Herbs for a wedding

If you discuss using herbs at a marriage ceremony, most people’s first thought would be flower arrangements for the ceremony or the breakfast tables. These could be anything from hand tied bouquets to suitably scented plants in pots.

When this was discussed on the Herb Society Forum some years ago, there were several helpful suggestions. Debs Cook thought myrtle and lemon verbena would be good choices for stand- alone pots of herbs together with lemon thyme, lemon balm, calendula and marjoram for on the table. She suggested alternate pots of lavender, lemon balm and lemon verbena since these herbs provide wonderful summer fragrances and are tactile so guests could squeeze or brush the leaves to release aroma. Jasmine, ivy and roses can also be classified as herbs and can add fragrance to the happy event.

Jane Tapping, another Herb Society member, had experience of using herbs in many different settings. She favoured sweet smelling pinks and clove carnations together with variegated marjorams depending on the overall colour scheme. She also used assorted herbs as foliage in the church arrangements (or registry office) as they gave a lovely fresh smell to the building. Small bunches of lavender or other scented herbs could be set on table napkins for guests.

Debs Cook provided an added dimension through the language of flowers. Lavender is a symbol of devotion, Lemon Balm 'brings love' and Lemon Verbena attracts the opposite sex. Calendula symbolises joy, Marjoram joy and happiness whilst Myrtle is a classic symbol of love and an ancient emblem of marriage.

When my daughter was married earlier this month, she did not want flowers but herbs still played an important part in the proceedings. I was asked to provide a jar of “something” for the wedding favours. Lip balm was deemed inappropriate since it wouldn’t appeal to male guests, so I settled for a universal hand salve made from home grown plantain, calendula and violets.

It didn’t seem sensible to make the salve too far in advance. I discovered a jar full of bright orange dried calendula petals in the summerhouse cupboard at the Sanctuary which provided the basis of the calendula oil component. This was a great relief as my calendula harvest wasn’t huge last year and I’ve used a lot of it for teas and workshop oils.

I had to wait for the plantain to grow and dry conditions in which to pick it while I was at the farm. Whilst the narrow-leaf plantain grows in both fields, it seems more abundant in the spring field. Thankfully we had some glorious days whilst we were visiting in April although my back was aching by the time I’d filled my basket with both plantain and dandelion flowers.

The violet leaves came from the patch at the bottom of my garden. Once the plants stop flowering, the leaves grow to three times their early size and are wonderful for making a moisture-rich oil. I used sunflower oil for all three plants since that is what I normally use and I was trying to keep the costs down.

I produced four infused oils over two days once I had everything in my kitchen. I did not intend to use the dandelion for this salve but it would be available as a backup if anything ran out. Then the job started of making enough salve to fill one hundred small 1oz jam jars. I couldn’t find enough recycled jars, so resorted to buying them off Ebay in the end. They came really quickly, were inexpensive and the silver lids were perfect for my daughter’s colour scheme of white, black and red. 

The labels were created from a Vistaprint address label pattern which I may be using again as it made them look very professional. I also bought tiny bags in red and white from an online party company to put the jars in and they really finished them off beautifully!

This is the method I used to make the infused oil

1 basket full of fresh herb material

Enough sunflower oil to cover half the plant matter (about 20-24 fluid ounces or ½ -2/3 litre)

Either a double saucepan/bain marie or a stainless steel pot with a lid small enough to place inside another saucepan or a plastic bowl with closely fitted lid inside a cook pot.

Water

Place half of the herb inside the inner pan and chop coarsely with scissor. Cover with sunflower oil. Replace the lid firmly and place inside the other saucepan which is about half filled with water. Heat the external saucepan so that the water gently boils. Do not let the pan boil dry! Boil for about 2 hours, then remove the inner pan and strain off the oil, squeezing the herb if you can to remove as much oil as possible. Place the rest of the herb inside the inner pan, chop coarsely and pour over the oil from the first infusion. Replace the lid firmly and heat the oil in the outer pan for a further two hours. Strain the oil into a clean glass jar making sure you leave any water globules in the saucepan. Seal with a screw top lid. Label the oil with the name and date that you made it.

I let the oil sit for a day before gathering together all the ingredients and jars I needed to make the salve. I made the salve in four batches of

6 fl oz calendula oil

6 fl oz plantain oil

6 fl oz violet leaf oil

2-3 ozs local beeswax

This was all melted together on a low heat in the bain marie/double saucepan until the oil was clear. Then I poured it into a glass jug and poured into the small jars. The salve started to set within the jug so I had to return it to the pan or try to keep the jug as hot as possible while I was pouring.

To fill 100 jars took several hours. To screw on each lid, add the label so it was perfectly straight then fit them inside the tiny bags and tie the ribbon into bows took even longer. All the effort was worth it as the favours looked very professional and everyone who received one was very pleased. I’ve also had some extremely good feedback about the efficacy of the hand salve!

On the morning of the wedding herbs came to the rescue again. If I had given the matter some prior thought, I would have been prepared but as it was, being presented with a sobbing bride-to-be early in the morning led me to be rummaging around in the larder without my glasses in my dressing gown and slippers.

This is what I dosed her with – which calmed her down and brought a smile back on her face.

1 tsp rose elixir in a shot glass

1 cup of chamomile tea (2 pinches in a cafatiere brewed for ten minutes)

1 dropperful of skullcap tincture under the tongue

I took a small dropper bottle of the skullcap tincture with me to the wedding venue where I proceeded to dose the groom and his mother, both of whom were threatening to climb the walls with stress. They both remarked how effective it was and the groom asked for a second dose just before he gave his speech, which was excellent!

The moral of this story is that if you let them, herbs can be an integral part of every life event. They can delight you with their flowers and scents, provide simple but effective homemade gifts and enable everyone to find a place of calm to help them through the day.

Our daughter’s wedding was amazing, wonderful and a thoroughly enjoyable occasion. We wish them, Kathryn and Nick, every happiness in their life ahead.

Book Review: "...and then you're dead" by Jim Rai

Back in February an email popped into my inbox publicising a new book, “…and then you’re dead”. This was the description.

“   If there is one certainty in life, it is that one day we will all reach the end of our journey. But before we get there, it’s worth taking time to reflect on and question the journey so far. Has it been pretty good, just ok or regrettably woeful? Before it’s too late, take time to stop, reassess and choose the path to lead the life you want to live.

 …and then you’re dead! is a profound, charming yet practical ‘personal friend’, which encourages you to achieve everything you have been meaning to do in life, but never quite found the time or courage to do so. Written by Jim Rai, a former prominent lawyer, the book is a life companion which is unique, inspirational and captivating. Rai’s thought-provoking words challenge the reader to contemplate the life they are leading and to change whatever they are unhappy about.

…and then you’re dead! delivers a fresh new perspective on life. The book comes with a complementary writing journal entitled …and then you’re alive!, which acts as a blank canvas for the reader to record their personal thoughts and feelings, as they create their personal journey ahead.”

These few paragraphs intrigued me. I was curious to know how a lawyer might feel compelled to write a lifestyle enhancing book. It didn’t seem to fit the profiles of lawyers I knew during my eight years working in two large multi-faceted law firms.

I purposefully didn’t look at Rai’s biography before reading the book. I was intrigued by the layout; striking, single black pages with individual sentence or thought which introduced the chapters of black text on a white background.

Each chapter was short, between one to three pages; easy to dip into with simple ideas, illustrational stories complete with suggestions for follow up. Some of the stories I’d heard before but some were new and you can never have too many stories. Some were ancient but some were taken from Rai’s own life to illustrate the point he was trying to make.

Some of the suggestions about diet, exercise and seeking medical advice surprised me. Most non-medical authors don’t presume to offer specific advice, however positive, unless they are followed by numerous disclaimers.

This willingness to make lifestyle suggestions made more sense when I finally read Rai’s biography and discovered he had left the legal profession to become a lifestyle coach. His new calling seemed much more in keeping with his sensible, solution focused approach to life and living well.

I enjoyed, “…and then you’re dead!” very much. It contains lots of common sense advice and suggestions which I’m sure will be of great help to those who are unfamiliar with a solution focused approach and who are working to make simple, positive changes in both their life and their relationships with others. The book is a helpful companion to anyone who wants to make the most of what they have before time runs out.

 
The complementary notebook which arrives with the book is a lovely idea. It is a gentle push to anyone reading to start making changes and produce a record to show how their life is moving forwards in a positive direction. 

…and then you’re dead! is published by Compass Publishing and is available for £18.94 (hardback), £12.94 (Softback) and £2.99 (Kindle).

There is a multitude of self–help books available today. Jim Rai has made a very genuinely helpful addition to the literature with “…and then you’re dead!” and I wish him well with his future endeavours.

What to do with lemon balm?

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is one of those herbs about which gardeners grumble. I remember my aunt complaining that once you have it in the garden you will never get rid of it as it self-seeds everywhere and can flourish in both shady and bright conditions. People new to herbs really like it because it provides a delicious, easily produced tea when other herbs might not seem so palatable.

At first it appears to be a delicate herb. You are advised to freeze it because the shelf life is so short (around six months or longer if you are growing and drying your own). This may seem frustrating for the dried herb not to last longer until you realise that it lasts exactly the right length of time until fresh leaves are available again.

In most conditions it is perennial and will grow wherever it can. It has been with us in the UK since the ubiquitous Romans brought it to flavour their meals and provide their medicines. The new leaf clusters appear in January or early February depending on the weather. They grow to their most profuse around May or June. Bees love the tiny pink flowers which appear on long stalks over the summer hence the name ‘melissa’ but by the time the flowers appear, you have missed the most potent harvest. If you do harvest the leaves in May there will be a second harvest later in the year as the leaves grow back.

The more you work with this plant, the greater respect you have for it. The subtle lemon flavour of the tea appears less strong than the aroma produced when you crush the leaves to release the volatile oil but is nevertheless bright and appealing. You can extract it using any medium you choose – honey, tincture, vinegar, elixir, liqueur and they will all taste delightful. What you don’t realise is how strong the medicinal ability of plant really is.

General information

Those of you with a scientific bent will want to know what the constituents of lemon balm are. It contains volatile oils (including citronella, geraniol and linalool), polyphenols, tannins, flavonoids (including isoquercetrin), rosmarinic acid and triterpenoids. Its actions include, diaphoretic, carminative, nervine, antispasmodic, antihistamine, antimicrobial, sedative, antiviral, partus praeparator, antioxidant and decongestant.

If we look at its uses for the various systems in the body, the benefits can be described in the following way.

For digestion, lemon balm reduces pain and spasm. It soothes stress-related problems and stimulates the liver and gall bladder.

For circulation it calms nervous palpitations and arrhythmias and reduces hypertension.

For mental and emotional uses it is both sedative and analgesic, reducing tension, anxiety and agitation. It has been found useful in dementia and insomnia. It also relieves headaches, migraine, vertigo and tinnitus. It elevates mood, improves memory and concentration so can be thought of as a helpful herb for students of all ages, especially when faced with stressful situations such as exams or interviews.

With the respiratory system, lemon balm is a relaxant, antimicrobial and decongestant. It helps resolve colds, flu, catarrh, chest infections, coughs and asthma.

With the immune system, lemon balm is a specific antivirus against herpes simplex, mumps and possibly HIV. Its volatile oils are antibacterial, antifungal and antihistamine; helpful in hayfever and allergic rhinitis. Rosmarinic acid is antioxidant and anti-inflammatory and influences complement activity.

With the urinary system, lemon balm is antispasmodic and diuretic.

With the reproductive system, lemon balm is helpful in irregular and painful periods, PMS and menopausal depression. It eases and speeds childbirth when taken prior to and during labour.

Externally, lemon balm can be used as an antiseptic wash for cuts and wounds. Dilute oils of lemon balm can be used in massage for period pains, neuralgia, joint and muscle pain and cold sores. Eardrops can be used for infections.

After such a list of positive attributes, you must also be aware that lemon balm does inhibit the thyroid and most herbalists will advise anyone who suffers with an under-active thyroid not to use this herb. It can be used in the management of hyperthyroidism where the thyroid is over-active.

So, what do I do with lemon balm?

Tea

I love to make the tea in summer from fresh leaves. Although the taste is not as strong as the smell, it is pleasant, refreshing and soothing. A tea which makes you sit down while you drink it out in the fresh air, noticing everything around you. I also recommend it, along with chamomile, for those who can’t sleep. It’s second on my list of “Sleep herbs.”

Lemon balm is specific for the herpes virus so can be used to treat shingles. When I was training to be a counsellor, one of my elderly clients developed shingles. Since she was too distraught with the pain to benefit from a counselling session, I gave her some healing and at the next session brought her some lemon balm and St John’s wort oil. I told her make a pot of tea three times a day and to drink half of it and use the other half to soak a flannel with before she tied it around her head covering the red shingles inflammation. She loathed the tea but drank it and used it on her forehead religiously. Her pain was soon gone and she was left without a mark on her skin.

Syrup

The first time I ever made cough syrup, I added a large amount of lemon balm to the mix of herbs to hide the flavour of some of the less palatable herbs. This was the same time my teenage daughter was having extreme problems at school. We discovered that if she took some cough mixture with her and made it into a warm drink, it helped her with panic attacks and enabled her to stay at school.

I use Non Shaw and Chris Hedley’s method of syrup making – choosing my herb mix then decocting a strong tea for 20minutes. I then strain and measure the liquid then reduce by 7/8ths. I add sugar or honey in the ratio of 1UK pint to 1 lb sugar or honey.  If I were making a teenage anxiety syrup again I’d probably use equal parts of lemon balm and hyssop since I’m sure those were the two active ingredients for my daughter.

Tincture

I make lemon balm tincture from fresh leaves. It’s one of the herbs I add to my stress or bereavement medicines when people need soothing or are in the throes of adrenal meltdown or need holding for a while so they can process their grief.

When I was working in the NHS and was fairly new to herbs, I had a client in his eighties who had lost his wife to a useless GP after caring for her devotedly for ten years or more. He was called to give evidence at the GP’s complaint hearing. I had begged the Primary Care Trust to be careful of the date of the hearing but of course they paid no attention and the hearing was held on her birthday. My client was an old sailor and liked his tot of rum or brandy. I knew the hearing was going to be very difficult for him so I made him some lemon balm brandy and gave it to him while we waited. He said he would have preferred rum but I knew he and his family appreciated the gesture.

Liqueur

Melissa Liqueur (Christina Stapley)

1 75cl bottle of vodka

1/2 cup of lemon balm leaves

1 teaspoon of cloves

1 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp carraway seeds

2 tsps grated lemon rind

3 tsps marjoram leaves

Method:

Wash and chop the herb leaves, adding the spirit with the pounded seeds and cloves and grated lemon rind. The cloves should be measured whole, but ground before adding. Leave to steep in a tightly closed jar in a warm dark place, swirling daily for 6-7 weeks. Filter and sweeten to taste with approximately 1/2-1 cup of sugar before labelling in the original bottle and maturing for at least a year.

Christina call this “a soothing liqueur for troubled spirits.” I’ve made it many times as it produces the smoothest liqueur I know. I didn't have any lemons the first time, so I used orange peel. I also reduced the amount of cloves because someone said it tasted like something you'd use for tooth ache!

  

Honey

As lemon balm is a very aromatic plant with lots of volatile oils, it makes a wonderful infused honey.

Elixirs

Sean Donoghue once described using diluted lemon balm elixir as a rehydration mix for overheated festival goers who had drunk too much the night before and spent too much time in their sunlit tents the next morning. I immediately made some. It tastes wonderful and can be used as a nervine, but I haven’t had a chance to try it out for the purpose it was intended.

Lemon balm is always a large component of my “Uplifting elixir” when I wander around my garden on a summer evening and collect all the flowers and leafy parts which can be considered nervines or generally uplifting. They make a delightful elixir to sip in very small quantities when you need to lighten or brighten your mood.

Scent bags

If you have a surfeit of lemon balm and wish to make a soothing scent bag, dry lemon balm and marjoram and mix them together with some orris root so the scent is fixed before decanting into cloth bags. These can then be hung on door handles or taken with you to sniff during the day.

 

Lemon balm as a “strengthening herb”

One of the properties of lemon balm talked about by herbalists but which hasn’t really made it into books yet is the way it affects other herbs. Using it alongside another herb subtly changes and strengthens the mixture in a way which is not yet fully understood.

David Winston was perhaps the first herbalist I noticed who mentioned this when he talked about using lemon balm with St John’s wort to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). I’ve made an effective syrup using the two herbs which people have found helpful but you could also take it as a tea or a combined tincture. (I would not use lemon balm leaves or tincture with SJW standardised extract tablets.)

I once had a student who was taking motherwort for pre-menapausal symptoms. She couldn’t tolerate the motherwort as a tea until she added lemon balm to it, then she said it tasted fine and she found it really helpful.

Herbalists sometimes talk about “the herb they throw into a mixture” for a client on gut instinct, not knowing exactly why they do it but knowing it needs to be there. I think lemon balm is one of those herbs. You think you’re adding it just for the taste but the reality may be some unknown herbal magic to meet a need.

References

McIntyre, A The Complete Herbal Tutor  2010 Gaia Books Ltd ISBN 9781856753180

Stapley, C Herbcraft Naturally 1994 Heartsease Books ISBN 0 9522336 1 4

Winston, D Differential Treatment of Depression and Anxiety With Botanical Medicines 2006