Viewing entries tagged with 'wounds'
COMFREY Symphytum officinale
Comfrey was first brought to my attention after the birth of my son more than thirty years ago. My domiciliary midwife, the wonderful Joan Donnelly was a staunch advocate of eating weeds and comfrey was one of her favourites. She was a picture of health and as well as her weed salads she used to knock back tablespoons of cayenne pepper to keep any bugs at bay. Undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with and she was a guiding light in the homebirth movement in this country. But I digress... comfrey also a force to be reckoned with, there's no getting rid of it once it establishes itself. Every little rootlet will grow a new plant. I used to curse it when my garden was tiny. Now I welcome the huge clumps it makes and I have created gardens around it. In early spring when I am planting seedlings or planning to make a comfrey tea for the garden I can never get enough of it! It has had some very bad press during the last few years for causing hepato-toxicity in laboratory experiments with rats, but there's no need to throw out the baby with the bath water. Problems can occur from ingesting the roots, in quantity. Topically it is one of our most marvelous healers for all manner of wounds and injuries from the skin through to the ligaments and the bone, nicely backed up by placebo double-blind trials I might add! For more details read the full post.
Calendula Officinalis
Calendula Officinalis is such an easy plant to grow, so common-place, a weed really, like so many of our first aid herbal healers, and yet on further investigation this not-so-ordinary plant holds possibilities for healing on so many levels. In truth, our gardens could be our first port of call if only we wanted to re-educate ourselves just a little and begin to free ourselves from this fear based culture that keeps us dependent on so-called 'experts' and encourages us to mistrust all things 'natural'. Why not start here and now? After you read my blog about this glorious medicine plant go and purchase some seeds or a seedling and plant it in your garden or in a pot for your window-sill. When it's producing some flowers make calendula tincture and start using it as a wash, for insect bites or stings, sunburn, abrasions, pimples or sores etc. You'll feel up-lifted and empowered just having the Calendula plant growing around you, knowing each time you see those bright and cheerful blooms that it has shared some of it's secrets with you. Read the full post for all the details.
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