Basil & Nettle

We are waxing near full moon again, Sunday, May 3, 8:42 PM PDT. Fortunately for me I have both women's group on Sunday and social dance in the evening to explore moon energy. This month happens to be in the constellation Scorpio. I generally view these types of associations to be more mythology than anything else, but as I pull up various websites regarding herbs and Scorpio, I notice basil is a constant. Luckily something found at the farmers market!

Garden Witchery regards Scorpio herbs as: catmint, basil, sage, catnip, honeysuckle, nettle, onion, coriander, garlic, wormwood, and elder. And the area of the body to focus on is the genitals. I think about people I know dealing with reproductive health issues and want to consider medicines that might work from this list of herbs. 

Reading into the phytopharmacology of basil claims basil reduces blood clotting and lowers blood pressure. Women sometimes take basil before and after childbirth to promote blood circulation and the flow of breast milk. Not many studies have been undertaken but some demonstrate antibacterial, antimicrobial and spermicidal effects. If this is valid some kind of vaginal cream or salve may be created for treating STDs, HPV or yeast infections. In that case a strong antibacterial and antiviral could be added to enhance the potency (I am thinking garlic and onion). 

Another plant I am curious about is nettle, which is so abundant this time of year. Nettle is highlighted in an article "Women's Herbs" for it's value as a nutritive, for the entire body, bones, blood, brain, breast milk. As a whole body tonic it serves as a "fertility herb" -- whether or not you are trying to become pregnant you might make your body fertile for life. A basil nettle tea could be delicious. 

I love how I never thought of using these herbs for reproductive health until full moon in Scorpio came around when I happened to have women's group scheduled.

Falling Into the Garden

Last week the clouds and air temperature started to transition. Time to accept the fall/winter garden will demand it's attention. I've been considering full plans yet I know my patterns. Plans will be abandoned to what I can chore day to day. (How much will I get done this September?) I've been reviewing fall/winter garden guides and have gone through our seed collection. The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide is helping me keep food crops like spinach, lettuce, and alliums on my mind. I recently planted some perennial herbs from a couple different plant nurserys - feverfew, echinacea, thyme, and so forth.

But the real fun comes from throwing down seeds (I also love pushing garlic cloves into the ground) so the other day I aligned a couple rows of mustard and spinach where the kale trees live. Now the great wait to see what sprouts. The mustard green seeds are from 2003.

Warty Herbs

Jon showed us the wart under his foot before he got it lazered off. We were eating then started sharing our wart stories - it was gross. You had to be there. (The only one I got so far was on my knee when I was in elementary school. I had the wart for months and wondered how I was going to get rid of it. Then all the sudden one night I was doing somersaults off the couch, which had wooden arms, and I scraped my knee over one of them, and scraped the wart right off. DIY wart removal.)

At the same time I've been reading posts in HerbDigest about herbal treatments for warts. I read recommendations for iodine (seaweed, cod, yogurt) and antivirals (read this article: Top Antiviral Herbs including echinacea, garlic and onion). Here is a nice overview of what may be causing the problem. According to the article the manifestation of warts illustrates struggling immunity. Therefore the best prevention is to have a plan for enhancing your immune system long term. I'm pretty sure I have posted about that a couple times. http://herbdiaryseattle.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-is-immunity-really.html

What should I have done after I rolled my wart off the couch, back when I was a child? According to that same article suggests topical allium applications. Specifically to tape a garlic clove on top. Or to paint a mixture of salt/onion juice everyday. If that's too weird, then applications of dandelion sap might do the trick. And that would be pretty easy to take care of since dandlions grow everywhere.

Preparing for Perennials

The perennial sale at Swansons officially began yesterday. Today several of the kid's parents and I  cleared out a bed of arugula, strawberry and other weeds that are severely dehydrated by Seattle's summer. Also this space has been untouched for over a year and the soil really needs work. There are an infinite number of suckers from the alder tree planted there. I'm working on a small budget for the Advisory Council about replacing that space with native flowering perennials. Then again perhaps all that can go there right now is a cover crop mix.

In my inbox today Swansons sent a notice about their perennial sale and specifically listed good plants to attract hummingbirds, butterflies and for creating bouquets. This past May Day we did an activity of creating bouquets but the flower variety available around the community center was pretty pathetic. This upcoming Spring is gonna be way better.

Here's the list! (I've narrowed down to the plants native, medicinal or presently established to North America) *I'm going to see about planting some of these in our house here in the U District.

ATTRACTING HUMMINGBIRDS

             Beebalm  Monarda spp. and cultivars
             Bleeding Heart  Dicentra spp. and cultivars
             Butterfly Weed  Asclepias tuberosa
             Coral Bells  Heuchera spp. and cultivars
             Sage Salvia spp.

ATTRACTING BUTTERFLIES

             Bee Balm  Monarda spp. and cultivars
             Black Eyed Susan  Rudbeckia spp. and cultivars
            Border Sages  Salvia spp. and cultivars
             Coneflower  Echinacea spp. and cultivars
             Garden Sage  Salvia x superba cultivars
            Lavender  Lavandula angustifolia, L. x intermedia, L. stoechas
             Ornamental Onion  Allium spp. and cultivars
             Tree Mallow  Lavatera spp. and cultivars
             Verbena  Verbena spp. and cultivars
             Yarrow  Achillea spp. and cultivars

CUTTING GARDEN
       
             Black Eyed Susan  Rudbeckia spp. and cultivars
             Blanket Flower Gaillardia grandiflora
             Bleeding HeartDicentra spp. and cultivars
             Coneflower  Echinacea spp. and cultivars
             Goldenrod   Solidago spp.
             Lavender  Lavandula angustifolia, L. x intermedia, L. stoechas
             Monkshood  Aconitumspp.
             Oregano  Origanum spp.
             Sage  Salvia spp.
            Yarrow  Achillea spp. and cultivars

So many choices, I will have to find a way to narrow down even further. Budgeting won't be easy.