We’ve had a spate of cloudless days recently, filled with gentle yellow sunshine. It’s been perfect weather for viewing our local raptors soaring into the bright blue. Bald eagles seem to be everywhere, and the crows croak their displeasure at it all. Another favorite Spring herald of mine is the Red-winged Blackbird, and I’ve begun to hear their mating calls down by the wetlands again!
The cold still lingers on through the nights, but the Spring Equinox is approaching. I look forward to all of the busy activity the warmer temperatures will bring to my garden this year as I continue to gear up for our Flower Farming test run.
I felt the need this month to clean out the tea cupboard (which in reality is two cupboards and a drawer filled with herbs) and use up some of the herbs lingering around before bringing home more. Alan also uses herbs in his crafting of tinctures for his Astrological Consultations, so our cupboards overfloweth at the moment.
Since my goal is to use up herbs, I decided that whatever herb I found and wanted to include in the blend had to be used up completely. Meaning, however much was in the bag would all go into the blend. This was actually a fun way to craft an herbal tea, just pouring together bags and then brewing up the mixture to see how it tasted. You can do this Cupboard Clearing blend with your own cupboards or, if you don’t keep copious amounts of dried herbs everywhere like we do, follow the recipe below.
Some herbs simply didn’t sound like they would mix well to me (like hibiscus or gentian), so I settled on Skullcap, Lemon Balm, Borage, Hawthorn, and the last of the St. John’s Wort. I almost added in Red Clover but my mixing bowl was too full! I weighed each herb to see how much was going into the blend in case I wanted to replicate it again.
Cupboard Clearing Blend
Skullcap - .55oz
Lemon Balm - .60oz
Borage – 1.15oz
Hawthorn - .80oz
St. John’s Wort - .50oz
I’ve talked previously on the blog about Skullcap and St. John’s Wort, but thought I’d mention the qualities of the others below.
Tierra says of Borage in The Herbs of Life, “It decongests the lungs and so is beneficial for chronic mucus, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Because Borage is a restorative agent for the adrenal cortex, it helps heal the adrenal glands after medical treatment with cortisone and other steroids and regenerates the adrenals when under stress.”
Of the Hawthorn she mentions, “it stimulates circulation, regulates blood flow, blood pressure, and heart rate, dilates coronary vessels and strengthens the heart muscle, promoting longevity. It will further help the type of insomnia which occurs with constant mental thoughts of nervousness.
The Herbs of Life also says, “Lemon Balm is very effective for breaking fevers and causing a sweat. It’s also calming and relaxing, acting on the nervous system as a gentle herbal tranquilizer. It is excellent for those feeling melancholic, homesick, depressed, nervous or hysterical.”
After mixing the herbs together by hand as usual, I then steeped a huge tea ball’s worth for 5-7 minutes and just left it in my mug while enjoying the tea. It has a citrus, grassy green flavor to it with a smooth butteriness. Excellent for evenings or anytime because of its calming effect!
Let me know what you come up with from your cupboards!
Enjoy!