Imagine you could go into an apothecary and, instead of seeing rows of jars with their cures, there was a display of all the plants from which they came. You’d be able to point down to a tiny snowdrop or up to a very large horse-chestnut tree. There would be an entire herbaceous border, sweet peas and roses, daisies and foxgloves.
On the shady bottom shelf, there would be an array of frogs and snails and even, possibly, puppy-dog tails. Many ailments or dilemmas are serious, others whimsical and then there are those that spring from the kind of lives we lead now.
Nature’s aspirin
The first published account of willow bark’s medical uses dates back to 1763 in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, when the Revd Edward Stone used it to treat malarial fever, common in England at the time. He nibbled on a willow twig and was impressed by its bitterness (he knew quinine, a malarial cure, was bitter), made a powder and was astonished by the results: ‘There is the bark of an English tree, which I have found by experience to be a powerful astringent, and very efficacious in curing aguish and intermitting disorders.’
It would take many more years, and scientists, to turn that discovery into what we know as aspirin. In 1828, scientists isolated what we now recognise as salicin, named after the botanical name of the willow, Salix alba. This was later converted in the laboratory to salicylic acid, which was more effective, and then a way was found to reduce its bitterness. It was sold for the first time as aspirin in 1899 by the German company Bayer.
'One final word: the following year, plant something else. No one wants a million courgettes two years in a row'
Burn, baby, burn
Turmeric, ginger and white willow bark are all anti-inflammatory herbs that can reduce pain, but, in the greenhouse, there is something a little bit spicier. There are thousands of kinds of chilli pepper and, mostly, they are used to enliven food. When you bite into a chilli, you immediately feel the burn. That is caused by capsaicin, the active ingredient and, when applied to the skin in a cream or via patches, it can also produce a burning or stinging sensation.
However, it is also thought that the capsaicin is absorbed by the nerve cells, is transported to the spinal cord and then decreases the amount of pain-transmitting chemicals sent to the brain. The types of peppers used tend to be those with the most available, as in cayenne and serrano peppers (both Capsicum annuum), and those highest in capsaicin, which include the ghost pepper, also known as bhut jolokia, a cultivar of Capsicum chinense.
Short arms and deep pockets
There is nothing wrong with wanting to pay only your part of every bill, but it’s when you start to feel you may be tipping over into downright stinginess that you might seek help. There’s being careful, and then there’s being Scrooge. Fortunately, the garden has a cure for this — and it won’t cost much either.
Buy a packet of courgette seeds, sow about 10 and, of those, choose six to grow. Sow indoors in mid to late spring or directly outside from late spring. They will start to produce courgettes from midsummer at an average of three to four per week (more in a good year). From your six plants, you will have about 24 courgettes a week. Steam and sauté them. Make ratatouille until you can’t stand the sight of it. Grate them in salads. Use them in cakes, muffins, quick breads. Don’t forget soup. Give as many as possible to friends and when you run out (of friends) give them to everyone else. Leave them near your gate with a sign that reads: ‘Free to You’ or ‘Deliciously FREE’. You will be the king or queen of courgettes and experience the glow of being generous. You will be a giver, not a taker.
One final word: the following year, plant something else. No one wants a million courgettes two years in a row.
One too many
There is no official cure for a hangover, but the garden has some suggestions. First, coconut water — it’s full of electrolytes to recharge your body and can also help with a headache and nausea. Tomato juice (no vodka) can also be an effective remedy. Of course, tomato juice also includes a lot of water and tomatoes contain beta-carotene, vitamins A and C and the antioxidants lycopene and glutathione. In both these cases, you can pre-treat the problem by drinking a glass before you go out.
Other options are bananas (replenishing that potassium) and ginger (good for nausea). There’s also milk thistle (Silybum marianum), a herbal remedy aimed at protecting the liver. Finally, and this will make for a very interesting breakfast addition, there is the humble artichoke (Cynara cardunculus), which is also a type of thistle, said to improve liver health and digestion.
'The roots can be grated into salads or roasted to use as a coffee substitute. A multi-tasking plant on every level'
Pitter patter of tiny feet
If you have a dislike or fear of rodents, it’s important to find their weak spot and, in this case, it’s their noses or, to be more precise, their olfactory receptors. Mice have an acute sense of smell and they also have a secondary organ for detecting smells: the vomeronasal pathway. The garden cure for deterring mice is mint. The stronger the scent, the better, so use the good old-fashioned peppermint (Mentha x piperita) or spearmint (M. spicata).
The key to all of this is menthol. That mentholated aroma — clean and green, some would say bracing — can overwhelm the cold receptors in those tiny mice nasal passages. The battle begins with cotton-wool balls soaked in peppermint oil. Place these in spots (inside) where you think you’ve spotted a mouse: in the eaves, attic or skirting boards. When mopping the floors, add a drop of peppermint oil to the washing liquid.
Feeling bloated
Dandelions are one of those plants that appear indestructible. They grow everywhere and anywhere and, as Nicholas Culpeper noted in his The Complete Herbal of 1653: ‘It flowereth in one place or another almost all year long.’ Every part of it is edible and the toothed leaves are bursting with vitamins A, B, C and D. In Chinese medicine, the dandelion is seen as something of a cure-all, with the Chinese Pharmacopoeia in 2020 listing 40 patent medicines with the Taraxacum genus for use in treating more than 50 diseases.
In the West, it is famous for its diuretic capabilities — its more common name in France is pissenlit and in Britain it has always been known, as Culpeper puts it, ‘vulgarly’, as ‘piss-a-beds’. The leaves are an effective diuretic as they increase urine output without depleting potassium levels. The root has been used to support liver function and (also with leaves) for constipation. The roots and leaves contain inulin, a prebiotic fibre that helps beneficial gut bacteria.
There is no lack of ways to eat dandelions either. The flowers can be used to make tea or add to a salad, whereas the leaves (soak overnight to avoid bitterness) are used in salads or cooked as a vegetable (often with bacon). The roots can be grated into salads or roasted to use as a coffee substitute. A multi-tasking plant on every level.
Aloe there!
Aloe vera has quite the reputation. The ancient Egyptians called it the ‘plant of immortality’ and Cleopatra herself reportedly used it in her daily beauty routine. In ancient Greece, it is said that Alexander the Great was advised by his tutor Aristotle to conquer the island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea to secure supplies of the plant for his wounded soldiers. It was reputed to soothe rashes, heal wounds, settle stomachs and act as a laxative or ‘cleanser’.
The fleshy, pointy leaves have a layer of yellow latex that is responsible for the laxative effect, the use of which has been banned in some countries. They also contain a gel that is mostly water and includes a mix of amino acids, lipids, sterols and vitamins. It’s the gel that interests us here because if you have sunburn (or, indeed, frostbite), it will soothe your skin and, as the pain ebbs, your soul. It is rich in antioxidants and is a natural hydrating moisturiser, which may also help with peeling.
Forget-me-not
The common snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) may look small and delicate, with its slender green leaves and nodding, white, pendant blooms, but it is anything but. All parts of the plant are toxic (no herbivore is going to nibble away at this little one) and it possesses a natural antifreeze that inhibits the ice crystals that kill so many other plants. Plus, its leaves have specially hardened tips that help break through frozen ground. That’s quite an armoury for a flower that looks entirely innocent in every way.
It’s a common churchyard plant and was grown in abbeys to treat mal de tête or ‘headache’. There are now thousands of varieties: it’s one of those plants that has a sophisticated fan base and galanthophiles are serious collectors who will pay large sums for unusual or rare bulbs. It is not known what inspired Russian scientists in the 1940s and 1950s to study Galanthus woronowii, a species with broad, bright green leaves that is native to the Caucasus, and break down its chemical structure. All parts of the plant were found to contain a chemical that they called galantamine, but it is particularly concentrated in the bulbs.
It wasn’t until the 1980s that it was discovered that the chemical can be used to manage Alzheimer’s disease, as it elevates the levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain. This improves memory and cognitive function and has been shown to be effective in managing early to moderate Alzheimer’s.
And so to sleep…
Many plants have reputations as sleep aids. Lavender (Lavandula), St John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), red Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) and kava-kava (Piper methysticum), to name a few.
One of the most prevalent is common valerian (Valeriana officinalis), which has tall stems and white flowerheads with many tiny blooms loved by bees. It is known as a herb with calming and sedative properties and has been studied many times for its effectiveness in treating insomnia and/or anxiety. The results of the studies seem to be conclusively inconclusive, as they are difficult to compare, involving different concentrations and settings. However, that has not stopped the European Medicines Agency approving valerian as a traditional herb to aid sleep and valerian dry-ethanol extract being recognised as a herbal remedy for improving sleep.
It is not fully understood how, or why, valerian works, but it is known that GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter (think of it as an ‘off switch’) in the central nervous system. Its receptor GABA-A is the key player for many drugs that aim to help sleep (these include benzodiazepines, such as Xanax and Valium). Valerenic acid and valerenol, compounds found in the root, have been shown to bind to GABA-A receptors and could be behind its sleepy reputation.
This is a condensed extract from the author’s ‘RHS The Garden Cure: 100 Remarkable Remedies for the Curious Gardener’ (Mitchell Beazley, £20), which is out now.