Herbal cold and flu syrup

I'm a big fan of The Nerdy Farm Wife, and this recipe sounded like something good to pass along as everyone seems to be sick right now-

Ginger and lemon balm cold and flu syrup

I won't say 'enjoy', because if you're using it you're not feeling very well...

Use it in good health, perhaps?

Herbs for a kitchen garden (common and not)

Until I get my own 'forever garden' I'm not going to bother with too many perennials this year unless I get them dirt-cheap from somewhere) but it's nice to think about it and dream. Just for a reference, my area is a 5b on the plant hardiness zones map.
Ontario and Quebec plant hardiness zones


Perennials

Bay- this evergreen tree *may* survive outside under the right conditions, but it does quite well in a big pot which you can over-winter in a sunny, south-facing window or a nice, protected greenhouse or garage. Although, if we keep getting warm winters it shouldn't be a problem. Not that this is necessarily a good thing. It needs full sunshine and a good watering once it dries down. These leaves are the traditional garlands used to award the victors of athletic competitions in Greece.

Chives- this is probably the easiest plant to grow on the planet. The leaves and flowers are edible, and every once in a while it's a good idea to split it to give the roots room to grow. It will grow in part shade but prefers full sun, and they like dry feet so just throw a bit of water at them every once in a while.

Lavender- there are two varieties commonly grown in gardens, English and French. The English variety is smaller and has smaller flowers, but it's hardy to zone 5. Keep in a sheltered area with good sun for the best chance of it surviving the winter. It's not a typical 'culinary' herb, but it's lovely, smells great, and is easy to grow. So, why not?

Update on the horehound

So, I've had a chance to use human guinea pigs due to the tenacious cough that's going around this month. My daughter says that putting a sprig of horehound into her favourite herbal tea (with lots of honey to help with the 'funny' taste) did help her a bit with her cough. I have a couple co-workers who have had a cough for about a month now, so I'm giving them some snippings from my plant to try. I've asked them to give me feedback on whether they think it helped or not.

Since horehound has been recommended for the same thing for about 2,000 years now I suspected it was probably useful at least a little bit for coughs and chest congestion. My daughter says yes, and we'll have two other opinions soon. It's cheaper than cough drops to keep a pot of this plant on your windowsill...

Lord Woolton pie

This was considered to be a sad substitute for Shepherd's Pie during WWII in the UK, but it's a great way to get veggies into reluctant veggie eaters. Serve with a roast of some variety for a very decadent meal. It's also a great way to use leftover vegetables. All these BBC Wartime productions have gotten me thinking.

Planning for the spring

All the seed catalogs have started coming in already, but there's still a month and a half before I can start planting anything. This is the long, dark teatime of the gardener's soul.

But, on the up-side, my horehound and marshmallow are surviving in their pots, and my Meyer lemon tree is getting leaves again. It looked quite strange for a while with three green lemons and no leaves. It needs a better location, but that's the best window in the house. It also needs to be re-potted. Maybe in the spring when I can do that all outside. Our living room is much too small to deal with all that dirt. I'll have to wait until we get our new house to plant out the horehound. Or, maybe I could start a new plant and give this one away. It's a perennial, so it would make a pretty, low shrub in someone's garden. I don't want to leave it here, as the people who buy the place are 99.99999% unlikely to appreciate it.

I've found a whole new genre of YouTube channels- British people who vlog about their allotments. It's adorable, and makes me yearn for a milder climate. Putting in potatoes on the first of April? That would be insanity in Southern Ontario. I also learned a better method for growing leeks- use a dibber to make a 6" hole and place the small plant inside with the first leaves poking out the top. Don't fill it in, just water it. The hole will gradually fill in on its own and leave room for the stem to get nice and big. I'll have to try that this year.

Herbs for digestion for Lucia

Here is a listing of herbs from the Old English Herbal which deal with anything related to digestion and the abdomen. At the start of each herb I will list the plant as it is in the book- modern name, scientific name, Latin or Greek name, and then Anglo-Saxon.

Just an FYI- I have not looked into the toxicity of most of these plants, and I do not recommend them at all for the conditions described. And some of them, I know for a fact, are deadly poisonous and have no medical qualities at all.

This is offered as a historical curiosity, not for medical use.

Growing horehound

I have to say that horehound is now one of my favourite garden herbs. I'm a sucker for fuzzy leaves... fuzzy things in general, I guess. It's not very tall, or elegant, but it is a pretty silvery-green, and it has a lovely, herbal smell when you crush a leaf between your fingers.

If you're growing it in a pot it needs a fairly deep one for the root system, and it likes to be fertilized about once per month or the smaller leaves start to turn yellow and fall off. It likes to be well-watered, but not wet, and it needs full sun to part-shade. The seeds that I bought didn't germinate very well, but I'm not sure if it was due to age or a general difficulty with germination.

I'll post a picture later when I'm home and can get one uploaded.


I found this online
http://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/hn-2109003