Summer herbs, flowers and plant-lore

The first official day of summer is on the 21 June. This is when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky and we experience the longest day of the year. A season know for its abundance of plants and flowers, summer was traditionally seen as a time of fertility and growth.

For centuries, plants have been used in many ways, both spiritually and medicinally. Knowledge of these plants and flowers is often known as plant-lore, which is information that has been passed down via tradition or anecdote through generations of families. This can include the different ways plants can be used, as well as more practical information such as the best time to sow and also any potential side effects a plant may have.

Below are some examples of plant-lore and traditions…

In pagan celebrations, like Midsummer on the 24 June, healing herbs were believed to be at their most powerful and potent. It was thought that this was when evil spirits would appear, so people would wear protective garlands of herbs and flowers to ward them off.

One of the most powerful was ‘chase devil’ now known as St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) because of its association with the feast day of Saint John the Baptist, which is also celebrated on the 24 June. It has clusters of bright yellow shaped blooms in mid-summer. In the past it was used as a remedy for healing the body of any wounds, and today St. John’s Wort supplements are thought to help with the symptoms of depression.

Historically, the garden was not only a place to grow food, it was also a medicine chest at a time when plants and herbs were the first line of defence against illness. With limited space, the more plants in the garden that could be used for several purposes, the better. Good examples of this are rosemary and lavender. Rosemary, a popular herb for culinary purposes, also formed the basis of many medicines and lotions. Lavender was even more useful – both culinary and medicinally – it was also used to freshen linen and clothes, and even scattered in the rushes underfoot to keep them sweet.

A tussie-mussie was a very early name used in the 15th century for a pot or bouquet of herbs and flowers carried to sweeten the air and keep sickness away. The original tussie-mussies were small, generally consisting of heavily aromatic and protective herbs, such as rosemary, sage, southern wood and thyme, often with a rose at the centre. Later, hyssop, wallflowers, chamomile, marjoram and lemon balm were added. Nosegays (as they were also called) were carried when walking through insanitary streets, or placed close to judges and court officials to protect them from the infectious diseases brought into the court by prisoners.

On the summer solstice, people would mix lavender with mugwort, chamomile and rose to attract elves and fairies. The flowers would be harvested on the day of the solstice as a way of honouring Midsummer. The longest lavender stems were used to form wands and the remainder would be dried in bundles and hung beneath the eaves to dry.

Other summer plants which were believed to have attained the peak of their medicinal value when harvested at the time of the summer solstice include; chamomile, calendula, fennel, hemp, rosemary, thyme, meadowsweet, verbena, sage, mint, elder and also roses. Once harvested, they would be dried in the order that they were available to be used for the rest of the year.