Heather

Welcome to Lammas

The 1st August marks the start of Lammas – loaf mass – the harvest season and the halfway point between the summer solstice and autumn equinox.

Lammas is associated with the harvesting of – amongst other things, wheat – so on today’s Herbs with Barbara, we sampled some rather delicious rustic bread with lashings of lovely butter.  

More on that in a bit, but first let’s talk about Heather.

This beautifully bright flowering hardy plant has many uses – not just in herbal medicine.

At one time, it was often used as a filling for pillows and mattresses and prized for it’s calming properties.

Longer stems have been used to make brooms, baskets and ropes.

But in herbal medicine, the plant has long been used for it’s healing properties and is useful for helping inflamations and infections.  It’s said to be useful for treating kidney problems.

You can harvest your own heather and make a healthy tea to experience its benefits.

Although Heather is largely considered safe, as with all herbal medicines, it’s best to take advice from a Medical Herbalist first – just to be sure that it is the right thing for you!

At this time of the year, Heather is in full bloom and looks splendid growing in the wild.  Get out and about in the great outdoors and take a walk!

Nothing quite beats the pure pleasure of eating fresh crusty bread slathered with lashings of butter!

To celebrate loaf mass, Barbara brought in a lovely treat (for once!) and two varieties of fresh bread using completely natural ingredients, which are lower in gluten.

You can certainly tell the difference.  Take a listen to our broacast to find out more!

Barbara Wilkinson is our Medical Herbalist and joins us on the first Thursday of each month at 10.30.

If you have any questions for the next edition of Herbs With Barbara please get in touch!