My garden, my natural open-air pharmacy

Throughout the seasons, Nature generously shares its benefits with us. If you have a small piece of land, there is a good chance that you will see wild plants with medicinal properties grow before your eyes. Here are the most common medicinal plants in this article so that you no longer consider these treasures of nature as vulgar weeds.

Dandelion, sunshine in the garden

The dandelion is reputed to stimulate the hepato-biliary activity. It is indeed depurative. Consumed fresh in salads (flowers, leaves and for the bravest the root) or dried in infusion, it will save you from after the holidaysEaster chocolate overindulgence ....

Worth trying: dandelion buttons pickles...

Recipe idea: oily dandelion bud chew. Dry your flower buds for a few days before coating them with sunflower or canola oil. Leave to macerate for 21 days, taking care not to close the lid. Strain, you have a fragrant oil for your seasonings! Store in a dark place.

The daisy, the Easter flower

The daisy blooms around Easter. It has interesting virtues to soothe skin problems: eczema, psoriasis, burning, itching etc.... 

Pick a good handful, let them dry for several days, then arrange them in a glass jar, and cover them with vegetable oil. Let macerate for 21 days, i.e. one lunation. Filter and keep this jar away from light. 

In case of sunburn, eczema attack or skin irritation, massage the area with this anti-inflammatory oil.

Dock or wild patience.

This "weed" herb is edible and medicinal. It is however rich in oxalic acid. It will be necessary to pay attention to the people prone to kidney stones. In addition, it contains iron and its root is depurative

Plantain, a renowned anti-histamine

The plantain grows "like quackgrass"! The leaves are used fresh to calm mosquito itch, bee stings or nettle stings. To do this, rub them to extract the juice and apply it to the affected area. 

Moreover, in infusion, the leaves have anti-tussive virtues

Recipe for a cough syrup: gather 4 good handfuls of fresh leavesand boil them in 1.5l of water and 800g of honey. Let macerate overnight. The next day, strain and return to the heat until the preparation takes the consistency of a syrup. Then put in a glass jar and keep away from light.

Baragans or wild leekss.

On the sides of country roads (unpolluted), in the alleys of vineyards or in large gardens, wild leeks emerge from the ground... A delight for gourmets! Their flavor is a bit stronger than the leeks found in the market stalls and their flesh is more tender. 

In soup or simply fried, let yourself be invaded by the wild cuisine...

The Wild Carrot

Be careful not to confuse wild carrot (hairy stem and leaves with a recognizable odor), wild chervil (grows anywhere in rich soil), and cigarette (inedible, the stem is smooth).

The roots can be eaten like carrots!

Yarrow, the herb of a thousand leaves.

In slopes, compacted land, yellow yarrow grows naturally. Its crushed leaves applied to a cut, stop bleeding. Women with irregular periods, taken in the second part of the cycle, this plant promotes the arrival of menstruation. 

Nettles, a nutrient bomb

Feeling fatigued, painfully recovering from an illness, completely down? A cure for nettles fresh leaves in salad or in infusion will remineralize you. In tartar, in juice, in soup, in salad, in infusion, let yourself be tempted by one of the many simple, natural, wild and gourmet recipes!

To conclude

The plants that grow naturally on your land are bio-indicators about the nature of your soil. This is interesting to know if you are considering creating your potager

Namely, that mowing gardens, seeding grass, phytosanitary treatments and lack of awareness of wild plants have impoverished private plots. Feel free to space out mowing or set aside a "wild" area in your garden to let life grow. Pollinating insects and wild plants will thank you!

Alexia Bernard 20 April, 2020
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