Backyard Bounty
Look twice before you pull that weed! by Thomas Easley, RH (AHG)
briars last year I decided this year I’d do it right and build raised beds. I turned my soil under, carefully lining it with newspaper to suppress grass seeds from sprouting and then built three 4’ x 20’ raised beds. They were beautiful! I had spaced them four feet apart to allow my lawn mower in between the beds so I could keep their appearance up and weeds down. And then the strang- est thing happened one week while I was gone. All the weeds came in, and they were all medicinal herbs! I had Blue Vervain, Sheep Sorrel and Evening Primrose growing between my raised beds like I had paid them to. To make a long story short I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of the wonderfully medicinal weeds. So I have a very messy looking garden this year, but the value of these wonderful herbs far outweighs the loss of tidiness. Let’s take a look at a few of the medicinal plants that happened to grow well this year.
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Blue Vervain, Verbena hasta, is an in- tensely bitter plant that was used in the Revolutionary war when quinine was unavailable for fevers and chills. It is a
his year I had such big plans for a neat and attractive veg- etable garden. Having dealt with invasive grasses and
grab a field identification book, get outside, and get to know the plants that grow in your area
casionally use Blue Vervain for fevers, trying to get people to drink enough hot Vervain tea is pretty hard to do because of the taste. So I use it in tincture form (a fresh alcohol extract) in smaller doses for tension, both physical and mental. It’s a specific remedy for stiff necked overachievers. People who set impos- sible goals for themselves and burn out trying to achieve them benefit greatly from using Vervain. It does wonders at relieving tension in the neck and shoul- ders, in the process helping with stress induced headaches. I even think of it as specific for tension in the face and I’ve seen it be a fast and sure remedy for fa- cial tics and tourettes. When combined with Motherwort, Leonurus cardiaca, it makes a great remedy for generalized anxiety. It helps balance excess corti- sol and has a mild strengthening effect on the adrenal glands. Vervain is also helpful in balancing the hormone shift that occurs about three months into pregnancy and about 6 weeks before delivery. It is invaluable in helping calm down pregnant women that get stuck in the nesting mode and wear themselves out compulsively cleaning and organiz- ing.
diaphoretic, meaning that it opens the pores and induces sweating. The sweat- ing process lowers body temperature, helping reduce fevers. While I’ll oc-
26 NA Pensacola/FWB Emerald Coast
Evening Primrose, Oenothera spp, is a beautiful wildflower native to North America. There are many varieties, but all share the delicate yellow flower that comes alive when the sun goes down. Evening Primrose contains a fatty acid know as Gamma Linolenic Acid. GLA is the precursor to a type of Eicosanoid, a hormone in your body
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that reduces inflammation, dilates arter- ies and enhances immune function. Your body turns Omega 6 into GLA, unless you consume trans-fatty acids or have a chronic viral infection. Some people are born without the enzyme called Delta 6 Desaturase that converts Omega 6 to GLA. These people tend to develop chronic skin problems like eczema. So if you have a poor diet, skin problems or chronic infection think about using Evening Primrose oil to re- duce inflammation and improve health. A tincture of the fresh plant can also be used to help with spastic colons, “crampiness,” and ovarian pain.
Sheep Sorrel, Rumex acetosellais, is a common and little used weed in the herbal market. Commercially it is normally only found in Essiac Tea, a traditional cancer remedy. I remember my Granddad giving me some to try when I was a kid just to watch my face as the sourness hit me. In fact, another common name for Sheep Sorrel is Sour Weed. The taste of sour in Herbalism indicates a remedy that cools the body down. A glass of lemonade on a hot day is the perfect illustration of the
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