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Herb of the Week for 2nd March
By Lynn Kirkland
Herbalist Blooming In the Herb Garden
World Children’s Day is March 4th, this
Sunday and is all about the following
important messages.
Giving time
Praise and encouragement
Listening and talking
Love and affection
New experiences.
This year's key theme is ‘giving time'.
What better way to cover all these messages
than to teach children about herbs and
perhaps by planning a little herb garden.
A year ago today, on my birthday I had
the best present of all; the safe arrival
of Lily, the daughter of my nephew, Paul
and his wife Charlotte. We laughed as
the thought of joint celebrations in the
future, Lily at 15 partying it up with
her 70 year old Auntie!
Nobody can tell if Lily will have green
fingers or even an interest in plants
at this stage but as you can see in the
photo I am showing Lily the beautiful
rose a friend gave me on my last birthday,
called “The Herbalist”. Planted below
it are chives as a companion planting
to keep the aphids away and in the front
is the wonderful herb sage. If your children
are a little older than Lily then you
can show them how to rub their teeth with
a sage leaf to remove plaque and whiten
those teeth. Baps, our cat, has to check
out what is going on too. I must admit
that at one, Lily was much more interested
in the cats than the herbs.
What I do know is that herbs and herbal
products can keep Lily healthy and happy
in the most natural way.
When introducing children to the garden
the first lesson must be to teach children
that even though many plants are helpful
to us, there of course plants that are
poisonous.
So the lesson must be to identify the
herb correctly before using in food or
for teas or any other purpose.
Sun teas are fun for children to make
and so good for them. Pick aromatic herbs
like peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm
or Japanese menthol mint and place a few
sprigs in a clean glass jar. Place on
a sunny windowsill for a few hours and
then place in the fridge to chill before
drinking.
Think of the children in your life and
how you can do something special with
them on Sunday to celebrate Children’s
Day. Remember it is about your presence
not presents!
Happy birthday to Lily on her special
day. Lily brings joy into the lives of
all the generations in her family especially
to her great grandparents when she visits
each week.
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