June is actually the month to see this plant in bloom and it is at this time that I go on my annual pilgrimage to harvest this plant. However this year I am traveling and encountering St John’s Wort in July as we drive along these highways in Northern California, Oregon and Washington.  My eyes are darting this way and that and delighting in seeing my old friend proudly displaying its clusters of golden star-shaped flowers on erect stems that grow up to three feet high.

This is another one of those plants that were brought over by colonists from Europe and since then has become naturalized. It grows most abundantly in our west coast states especially in Northern California and Southern Oregon. It is also known as Klamath Weed.

St John’s Wort grows well in sunny locations enjoying heat and dryness, putting out extensive runners that make it a difficult plant to contain. On holding up a leaf to the light one can see little “pores” which are oil glands. The yellow petals have little black dots on their perimeter that also contain these oil glands. On crushing the flower buds a purplish – reddish dye coats your skin. This red oil “hypericin” is associated with the blood of St John the Baptist and his beheading. It is in full flower on St John’s day:  June 24th, which also coincides with the beginning of summer and the midsummer rituals. It is an herb that was associated with the power to drive away ghosts and witches and to give protection from thunder and lightning.

 St John’s Wort has been in use for the past 2500 years. It was used as a nerve pain and was a popular household remedy for preventing mood disorders. About 50 years ago a German doctor began using it for clinical depression. This herb has been extensively researched and has quite the reputation for treating mild and moderate depression. It is also good for treating mood swings associated with depression, menopause and P.M.S, mild anxiety, insomnia when it is coupled with mood swings and depression, bedwetting and night terrors in children. 

 The way I enjoy St John’s Wort is to have it as part of my first aid kit. I harvest the flowers and infuse the fresh flowers in olive oil for a month. After straining it, the oil should be a vivid red. I keep it as oil or use it in a skin salve. The oil is great for: first degree and mild to moderate 2^nd degree burns, skin abrasions, bruises, reducing pain and inflammation and nerve pain. The oil can be used as a massage oil to help with sprains and strained ligaments, tendons and muscles. It is one the most medicinal and potent healing herbs I know and I simply cannot do without it. One can also take it internally for ulcers. One of the few side effects of this herb is a sensitivity to light. So be careful if you are taking this internally and you are fair and have sensitive skin. It can be also be toxic to cows and sheep so in some areas it has been considered a pest.

 A great perennial herb! One worth having in a garden in a defined area!

No showy, colorful flowers or incredible foliage will draw you to this plant. It stands modestly to the side until you accidentally brush against her leaves and then you pause to inhale a wonderful breath of lemony fragrance. The scent is so fresh and uplifting that you may well return to this quiet plant again and again. 

Lemon Balm also known as Balm mint (it does belong to the family of mints, Labiatae), Bee Balm, Blue Balm, Cure all, Honey Plant, Melissa, Sweet Balm. All these names hint at some of its properties. The bees love this fragrant plant even though its blue-white or pale yellow flowers are small and grow in clusters in summer. Balm and bees have been linked since ancient times. Melissa comes from the Greek for ‘Honey Bee” and supposedly Lemon Balm has the same healing and tonic properties as honey and royal jelly. The ancient Greeks placed sprigs of Balm in beehives to attract a swarm. 

Lemon Balm is a perennial and produces upright stems growing to a 3-foot bush. It is very easy to grow from seed. It prefers some partial shade; a well-drained soil and it will die back in winter. The time to harvest its leaves is before flowering. There is nothing like a fresh cup of Lemon Balm tea made from your garden. 

Originally grown in the Orient, Arab traders introduced this herb to Spain. Still popular in Europe it is now grown in parts of the United States. The ancients thought of this herb as the elixir of Life with amazing powers of longevity. Throughout history it was used as a “cure all” for everything.

Today it is still used to treat a variety of physical conditions. Lemon Balm promotes sweating and menstruation. It is also recommended to treat headaches, flatulence and in particular stress and hypertension, as it is very calming and soothing. In Germany, Balm is used widely as a tranquilizer and sedative. It also helps with bronchitis and some forms of asthma. By relaxing the smooth muscle tissue of the digestive tract it aids with digestion problems. Use the crushed leaves as a poultice for sores and insect bites. Balm can also help fight mumps, herpes and other viruses. 

 A truly powerful herb, yet at the same time subtle, gentle and so giving of itself. The fragrance of this plant alone is uplifting and cheerful causing “the mind and heart to be merry”

Sweet Violet’s deep blue or white flowers grace the earth as early as January when there is rain and cold winds that blow in from the ocean. Taking a quick peep into my quiet, dormant garden in winter reveals a small carpet of these lovely, small, purple flowers. I am amazed that this seemingly delicate flower can endure the cold at this time of year. Such is nature that she would send us this beautiful reminder of the promise of spring, the promise of joy, the promise of youth.

This little flower has 5 petals arranged in a way to reveal the inner pistil and stamens welcoming the very first butterflies of the year. This perennial plant does not rely just on the butterflies for the reproduction of its species, it also grows a horizontal stem. This creeper anchors the plant at its nodes and creates a beautiful ground cover of heart shaped leaves. It enjoys partial shade and moist, rich earth.

This plant is native to Europe, Asia and Northern Africa and everywhere else in the world it has been introduced. It is easy to propagate from runners. The best time to do this is early spring and you can leave 4-5 inches between plants. In my garden it is not displaying aggressive tendencies and it appears easy to manage as a ground cover.

The medicinal and culinary uses of Sweet Violet were greatly thought of in the Classical world. In old recipe books dating from the 16 to the 19 century one could find this recipe: “Violet leaves at the entrance of Spring, fried brownish and eaten with orange and lemon juice and sugar is one of the most agreeable of all herbaceous dishes”.

The flowers and leaves can be harvested in spring and the roots in fall. The leaves can be added to salads and soups providing nourishment in the form of minerals and vitamins especially Vit C. Use the flowers in salads or press them in books preserving their delicate beauty. They can also be made into syrup to heal sore throats. Sweet Violet leaf tea can be used for treating chest colds, coughs and congestion. It acts as an expectorant in the lungs bringing up hot, yellow mucus while helping to cool dry throats and to shrink swollen glands. The leaves can be munched and made into a “spit poultice” and applied directly onto boils, burns and hot wounds. It has a wonderful cooling effect and alleviates pain. One can use it in the same manner after a dental visit, applying it to the gums to reduce inflammation. Frequent applications of this to canker sores could make them disappear. Sweet Violet leaf tea helps to alleviate headaches as well as reducing premenstrual breast tenderness. It can reduce the soreness of fibrocystic breasts and gently dissolve over time breast cysts and tumors benign and malignant. The tealeaves can be applied directly to the breasts for the same purpose. The flowers and leaves are used in British herbal medicine to treat breast and stomach cancer. Sweet Violet has this wonderful gentle ability to dissolve hardness and to soothe and comfort over time. 

In the heat of summer we must remember to keep the growing Sweet Violets moist and shady so that we can look again for the flowers in the cold, dormant times of the year.

“The sweet fragrance of youth – it abides with us always in our hearts.”

                                        (A message from Sweet Violet)

I have several Mullein in my medicinal herb garden. She is an old friend that stands watch, resilient on the hottest of days and a comforting plant to have around. Super easy to grow and transplant too, she is not fussy and needs very little to keep her happy. Just give her lots of sun.

Probably everyone has seen Mullein. It grows alongside highways, near dry riverbeds and in numerous scrubby, hot areas in the United States. Mullein is a stately, pretty plant that becomes very tall in its second year of growth, when it sends up a 4-8 ft spike covered in little yellow flowers. In its first year it produces a rosette of large velvety leaves that are soft and covered in fine white hairs. In fact the whole plant is covered with these hairs, including the flowers. This is a great plant adaptation for the gardener who forgets to water as these hairs help to reduce water loss.

Mullein is a magical herb of antiquity and has a long history going back to the ancient days of Europe from where it originated. The great respect and love that was given to this plant is inferred from the 30 or so names it was accorded. Dried Mullein stalks were dipped in tallow and burned by Christians to frighten away witches hence the name St Peter’s Staff, Jacob’s Staff. On the other hand Mullein had a reputation for being a favorite plant of witches. In England Mullein torches were burned in their rituals. Hag Taper, Witches Taper, High Taper are other Mullein names. Dried leaves were rolled and used as wicks for oil lamps and candles, hence the name Candlewick Plant. The early American settlers brought Mullein with them and over time it escaped from their gardens and spread. Many American tribes smoked the dried leaves to relieve coughing. The Navajos called it ‘Big Tobacco”

Today we still continue to use this helpful medicinal herb. The yellow flowers can be infused in olive oil for about 2 weeks, strained and the oil used to treat ear infections. The leaves can be used in a tea to treat bronchial lung problems. The dried stalks gathered in the fall can be combined with other dried plants to make a great indoor decoration.