Cough, Cold, and Flu Remedies Garden Plan

By Staff
Published on February 19, 2014
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Cough, Cold and Flu Remedies Garden Plan

Fight the cold and flu with herbal remedies created from your own garden.

By Marietta Marshall Marcin

Teas to soothe, teas to relieve, teas to rejuvenate—Herbal Tea Gardens (Storey Publishing, 1999) contains everything you need to know to grow, blend and brew healthful and delicious herbal teas. You’ll find more than 100 tea recipes, as well as 22 illustrated garden plans. Find more herbal tea garden plans in Herbal Tea Gardens for Stress, Colds, Flus and More.

You can purchase this book from the Mother Earth Living store: Herbal Tea Gardens.

These herbs will not only create a beautiful garden but also will be useful to you and your family when colds, coughs, and flu strike. Consult the Compendium of Tea Herbs for specific herb and brewing information.

This pretty garden looks complicated, but it’s really quite simple to plant and maintain. The long rows of herbs will fill out beautifully in two or three years to create a deep border; this will provide enough density to keep weeds at a minimum. To incorporate a diversity of heights, plant linden, elder, and other tall plants in the back, then taper artistically to the low plants in front.

Cough, Cold, and Flu Care Garden Plants

• Angelica: 3
• Chamomile: 6
• Coltsfoot: 3
• Echinacea: 4
• Elder: 1
• Elecampane: 2
• Hibiscus: 4
• Hyssop: 4
• Lemon balm: 2
• Linden: 1
• Marshmallow: 2
• Meadowsweet: 1
• Mullein: 3
• Violet: 3–6
• Yarrow: 2

Number indicates quantity of plants needed.

Herbal Remedies: Tea Recipes

Calm Cough Tea Recipe
Mullein aids in all respiratory problems, and chamomile helps in getting to sleep.

• 1 teaspoon dried mullein leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried lemon balm leaves (or 3 teaspoons fresh)

Mix leaves. Infuse 1 teaspoon mixture in 1 cup boiling water. Steep 5 minutes.

Treasure Chest: Chest Care Tea
Combined with these other “cough” herbs, elecampane is good for all chest problems.

• 1 teaspoon elecampane root, ground
• 1 teaspoon marshmallow root, ground
• 1 teaspoon gingerroot, ground
• 1 teaspoon aniseed
• 1 clove garlic or 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried mullein leaves

Add herbs to 4 to 6 cups boiling water. Let steep 20 minutes, or to taste. To make
a decoction, boil the roots and seeds for 10 to 15 minutes in 3 to 4 cups water.

Remove from heat, add other herbs, and let steep 10 minutes.


Excerpted from Herbal Tea Gardens © Marietta Marshall Marcin, illustrations © Laura Tedeschi used with permission from Storey Publishing. Buy this book from our store:Herbal Tea Gardens.

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