Lyre-leaf Sage....Bane or Blessing?

  Today being St. Patrick's Day, I decided to "go green".  No, I did not don the green shirt nor cutesy up myself with shamrocks.  Instead, I went outside to work in the garden.  That was green enough for me.   I am not being stuffy here about those who do participate in the traditions.  It was just the fact that there was not much reason to do anything since I was the only one to appreciate it.  I did, however, have a grand time working the plot of ground set aside as my vegetable garden.  The tomato plants are doing fine so there was little tending to do to them but the potatoes were in dire need of fertilizer and hilling.  Once that was done, I started hunting for any volunteer herbs that may be sprouting through the ground.  The oregano was already spilling out of the container and the purple basil had hundreds of tiny plants where seeds had fallen.  I was not lucky enough to find any sweet basil, fennel nor mint up yet.  Wait and see.  Wait and see. I will follow the advice of Son.

  I did find an entire patch of lyre-leaf sage in bloom and that made me happy.  Most folks will recognize this herb as the "weed growing on the side of the road".  It is not a weed, folks!  It is a medicinal herb!  The whole plant can be used.  The leaves have a slightly minty taste (sage is in the mint family, by the way) and can be added to salads and soups.  It is the root that is important to me, though.  That root has pulled me through one cold after another in the past.  The cleaned root made into a tisane is supremely helpful in calming a sore throat.  The tisane can be used as a tea or as a warm gargle.  A wee touch of honey makes the tisane even more delectable.

  I find it humorous that recently, the lyre leaf-sage (Salvia lyrata) can be found at plant nurseries.  For years, it was deemed to be a nuisance plant or weed.  People who desired the well manicured yard (which is actually a waste of land, in my humble opinion), dumped gallons of weed killer to eradicate the plant.  The lyre-leaf sage was adamant about staying and that created headaches for those who are compulsive about such things.  Everything in the book was thrown at the hardy little plant but it was all to no avail.  The plant survived, regardless.  I guess some folks now see this as a plant "they cannot kill" so there is a demand for it.
  
  On the Bayou, the lyre-leaf sage can grow where it wishes.  When it blooms, the place is dotted with blue.  Then, when the blooms fade, I simply mow over the plants.  The base leaves are a great ground cover that can take a beating and still look great.  It is also mighty handy to have that sore throat cure just outside the door.  Lyre-leaf sage...the plant that creates headaches for some but cures sore throats for others.  

A Bit of Sage Advice

  Just a bit of sage advice here, folks.  If you are sick, stay away from the Little Bayou House or prepare to be medicated with some fine herbal tisanes.  It irks me to no end to have noticeably ill people come to the Bayou, claim that they are not sick in the least all the while coughing and sniffling up a storm.  That said, I am issuing a fair warning...if you come here sick, you will be treated and some home remedies are not, lets say, too tasty.  However, since I am not a doctor that can prescribe any of the helpful medicines of today, I can and will whip up a lovely cup of "tea"....and you will drink it...or I will send you on your merry way!

  I have been fighting the onset of a cold for the past four days.  It is not bad as I keep it at bay by using said remedies.  Today, however, I was exposed, not once but twice, to folks with full blown colds...nasty colds with sneezing, coughing, sniffling, sore throats and even fever.  I do not need this!  So...a tisane has been by my side all day.

  My bit of sage advice?  Sage!  Sage is an effective herb to use against the onset of a sore throat.  It works wonders as either a gargle or to sip as one would a tea.  As an added plus with this remedy, it tastes pretty good.  Personally, I love the taste and will drink this just as a warming drink after being outside in the cold and with the cold, rainy days we have been having for the past week, it is just the thing!

  To make this tisane, heat a cup of water until almost boiling.  While the water is heating, fill a tea infuser with about a teaspoon of dried sage leaves.  Once the water is hot, place the infuser in the cup and let steep for a good five minutes.  Sweeten the tisane with honey and stir.  Sip this as you would a cup of tea.  Repeat as often as necessary.  

  So, my advice for when you are feeling sick?  Stay home!  Make a cup of sage tisane.  Curl up with a good book and sip your drink.  This way, you will feel better and you will not share the nastiness with everyone else.  

 

Leaf Flowers!

  Early this morning, Mark and I headed to the pier.  A slight mist was still falling after a night of heavy rains.  This was rather cooling and I did not mind getting a bit wet.  Just before we reached the first step of the pier, I noticed what appeared to be a green flower on the ground.  Well, not actually a flower but rather leaves shaped like the stereotypical flower shape.  Ahh, this is a young Lyre-leaf Sage!  Although most folks look at this sage as a weed,  I actually encourage it to grow in the yard.  There are even several that have taken up residence in the vegetable garden and I refuse to pull them.  They are there to stay right next to the Purple Basil.  Needless to say, the plant is a favorite.

  Folks have a tendency to believe Lyre-leaf Sage is a weed due to its habit of growing freely on the sides of roads, in open fields and unkempt yards.  Given a half of chance, the plant could prove these folks wrong. The plant is edible and has a slight minty flavor.  The young leaves can be eaten raw in salads or cooked as a pot herb much like collard greens or kale.  These same leaves can be brewed as a tisane to use in soothing sore throats.  I am more interested in using the plant as a medicinal herb rather than a food source.  Adding this sage to the larder could come in handy during the winter months that are often filled with colds and sore throats.  We just laid in a goodly amount of common sage to be used so a bit of Lyre-leaf will only supplement our supply.
  
  Sage tisane is not only useful in curing sore throats but is also a relaxant that helps during those sleepless nights that so often plague folks.  A warm cup of sage tisane will gently lull you into dreamland.  

  With all of these lovely attributes, who can blame me for leaving "weeds" in my yard?  Lyre-leaf Sage is a wildflower!  It is an herb!  It is....well, it is just a good plant to have growing in the yard!

Pretty Little Yellow Flowers!

  I think that I have mentioned it before but during this season of colds and sore throats, anything that may bring a bit of relief bears repeating.  I was out in the yard for a few minutes between rainstorms and noticed that the Oxalis are blooming.  Just recently, I was elated to find the purple ones in full bloom but now the yellows have joined in on the wintertime fun.  This is good timing, I say, as the Oxalis or Wood Sorrel have a slight medicinal property that helps to soothe sore throats.  Picking a handful of the leaves and steeping them for a few minutes makes a fine tisane.  Simply pour boiling water over the leaves and let sit for a bit.  Strain and add a bit of honey!  Now you can either sip this like a tea or gargle with it.  While this is not a lasting treatment, it does soothe the soreness for a while and with the honey is very healing.  So, those tiny plants that are the bane of folks who love an all grass lawn, should be welcome in our yards.  I know they are in mine!  One word of caution to those folks who might suffer from gout, kidney disease or arthritis, you might want to steer clear from eating any Oxalis.  It is said to cause problems with these maladies.  This is due to the oxalic acid and oxalates contained in all parts of the plant.  To be honest, even though I have a slight bit of arthritis in my hands, I have never had a problem with the plant other than it being a bit sour and, by the way, all parts of this plant are edible!  Fun stuff!

  Another cool fact about the Wood Sorrel, all parts can be used to make a yellow dye!  Even the green stems and leaves when boiled will turn the water yellow.  What fun!  My oldest son and I played with natural dyes some twenty years ago.  We gathered all sorts of plants and dyed some snippets of unbleached, natural cotton fabric.  While the dyes did not have the brilliance of the artificial colorings of today, it did give us the idea of what our grandparents and great-grandparents might have done so many years ago.  It was a fantastic learning experience!

  So, with all the fun things associated with the Wood Sorrel, you may now understand why I never intentionally remove the plants.  I let them grow where they may and just enjoy them!