Viewing entries tagged with 'expectorant'

VIOLET Viola odorata

Posted by Tricia on 26 September 2011 | 1 Comments

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A couple of years ago I was contacted by a woman whose father had a cancerous tumour. She was looking for a source of violet plants as she wanted to treat him with this age-old remedy. She planned to make a poultice every day from the leaves and flowers. Impressive stuff! and needless to say she was going to need a heck of a lot of violets. My garden is my treasure chest, so many humble little plants and often unwelcome weeds are the real stars when it comes to making natural medicines. The violet however never fails to attract my attention. When the sun warms the flowers, that divine scent is released. This for me is the sweet herald of spring and hope renewed.   For more details read the full post.

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THYME Thymus vulgaris

Posted by tricia on 9 August 2011 | 0 Comments

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Three years ago, whilst doing a tour of the South Island to visit herbal clinics and health shops, I fell in love with thyme. We were driving across from Queenstown and I noticed thyme growing wild along the side of the road. Being me I had to stop the van and have a closer look and in doing that realised the hills for miles and miles were actually covered in thyme. That sort of thing can nearly send me into a swoon. It was mid-winter but I could imagine the hills in summer, the thyme in flower, the scented air and the bees at work. I collected a little and I'm still using that same thyme in my kitchen. It has lost none of it's flavour and is the sweetest thyme I have ever tasted. In fact I made a chilli con carne just last night for dinner and added a little. It was delicious. I struggle to grow thyme here with the heavy clay soils. The soil is too cold and waterlogged during winter. For me the answer is to grow thyme in containers. I harvest the flowering tops at the height of the summer when the active ingredients are at their strongest. Then I make a tincture which I use in my fungus salve. Interesting that the very thing that supports fungus conditions is the cold, dark and damp, highly intolerable to the thyme plant. By introducing the light and the warmth to our body, encapsulated in the thyme herbs totality we make fungus unwelcome and unable to thrive. These are the old ways of looking at plants and healing which we can learn through quiet observation.  For more details read the full post

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