekeeping and Gory and Disgusting. The Gardening section includes tips on how to compost trash, prevent wire worm damage, and which inscects are beneficial to growing potatoes. The Housekeeping section includes tips on laundry stain removal using kitchen supplies, ant repellant, and barbeque grill maintenance. The Gory and Disgusting section includes tips that are fairly morbid. This includes deterring moles with fish heads, squishing slugs and the effect dioxin buildup has on children.

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Introducing the 2011 Healing Herbs Wall Calendar

The Healing Herbs 2011 wall calendar pairs useful and informative herbal text with sixteenth-century woodcuts published by Italian physician Pierandrea Mattioli which have been colorized in a modernized retro style. Herbs have been in use by the traditional healer for untold generations, in all cultures and climates. The herbalist's medicine cabinet is filled with plants with complex histories and fascinating personalities. This calendar features a different herb each month with an overview of its valuable properties. Reintroduce yourself to these reliable old friends just waiting for you outside your front door while supporting our very own Sue Sierralupe, author of Healing Herbs 2011 wall calendar and Practical Herbalist. You can purchase it here at Amazon.com.

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Sunburn Soother

Sunburns always seem to take the victim by surprise. It just didn't seem like it was either hot enough or you were outside long enough to get the sunburn. Fortunately, there is a simple recipe with easy to grow garden flowers to ease the suffering. A thin coat of Aloe Vera gel can be used to help speed healing after the Sunburn Soother has dried on the skin.

Ingredients for Making Sunburn Soother

chopped, dried Calendula flowers, 1 part
chopped, dried Wild Strawberry leaves, 1 part

Equipment for Making Sunburn Soother

1 mixing bowl
1 spoon
a resealable container or bag large enough to hold all your herbs
a label

Mountain Rose Herbs. A Herbs, Health & Harmony Com

Tips for Using Herbs

Practical Herbalist Tip #13

To keep cats away from your garden beds or houseplants, throw fresh orange peels onto the soil.

Sweet Cicely - Myrrhis Odorata – Umbelliferae family

by Sue Sierralupe

Nettle History, Folklore, and Magical Properties

by Candace Hunter

History, Folklore, and Magical Properties of Nettle

The Practical Herbalist Book Reviews by Candace Hunter and Sue Sierralupe:

Slug Bread and Beheaded Thistles by Ellen Sandbeck

Catalog Description

Introducing the 2011 Healing Herbs Wall Calendar

Sunburn Soother

Ingredients for Making Sunburn Soother

Equipment for Making Sunburn Soother

Practical Herbalist Tip #13

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