Meadowsweet also known as ‘Queen of the Meadow’ to me it means summer, its rich, sweet, heady fragrance takes me to warm summer days walking along country lanes and footpaths with the air carrying the lazy sounds of buzzing bees and insects. This plant is easily spotted and is found abundantly in British hedgerows and reminds me of great big dollops of whipped cream on sticks lining our country roads and footpaths. It blooms from June to almost September.

I can’t believe it is May already, and what a fabulous month for herbalists it is! May is the month of the flowers, in the heart of the growing season; it brings with it an explosion of colour with new leaf, blossom and a myriad of flowers. So, what better herb to have for May than hawthorn, also known as the may tree?
One of Britain’s native trees, it is a very common hedge plant throughout Britain, and is also found in all the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, including North America, Europe and Asia.

The translation of Viola odorata, the Latin name for the herb of the month, is “scented violet”; to me it is sweet, sweet violet. This shy little plant brings back beautiful childhood memories, picking a posey for my mum at Easter – indulging in the heady, sweet smell of violets takes me back instantly to the stream bank where I knew I would find a healthy crop.

There are 400 willow species in all, white willow being the most common, but herbalists prefer to use species such as purple osier, crack willow and violet willow, for they contain more salicin – the active compound found in all willows.

February is the month in which to collect and dry coltsfoot flowers. They are best gathered for herbal medicine before they have fully bloomed, which occurs from the end of February to April. Coltsfoot’s mediaeval name was Filius ante patrem, which means son-before-father and refers to its unusual habit of the flowers appearing long before the leaves which don’t appear until April/May. The yellow flowers are borne on scaly purplish stems, and are a welcome sight on the barren ground of winter.

Looking out across the bleak, sleepy, wintry Devon countryside, I was looking for some inspiration for this month’s herb and the first for 2023; nothing came to me, since all the berries are gone, as are most leaves and flowers, and roots won’t be collected until February. So it wasn’t until I took a trip into my hometown of Honiton that it came to me. I had literally stepped out of my car and into the town centre carpark and there it was! Big, bright, beautiful and in flower!

Welcome to my first herbal blog. Each month, I plan to introduce a different medical plant which can be gathered in that particular month. I will share with you its medical value and – where appropriate – its folklore history, culinary uses and any other useful tidbits I may come across. The idea behind this is to bring to light the amazing wealth and use of the plants which we are privileged to have right here on our doorstep.