Good morning. July marches on and summer flowers are all around, swaying in the breeze and brightening roadsides as well as gardens. Many of our garden plants are really coming into their own and that includes the herbs many of you love to cook with this time of year. I want to talk to you about herbs today, but I also want to update you on our resident raccoon.

She did, indeed, bring the kits to visit. There are two and they are about as round as they are long so I guess all those sunflower seeds she has been eating have done them good. On what I think was their first visit, their curiosity got the better of them and the next morning I came out to potting soil everywhere on the deck. I don’t know if they were smelling or trying to eat the flowers, but they dug into about eight pots and planters.

Needless to say, plants were broken, with many unearthed. And, they did a particularly good job on my basil plants. I just picked up the pieces with roots still attached and repotted them; and they came back better and fuller. Those little critters are very lucky. I have seen them several times since, but there has been no further digging. So for now, all is well between man and critters.

Many of you are cooks as well as gardeners and so are familiar with parsley, basil oregano and thyme, but would you know what to do with comfrey, hyssop or stinging nettle? Nope, me neither.

American history tells us that before Pfizer and other big drug companies, the Pilgrims and other new settlers survived thanks to the knowledge of herbalists. Almost always women, these herbalists learned that the plants growing around them could help alleviate any number of conditions if prepared as teas, tinctures and infusions.

In today’s age of organic and local foods, environmental concerns, chemical use and better understanding of the long-term effects of both the good and bad, many people are adopting a healthier lifestyle. For some, that means a relearning and reapplication of the types of herbal treatments that helped keep people well before medicine as we know it came onto the scene. 

With this bit of background, I would like to introduce you to Gloria Varney and her medicinal garden. She and her husband, Gregg, own Nezinscot Farm in Turner and have been at the forefront of the organic movement in Maine for many years. They produce milk, meat, eggs, cheese, vegetables and baked goods that meet all the standards of “locally grown” that are bandied about in conversation.

Gloria has always had a keen interest in using medicinal herbs and about a year ago started an 18-month course in herbal medicine taught by Gail Edwards of the Blessed Maine Herb Farm in Athens, author of “Opening Our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs.”

A few weeks ago, I talked with Gloria and toured her new medicinal garden, which has several beds containing a wide variety of known plants, like dandelion, and many not so well known, like milk thistle. I had my camera and wandered around until one particular patch drew my attention — surprisingly, because it is without much color or flower.

When I asked what it was, Gloria smiled and told me hyssop and dandelion. If you listen to your body, she continued, it will bring you where you need to go. Both  herbs I was drawn to are used for lung conditions and colds, as well as detoxifying; and, here it is folks, I have smoked for 40 years (I know bad, bad, bad). I pretty much assume that is the meaning of Edwards’ book title, “Opening Our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs.”

“Our society is one of instant gratification,” Gloria said. “More and more people do not take personal responsibility for their lives and their lifestyle choices. They live unhealthy lifestyles and teach them to their children and then just go to the doctor and want a pill to fix it.”

“People constantly ask me why I am never sick, why I don’t age, why my kids are so healthy. Everybody can do this, if they choose responsibly,” she said.

Gloria isn’t saying you shouldn’t use modern medicine if you suffer from a disease. What she does maintain is that with lifestyle changes —  such as eliminating obesity, making healthy food choices and giving your body what it needs nutritionally — many conditions and sicknesses can be mitigated, even eliminated.

Enter: medicinal herbs, what Varney describes as an ongoing part of a healthy lifestyle change. She and her husband regularly use tonics and teas. Pine needles fused in cider vinegar help clear athlete’s foot and most common fungal rashes. Dandelion tonics and/or teas, which detoxify the liver, are a daily routine; and they bring out the hyssop tonic when cold season begins.

Nature provides what your environmental conditions require, Gloria says. Here in Maine, it’s cold for a long period each year. During that time, your body requires two to three times more energy simply to stay warm. People turn to comfort food. Meat and root vegetables add body fat, which produces more energy. Come spring, even only one or two generations ago, people ate dandelions, which helped detoxify their bodies and rid the fat accumulated in winter. We have stopped following the natural cycles that nature created, Gloria says.

Medicinal herbs are not only part of a preventive health routine but also a lifestyle choice. Gloria chooses to prevent colds rather than reach for medicine after she gets one. And, I do have to testify that for the 25 years I have known her, I have never seen her sick; and this woman works 16 hours a day, raises five children, runs a business and is constantly learning new things. So I am thinking that perhaps this whole medicinal herb thing might deserve further study.

As a gardener, I find the whole concept very interesting. Many of the plants in Gloria’s garden can be found growing wild in the forest, but why hunt them down when you can just plant them. Some of them, like milk thistle and angelica, are beautiful. They might make a fun addition to a regular garden and it is not difficult to harvest right outside the door.

Until next time, enjoy the summer flowers, pick a warm night and watch for fireflies, and don’t forget the raspberry jam before the berries are all gone for another year

Happy gardening.

Jody Goodwin has been gardening for more than 25 years. She lives in Turner with her husband, Ike, and two cats. She may be reached by writing to her in care of the Sun Journal, 104 Park St., Lewiston, Maine, 04243-4400 or by e-mail at [email protected].

What herb helps what ailment

Here is some information offered by herbalist Gloria Varney of Nezinscot Farm in Turner and obtained from “Opening Our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs,” written by Gail Edwards of the Blessed Maine Herb Farm in Athens: 

Comfrey, also called bruise wart or knit bone, is used as a poultice on broken bones or deep bruises and is credited with rapid regeneration of cells. It is also used to make a salve for sore muscles and joints.

Hyssop is used in a tea form for lung conditions and colds.

Dandelion as a tea or tonic is a liver detoxifier.

Stinging Nettle is used as a green vegetable or as a tea. It is nourishing, settles the nerves and is especially good for pregnant women. It can help ease depression and mood swings. Native American women used it throughout their pregnancies to make for healthier babies and easier deliveries.

Ladies Mantle strengthens a woman’s reproductive system and was used by our great-grandmothers to shrink fibroids.

Milk thistle is a liver protector and rejuvenator. It is used in tonic form made from the seeds.

Rue, called the herb of grace, is effective against disease and poison. The Chinese use it to improve circulation and reduce swelling, as well as for strained muscles. It is used as an external oil on the skin.

If you’re considering the use of medicinal herbs, please consult an herbalist or a credible source such as “Opening Our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs.” There are things you need to know — sometimes the leaves of a plant should be used, sometime the seeds, sometimes the herb should be used in a tea.  The more knowledgeable you become, the better.