“And balm-breathing, faint mignonett, Oh! the cool-flowing, gentle Blackwater, And beams that light up its dark side, As it flows o'er the low meadow-inches, The groves of St Carthagh beside, When delirium brings gaunt shapes around me, And my temples throb wild in their pain, Oh! Blackwater, a dream of your flowin, Would bring rest … Continue reading Lemon Balm: A Beekeeper’s Dream
Tag: Herbs
Comfrey: The Bone Knitting Herb
“The great Comfrey or consound, though it was official with us down to the middle of the eighteenth century, never had a very prominent place in professional practice; but our herbalists were loud in its praise and the country culler of simples held it almost infallible as a remedy for both external and internal wounds … Continue reading Comfrey: The Bone Knitting Herb
Meadowsweet: The Belt of Cù Chulainn
“Aye," said Math, "let us seek, thou and I, by our magic and enchantment to conjure a wife for him out of flowers"...And then they took the flowers of the oak, and the flowers of the broom, and the flowers of the meadowsweet, and from those they called forth the very fairest and best endowed … Continue reading Meadowsweet: The Belt of Cù Chulainn
Watermint: Medicine of the Sacred Waters
“When Summer strews its cloak of hues, Then the dells, Yield earth nuts, mint and marjoram And fragrant smells.” George Sigerson, Bards of Gaeilge, 1925 Cover art by John William WaterhouseWater mint or Mentha aquatica is also called marsh mint, apple mint, bergamot mint, water peppermint, wild peppermint or hairy mint. It’s called cartal, cartloin … Continue reading Watermint: Medicine of the Sacred Waters
Elderberry: Queen of the Herbs
“It is said by the wise women and fairy doctors that the roots of the elder tree, and the roots of an apple tree that bears red apples, if boiled together and drunk fasting will expel any evil living thing or evil spirit that may have taken up its abode in the body of a … Continue reading Elderberry: Queen of the Herbs
Midsummer Herb Harvests
"Time glided onward without our noting, Soft as the fall of the summer rain." Lady Wilde Mary Cicely Barker I've been a busy bee harvesting herbs constantly! Lots of mint, anise hyssop, bee balm, spotted bee balm, nasturtium, St. John's wort, calendula, mugwort, yarrow, borage, lavender, chamomile and elderberry flowers. I'm enjoying watching all of … Continue reading Midsummer Herb Harvests
How to Make Elderberry Syrup
"Elder Flowers and Elder Berries have long been used in the English countryside for making many home-made drinks and preserves that are almost as great favourites now as in the time of our great-grandmothers. The berries make an excellent home-made wine and winter cordial, which improves with age, and taken hot with sugar, just before … Continue reading How to Make Elderberry Syrup
The Ivy Cottages 