Herbs, whether wild or windowsill-grown, have potential! Granny Trude shows us a few of her favourite plants, ones she swears by. Weeds? There’s no such thing!
My dears,It’s my favourite time of year, now summer’s officially here – admittedly it’s brought lots of rain so far, instead of sunshine. But at least my garden, with its flowers, shrubs, trees and of course the herbs, is delighted with the deluge from above. And that’s exactly what I want to chat to you about today: about culinary herbs and wild herbs. For me it’s not so much about how they taste in our cooking pots, it’s more about their incredible healing powers.
For culinary herbs you don’t necessarily need a garden, many of them feel quite at home on your windowsill – ideally one without a radiator below it and with a nice sunny aspect facing west or south. Basil, dill, cress, oregano, parsley, peppermint, chives and thyme are particularly suitable.
Herbs keep illness at bay
Thyme is one of my favourite herbs, I could go on sniffing it forever, it smells so good! It’s a real all-round herb, in other words it’s used for both seasoning and medicinal purposes. The plant with its pretty flowers has antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties – and is particularly useful for respiratory problems.To make tea, I pour a quarter-litre of boiling water over a teaspoon of thyme and leave it to brew for five minutes. Sweetened with honey it makes a delicacy of the finest order! But do be careful – with any herb you should always check out possible side-effects before using them!
Let’s gather some wild herbs
But alongside the familiar culinary herbs – the ones you might find in the supermarket packaged as “herbes de Provence” including rosemary, oregano, thyme, bay leaf, basil and savory, it’s the wild herbs that interest me most of all. As you might guess from the name, they grow in the wilds of nature – and they often provide more nutrients, vitamins and minerals than some vegetables. If you’re unsure and not really confident of using the herbs you find in recipes, I’ve got a good tip for you: wild herb walks are organised all over Germany, from Scharbeutz to the Allgäu. I even came across an internet search engine that can be used to find out which wild herb walks are taking place in your area.Herbs and medicinal plants have such incredible potential that I always really enjoy getting to grips with them. I’ve even been known to abandon my Sudoku book to spend hours reading up about stinging nettles, daisies, dandelions, chickweed or ground elder. Back in the Middle Ages they cultivated medicinal herbs in monastery gardens, pharmacists had apothecary gardens and to this day they still sell a wide range of tea blends, which can sometimes serve as a useful alternative to drugs – if you have a persistent cold, for example.
Protection from insect bites
But it’s not just internally that herbs are good for us. For instance last summer I kept putting ground-up daisies on my great-grandchildren Ava and David whenever they had insect bites. The juice from the flowers, stem and leaves is a splendid antidote to the swelling and – even more importantly for little ones – it reduces the itching. And if I’ve picked too many, I just put them on top of the salad, which looks really pretty and tastes wonderful. Daisies can be found absolutely everywhere, other than that you can also use basil leaves for the insect bites.My queen of medicinal plants
Last but not least I’d like to recommend the stinging nettle to you. Yes, you read right, you see it’s much better than its reputation as a weed. This medicinal plant has even been given a place of honour in my garden – even though my friend Inge always says they make it look scruffy. What poppycock, I tell her! If you can do all the things a nettle can, you’ve got my permission to grow amongst the pretty flowers here. Not only is this plant a great source of iron, potassium and magnesium, it’s also full of Vitamins A, C, E, K and the B complex. The leaves can be used in versatile ways, but the dried seeds in late summer are the real hit – as a source of energy and protein. So if you frequently feel lethargic in winter: hurry up and harvest some nettle seeds, ideally in sheltered places away from roads and dog-walking routes.I certainly wouldn’t ever want to be without my blood-purifying tea made from nettle tips. Just pour a litre of boiling water over a handful of tips and brew for a minute. For me it’s not just a drink that evokes spring: it also has a detoxifying effect and kick-starts my metabolism.
I could tell you even more – about using nettles as fertiliser or as a hair growth tonic. Or I could recommend that you research these ideas on the internet, while for now I simply wish you a good day.
My dears, stay healthy and cheerful!
Yours, Trude
July 2020