Keep Cool in the Summer with Flax Seeds!

As an herbalist living in Florida I can tell you keeping cool is a high priority.  It's quite simplistic, but the herb that I use the most often for beating the summer heat is flax.  Flax is also known as Linum usitatissimum or linseed. Organic flax seed can be found at your local health food store in bulk.  I sew up neck and eye pillows  in various shapes and fill them with flax, sometimes together with organic lavender buds and store these pillows in the freezer.  I have about 5 in the freezer right now!  My daughter loves them too.  You can store them in plastic bags to protect the fabric if you like.  When you get home from doing errands or come in from working in the garden, they feel great draped around your neck.   They are great to use on new bumps and bruises for children also.  Of course I had to go get one out of the fridge also for writing this post!  It feels great on tension from overwork with the mouse on photo editing, etc.  If you don't like sewing and or you are on a budget you can tie up flax in a long sock to use.  Please feel welcome to visit my online store for neck and eye pillows.  Take a peek and let me know which one is your favorite.

This blog post is a part of a blog party being hosted by Kristine Brown. Please visit her blog to find out all about what other herbalists are doing to keep cool during the summer. 

Flax photograph by D. Gordon E. Robertson.  Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this photo under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

Use of Epimedium for Exhaustion and Headache Recovery

This blog post is a part of Sean Donahoe's blog party at Green Man Ramblings on Herbs for sexual vitality, pleasure, and health. Be sure to check in at his blog after May 15th to see all the related blog entries.

Epimedium grandiflorum, also known as Horny goat weed, or Yin Yang Huo in Chinese, is not the first herb to come to mind when you think of something to treat or prevent migraine-type head aches. Epimedium is best known for it's use as aphrodisiac. Specifically, it known for improving blood flow to help with erections. Epimedium is classified as a Kidney Yang tonic from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Kindney Yang tonics are used for persons with acute or constitutional Kidney Yang deficiency who may have one or more of the following signs or symptoms: swollen tongue, low back pain improved by warmth, subjective feelings of cold, pear shaped body, frequent pale urination, cold knees, poor memory, withdrawal, desire for warm drinks. I have seen Epimedium growing well in Northern gardens, for example at the Bastyr University garden in Seattle. It is reported to grow well in USDA zones 4b - 9a.

It's been about 3 years since I last used Epimedium, and I find it interesting that the opportunity to write about it comes up when I am expecting a new baby. I hope this anecdotal account will be helpful to someone with this type of headache that I treated with Epimedium. In December of 2006 I weaned my daughter who was about 2.5 years old at the time. I suppose I had been a follower or at least influenced by the philosophy of child-led weaning as the gold standard. However, by the time my daughter was 2 and a half, the nursing was really depleting me. While she was full of energy and vitality, I was physically exhausted and depleted, despite my balanced diet. I had to stop and I did. By January of 2007 I was still recovering my energy and felt the first severe affects from the depletion and exhaustion, even though I had already stopped nursing a month before. In January I had my *first ever* severe and debilitating headache that started with my menstrual cycle. One side of my head was throbbing unbearably. I couldn't stand any sounds or light. I couldn't walk with out severe head pain, and I confined myself to bed in a dark room. In the morning the headache would start and then not go away until the sun went down. Migraines with menstrual cycles are such a common complaint, including among women in my family. I could feel the expectation that this was going to become a chronic issue for me.

With the help of Giovanni Maciocia's classic textbook The Practice of Chinese Medicine, I was able to narrow down my headache type of one of more than 17 different headache pathologies described in terms of Traditional Chinese medical diagnosis. By the book my headache type appeared to be due to Kidney Yang deficiency leading to Liver Yang Rising, a rather uncommon diagnosis, but not surprising given my constitutional type. The more common features of severe headaches due to Liver Yang Rising headache are throbbing headache that affects one or both sides of the head. More often than not, Liver Yang Rising headaches are due to underlying Liver and/or Kidney Yin or Blood deficiency such as is common in peri-menopausal or menopausal women. The point that my headaches were worse during the day, and faded out at night was key in pointing to a Liver Yang Rising Headache due to Kidney Yang deficiency. As soon as I finished my cycle I started supplementing with the one Kidney Yang tonic that I happened to have on hand, which was Epimedium. I took this herb decoction for a month. By the time my next menstrual cycle came around I was overjoyed that I had absolutely no trace of headache to accompany it.

My main take home lesson from this experience was nursing is great, but not at the expense of mom's health. I'm hoping that I will not have any issues with nursing the new baby, but if I do have depletion headache come up in spite of a nourishing diet again I will be taking Epimedium again.

For more information about the Actions, Indications, and Medical uses for Epimedium a great site to check out is Alternative Healing.

Certified organic Epimedium powder, which is far superior to that in any drugstore tablets can be found at Mountain Rose Herbs.

The Epimedium photo was taken by Sphl and used with Permission. Regarding the photo: permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.

Spring Herbs Blog Party!

Spring is such a wonderful time of year for the herbalist and gardener. I am pleased to present an amazing collection of Spring Herbs blog posts this month. Make yourself a cup of herbal tea and settle in a while to read what others are doing with herbs this time of year. What are you doing with herbs? We would love to know, so leave us some comments. For more information on ongoing blog parties visit the Herbwifery Forum.

~Tina Sams of from the Essential Herbal gives us a tour of emerging Spring herbs in Pennsylvania. Her Anise Hyssop photo is featured in this blog post.

~Cindy Jones of Sage Script also shows us what herbs are coming up in Colorado, and discusses plans for herbal planting.

~Sarah Head of Tales of a Kitchen Herbwife in England shares a richly descriptive post on the first medicines of spring.

~Lady Barbara of Lady Barbara's Garden in Oregon takes us on an exuberant Alice in Wonderland stroll finishing up with a treasury of Violet Magic.

~Beth Brynne of the Garden Meanderings blog in Western New York also discusses emerging Spring Plants.

~Karen Creel of Garden Chick suggests planting a Mosquito Repellant Garden for Spring.

~Visit Maggie McMillan's lovely farm. What beautiful animals she has. Maggie shares about making biiter Dandelion coffee and Dock syrup.

~Yael Grauer of Dirt Time is also "Embracing the Bitter" this month. Check out her post on Horseradish.

~Karen Vaughan of Acupuncture Brooklyn discusses the challenges and opportunities of Spring Time Urban Gardening.

~Here at Aquarian Bath, my contribution to the blog party is Shapshots from my Spring day in the Garden at Fair Share yesterday. You will definately want to check out the new and unique "US mint" bed we started yesterday.

Snapshots from a Spring day in a Florida Herb Garden

Spring is a great time of year for herbs in Central Florida. There is so much going on in the gardens. Here is just a glimpse of the activity from my time at the Fair Share Garden yesterday.

The herb spiral at the Fair share garden pictured here was weeded and thinned over the last week and replanted with Holy Basil in the bare patches. Last week we had a little incident with a volunteer being bitten by wolf spider in while weeding the herb spiral. This was a more painful than poisonous bite. Fire ants can also be painful problem here for Spring gardeners. Keep an eye out for Plantago species(plantain) when you are out in the garden. You can make a spit poultice with the leaves to take the sting out of the bites; just chew up the leaves to a pulp and apply to insect bites or stings. We used Virginia plantain on the Wolf Spider bite:



Lance leafed plantain also will work. Don't let the blanket flower in the background fool you, it is not a part of the plantain pictured below.


The variegated mugwort (Artemesia speicies from the Bastyr University herb garden) is lush and intermixed with delicate fern-like yarrow leaves in the herb spiral. I like to make infused oils for pain salve with mugwort and decoct it for sprained or strained ankles. My front yard yard is covered with it where it has self-seeded. In about two weeks I will harvest the mugwort and dry it to make moxa and to save whole and dried for use with sprains strains. To use it this way you can simply boil up a pot of water with handfuls of dried mugwort. When the water cools a bit you can soak a towel in the hot water and use it as a wrap around the ankle or bruised and strained area.


I'm still waiting to see if the Neem trees in the spiral will send up new growth after having died back from the winter freezes. However, I am overjoyed to see a hint of new growth in my precious Moringa trees. Look closely to see it! I just found out that 1 million Moringa seeds are on their way to Haiti via a European organization. These trees make a very nutritious leaf, especially beneficial for nursing mothers and babys. They in face have the highest concentration of protein for any known plant and have no known contraindications for use. Last season I didn't harvest leaves from the fair share trees we planted in hopes of collecting seeds. There were plenty of flowers and insects enjoying the blossoms, but no seeds were made. From now on I will stick to woody branches for propagation and enjoy harvesting leaves for nutritional use.


Many herbs like thyme, comfrey, lemon verbena and catnip have survived the winter and are putting out new lush leaves in full force. We will keep an eye on these cool loving herbs and harvest them before the intense summer heat starts in. Yesterday I harvested three baskets full of catnip to dry, and sent thyme home with a Fair Share volunteer with a cough and sore throat. Comfrey doesn't get terribly huge in Florida, though there is plenty for salve and balm making when the need arises.



We started two new herbal projects at the garden yesterday also. The first was to put in a new trellis for a fresh planting of loofa gourds. Here are Joel, Moira, and Giovanni preparing the holes for the new posts. I can't wait for more loofa gourds to use in soaps.

Next we have the grand and ambitious new US mint herbal project. When Joel said he wanted the USA bed the Embry Riddle students built in back in October to be filled with plants that could be left alone and not replanted,

I had to suggest it be filled with mints. The large tires and tree-sized pot at fair share were getting root bound with spearmint and chocolate mint. We broke up the root bound mints and filled this bed with mint sprigs yesterday. It's going to make a great source of mixed mints for herbal tea. I'm going to be on the look out for other nice mints like peppermint and apple mint to add to the bed.

This blog post is part of a spring herbs blog party that I'm hosting. Please check out all the Spring herbal blog posts here.

Spring Herbs Blog Party! Call for Submissions

Spring is here and it's time for herbal planting, harvesting, and using your favorite herb of the season. Lets share what we are doing with herbs this time of year. To join the blog party, please make a post about this topic to your blog and send me an email with a link to your blog post by March 31st; aquarianbath@gmail.com. You may include a photo to me in your email if you would like it posted with the blog party. Please include a link back to this blog in your Spring Herbs blog post by April 1st when all the links to the blog party will be posted here.

********The Spring Blog Party Has Begun: Visit all the blog posts here**************

~Herbal Aesthetics~ Decemeber Blog Party

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. ~ Jawaharlal Nehru


Welcome to the Herbal Aesthetics Blogparty! I hope you are feeling creative, because we have many herbal activities for you to try. I'm sure you will find something fun to make. All of these wonderful posts have to do with herbs for adornment, decoration or beautifcation.

Tina Sams of the Essential Herbal made a lovely post which includes a compilation of former blog posts related to herbal aesthetics. It includes topics such as wreath making, making leaf printed t-shirts, and lavender wand making.

November's herbal blog party hostess, Kristine Brown of Field of Tansy shared a delightfully illustrated how-to for dying silk with herbs such as Elderberry and Black Walnut.

Cheryl Dolby of Healing Woman Art shared her post on Herb Stamps. This is something fun that my daughter and I love to do also. Thanks for reminding me Cheryl! Thanks also to Cheryl for sharing the Madame Thyme photograph at the beginning of this blog post.


Cindy Jones of Sagescript shared a very clever way to make enchanting holiday tree ornaments with dried herbs such as lavender and rose. Cindy also included links to her archived posts on herbs for weddings and making scented valentines.

If you would like to learn how to make fresh herbal ornaments, corsages or boutineers then scroll down to see my new Herbal how-to blog post.



What would an herbal blog party on aesthetics be with out a recipe for personal beautification? Janine of Athena's Armory shares her experience making her Rosemary Gladstar's Miracle Grains facial cleanser recipe for personal beauty care.


Many thanks to all the contributors for the sharing your lovely herbal projects.

How to Make Fresh Herbal Boutineers, Corsages and Decorations

Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs for the holidays. I have been wanting a potted Rosemary Christmas tree for a couple years, but my bushes are still too small. I'm still growing up and trimming my little Rosemary bushes. In the meantime I've been having fun making fun little Rosemary ornaments, and last night I made a boutineer. You can make these kinds of arrangements with other herbs as well. I've just been having fun with rosemary and red pepper which we have in excess in the Fair Share Garden right now.

If you would like to try making fresh herbal ornaments like these or corsages and boutineers you just need a few tools. You will need wire snips, florist tape and florist wire. You can get these from a craft store.


I choose herbs with fairly sturdy stems, but you can also use herbs with more delicate stems if you wrap them together with sturdy stemmed herbs. Strip the foliage from the bottom inch or 2 of the stem.



Poke a hole through the the green tender part of the herb stem and wrap the wire around the stem to stabilize it.




Stretch the tape and start wrapping it tightly at the base of the plant and continue down to the end of the wire.



Once you have the stems wraps you can combine them together however you wish. Finish by wrapping them all together with a new piece of florist tape. Here is a simple Rosemary and Hot Pepper boutineer.



You can also make and hanging ornament, a small wreath or corsage with additional herbs of your choice.



This blog post is a part of the herbal aesthetics blog party which I am hosting this month. Please be sure to check the next post on this blog to learn how other herbalists are using herbs for beautification.

December Blog Party! Call for Submissions Herbal Aesthetics: Using Herbs for Beautification

Hello friends! This is a call for herb lovers to contribute to the December Herb Blog party that I will be hosting here at Aquarian Bath on the topic of Herbal Aesthetics. This can be in the area of arts, crafts, dying and painting with herbs, natural beauty care such as how to use henna (pictured to the left), holiday decorating with herbs, etc. Last month's blog party was on coffee, stimulants and morning ritual beverages.

Here is how you can participate:
Write a post on your blog specific to this topic. In your blog post link to AquarianBath.blogspot.com. Send a link to your blog post (and a picture if you wish) to me by December 1st at aquarianbath@gmail.com. I will link to all the submissions with a new blog post December 2nd.

Please feel welcome to share this blog party invitation with others.

Lavender Earl Grey Tea: A Favorite New Morning Tea Blend

During the summer (which seems to go on forever in Florida) I generally like to drink green tea. The green tea is very cooling. We brew it up daily and store it in the refrigerator in a glass jar. I also am fond of making vitamin and mineral rich herbal infusions of nettles, oatstraw, and red raspberry leaf. Recently I've been drinking Earl Grey Lavender tea in the morning. We have a great restaurant supply store in town called Sixth Street Sales, where I am able to find lots of fun boxed discount tea blends. The Lavender Earl Grey tea was one of the blends that I found last time from Revolution. Regular Earl Grey tea is a black tea made with Bergamot oil. Bergamot is a rich, sweet, fruity citrus oil used in aromatherapy and natural perfumery.



I love the way the addition of a small amount of Lavender buds adds a sweet herbaceous touch to the earl grey. When I run out of the tea bags, I'm planning to pick up some earl grey in bulk to which I will be adding home grown Lavender from my friend Michelle. Lavender is one of my favorite herbs for calming the nervous system and I enjoy making Lavender vodka/ tincture for use during stressful periods.

I'm looking forward to reading what others are drinking in the morning lately. This blog post is a part of an a November blog party about morning beverages hosted by Dancing in a Field of Tansy

Summer Weed of the Moment: Mulberry

Mulberry may not be the the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a weed, after all it is a tree. However I know from experience of collecting discarded mulberry branches that it is considered a nuisance by many home owners and renters due to its prolific foliage output in spring and summer. Mulberry is worth mentioning during the summer, because this is your last chance to harvest the leaves until next spring if you live in Central Florida. As summer progresses, the leaves will toughen up and discolor slightly. With cooler autumn weather the leaves will start to discolor significantly and then drop. Morus alba is the Chinese White mulberry which is the official herb used in Chinese medicine, also known as Sang Ye. Morus rubra is also common in Central Florida. As far as a understand at this moment, I have been using both of these leaves interchangeably with the same results that you would expect of Morus alba based on the Chinese herbal lore. Paper Mulberry, or Morus papyrifera, I avoid all together.

Mulberry leaves make a great food or beverage. The leaves are protein rich, not surprisingly as the Morus alba is the food source for silk worms. Young tender Mulberry leaves are cooked and eaten by nursing mothers in China. I prefer to wait for larger leaves to dry and use for infusions or decoctions for internal use. Michael Tierra suggests 8 oz of dried leaves in standard brews for adults. I generally prune my trees taking long branches to hang upside down in the house. Then I simply strip the dried leaves from 3 or four branches into a pot to simmer for about a half hour. Morus alba leaves are used in Chinese medicine for treating colds characterized by fever, rapid floating pulse, cough, sore throat, and thin yellow tongue coating. I use them more often for nourishing my lungs. They make an excellent beverage for persons with over exposure to smoke from fires forest fires, or exposure to tobacco. I would also suggest these leaves to people who have lost their voice or have to talk or sing a lot in their profession. Other people who can benefit from this plant are menopausal women or those with dry itchy eyes.

If you don't want to try Mulberry internally that is okay, we can also use it externally. You can collect leaves instead to use for external beauty care. Mulberry leaves are the main ingredient in many Chinese 'ancient secret beauty formulas' for hair and beauty care. Collect some mulberry leaves and experiment. You could make a mulberry decoction for a clarifying hair rinse. Actulaly, Mulberry leaf decoction is precisely the Empress Dowager CiXi's Shampoo Formula from the Qing Dynasty. It was said to strengthen hair and promote hair growth. Make an mulberry leaf infused oil for a lotion or salve base. I've used it in the past in my skin soothing salve. Or you can make a mulberry infused Apple Cider Vinegar for body care. Herbal vinegar diluted 1:1 with water would make a great toner or the vinegar could be added to the bath. I have a nice Rose Geranium Hair Rinse that I make and next will be putting one up with the Lemongrass and Mulberry leaves that are ready to harvest.

Enjoy, and cheers to you as I sip my Mulberry leaf brew.