Tag Archives: itching

Friends Help Each Other

We all know the value of a good friend or buddy. But did you know it happens in the plant world too? Plants will benefit from the friend or buddy system and you will end up with healthier plants that grow better, yield more and attract less garden pests. It’s a matter of knowing which plants will grow happily together in what is called companion planting. As you know I’m not the gardener in our family, Mick is. Mick often uses this buddy or friends system of companion planting. Some are really obvious like where one is a low growing … Continue reading →

Natural Allergy Relief

I’m falling apart. That’s the only way I can word it. If I could go back to the perfect age, I’d choose 35. I still felt very healthy, energetic, and knew enough to know better but not enough to worry myself to death. Flash forward into this soon-to-be 45 year old body and mind. The passing years are racking up and taking their toll. No, it’s not all bad. I’m more successful, happier, and more in love than at any other time in my life. I have the energy to exercise nearly every day, which I didn’t have the gumption … Continue reading →

Stinging Nettle

With a name like “stinging nettle” it doesn’t sound like a good idea to use this plant internally or externally… does it? But stinging nettle has a long history in medicine. One of the earliest uses of stinging nettle was in attempts to stimulate paralyzed limbs. A paralyzed limb would be slapped with a bunch of stinging nettles — this was known as urtication. Nettle was also made into fabric; archaeologists have uncovered nettle cloth in Bronze Age burial sites. During the fifteen hundreds, stinging nettle was suggested as an antidote for some poisons. Colonists brought stinging nettle to the … Continue reading →

Pets on Steroids

Last week, I took my dog Lally to the vet for help with a major allergy attack. She had been itching her face so badly that the hair around her eyes was gone and the skin was raw. Benadryl alone wasn’t doing enough to relieve the itching, so the vet brought out the big guns: steroids. Steroids are very useful for reducing inflammation, and they’ve really helped Lally with her allergy attack. Almost immediately she stopped scratching at her face and ears! She’s got a ten day course of prednisone, and the vet told me to keep up with the … Continue reading →

Thyme

Thyme is another herb that may be most popular in the kitchen… but is useful elsewhere. The little flowers on the plant attract bees and make thyme popular in garden borders. Thyme grows well in windowsill and container gardens, and has a long history in both cooking and medicine. Ancient writings refer to both common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and wild mountain thyme (Thymus praecox articus). The name may come from a Greek word for courage… or a similar word meaning “to fumigate”. Both meanings are applicable to the plant — thyme can be invigorating but it was also burned to … Continue reading →

Create a Custom Herb Garden

Are you itching to begin your spring planting? Why not start with an easy herb garden? You’ll get very quick results; you can use the herbs in your cooking; and with a little style, you’ll have a nice decorative element for your home. For this project, you’ll have custom-made pots that are just right for your new herbs. Chalkboard paint is so versatile and easy to use. We will create canvases on the pots with the paint. Then, using standard blackboard chalk, we can label the pots with the names of the herbs we are growing. Because of the chalkboard … Continue reading →

It’s Itching Season Again!

Ah spring. I go through this every year with Moose (my German shepherd mix) and Lally (my boxer/shar-pei mix). Moose starts to gnaw on his forearms. He ends up chewing calluses and bald spots into his legs if I don’t catch it quickly enough. Lally just itches all over. She crams her feet into her mouth to chew. She scratches her stomach until it’s red and irritated. And with the extremely mild weather we’ve been having in the Portland, Oregon area lately — we’ve been in the fifties all week — it seems that the itchies are arriving earlier than … Continue reading →

Pet First Aid: Allergy Attack!

As I’m sitting here at the computer, merrily tapping away, Lally is cramming her left hind foot into her mouth. She does this from time to time; I figure she’s got an itch on her paw pad or between her toes and the best way to take care of it is with her teeth. Over the last few days, she’s been really attacking her feet. She’s been chewing and licking them relentlessly, which makes me thing she’s having some allergy trouble. Lally has had problems with allergies in the past — she’s sensitive to plastic, and can’t eat from a … Continue reading →

Fenugreek

Before ancient Egyptians first used fenugreek for medicine, this plant was used as food for both humans and animals. The Latin name — foenum-graecum — means “Greek hay”. Fenugreek was sometimes added to animal fodder to hide moldy and spoiled hay. Fenugreek’s seeds are prized in medicine and in cooking. The seeds are said to have a flavor somewhere between celery, nuts, and maple, but can be overpowering. Use with care when cooking — the seeds can leave other foods tasting bitter. You may find fenugreek used in East Indian, Pakistani, and African cuisines; the herb is native to western … Continue reading →

Comfrey

Comfrey has long been used as a healing herb — the Greeks used the herb to stop bleeding, knit bones, and treat breathing problems as far back as 400 BC. In more recent years, there has been some concern about the safety of comfrey. Greek and Roman physicians believed that comfrey roots had the ability to stick things together, whether food in a cooking pot or bones in the body. Poultices made with comfrey were applied to external wounds; comfrey tea was used for stomach problems, digestive issues, bleeding, and more. The herb was also used in soups, stews, and … Continue reading →