I will be offering a ‘’ hands-on’’ spring workshop, if this sparks your interest, please contact me for further details ali@naturesnest.co.nz
Hi, I'm Ali Sutherland and I’m happy to be writing about Spring now after feeling the shift of the spring energy rising earlier this week. It was extra lovely to be accompanied by some sunshine. Thank you and more please!!
And so too it’s time for us human folk to come out of the winter huddle and put that spring in our step.
There are lots of plants (often called weeds) that are especially helpful and abundant right now to assist with this clearing and boosting time.
Nettle, chickweed, and Dandelion are some of my favourites but today I will give the limelight to Cleavers (Galium aparine) also known by many other common names, such as Clivers, Bidibid or Goosegrass.
It’s often not welcomed by gardeners as it sticks to everything it touches and when in seed the small round seed balls attach themselves quite effectively. It's best used now with fresh growth before flowering.
As a spring tonic Cleavers can help the body clear away excess winter stores and add a spring to your step. Add the fresh tips to salads, pulverise for fresh juice, or my favourite is to make a “sweet” cold drink as follows.
Cleavers Slightly Sweet Tonic
∞ collect the leafy tops and stalks
∞ break off or cut above the brown stringy part.
∞ remove any leaves that have browned off.
∞ fill a large bowl or pot (stainless steel, ceramic or glass) with fresh Cleavers, scrunching the plant matter slightly to activate its release of goodness.
∞ fill up your vessel with cold water, preferably untreated freshwater or filtered water.
∞ ensure the plant matter is under the water. It does try to escape!
∞ cover with a lid or tea towel and leave in a spot away from heat and light for 6 -8
hours or overnight.
∞ strain off the liquid into bottles (non-plastic) and store in the fridge. Use within two days.
Drink this lovely slightly sweet liquid instead of the usual water intake, up to 1L per day, for up to 6 weeks if you have lots of cleavers!!
The longer you stick to drinking this (pun intended) the lighter you will feel!!
Traditionally Cleavers is known to have been used for any conditions which are accompanied by Lymph swelling, such as glandular fever, tonsillitis, and adenoid trouble.
Cleavers has considerable power upon urinary secretion and the urinary organs, diluting and increasing urine output, which helps to excrete waste products from the body without irritation. This action supports its use with skin conditions, Arthritis, kidney stones, Gout and many other inflammatory states. There is a long history of the use of Cleavers in the treatment of ulcers and tumours.
Caution is advised where Diabetes is indicated, in the case of renal failure or severe kidney damage, please seek expert advice.
I will be offering a ‘’ hands-on’’ spring workshop, if this sparks your interest, please contact me for further details.