CAN YOU GUESS WHAT HERB THIS IS?

I love the spring, summer and fall because I love harvesting herbs that I have grown and herbs that grow on the sides of the road.

Today is Sunday, and it was a bit cooler tonight, so I decided to take a walk because the weather has been so hot and has kept me indoors often.

I am taking a class called LearningHerbs.com. There is a special going if you are just starting out for $1.00 for a month. This is the time I wanted to take advantage of such a site.

I started out by writing down the different ailments my children, husband and I have and thought I would like to find out what is blooming right now out in the fields, harvest it and make teas, tinctures, creams and all that good stuff. This site includes videos, audios, live talk, photos, worksheets for kids, and also includes physiology and anatomy. I am going to include this into my children's homeschool studies.

So, the secret herb I found today up street from my house was "Yarrow" or achillia. Unfortunately, my street didn't have as much as I would like to pick, more poison ivy than you can imagine and I don't need that now. Hopefully I didn't get any on me.

Achillia or "Yarrow" has little white flowers that are grouped together with long, delicate type leaves. This herb was used historically when soldiers had wounds, they would take the leaves and pack them into the wound whichwould stop the bleeded. Yarrow is an astringent along with helping with bruises, sore gums, diarrhea, and fevers. If you have a fever, the yarrow tea will help you sweat the fever out.

So, after I harvested this cute little white herb (or to others, just a highway side flower), along with other flowers, I made it home, not sweating too too much, and took an elastic band, wound it around the bunch and hung out in my little porch to dry out.

I have a mud room or little porch I call it where I have my gardening, herb and aroma therapy books. There, I hang up my herbs because it is nice and dry and not overly sunny.

You can even put the herb in a brown paper bag and turn upside down in an attic or in a dry closet. After it is dry and crumbly, you can put it in a clean dry jar. Make sure the jar is dry because your herb will become moldy and that has happened to me. You can then make this dry herb into a tea for your ailments. Don't forget to label your jar. I have said I will label my jars later and then get confused or forget what I did so if you can try, do it right away. When I am hanging my herb upside down, I also grab a piece of paper or a tag, label it "Yarrow" and tie it around or attach it to the elastic band that is around the stalks of the herb.

I feel like I am living in the old days and I like the feeling. I don't like the idea that there are all kinds of things growing around me that the Lord created and I don't know what it is and how to use it. I want to learn to make vinegars, ointments, teas, tonics and all that good stuff.

I hope this lesson will help you.

Take a good long look at the picture though before you pick or use to make tea.