14/08/2026
🌿 My winter power tea is coming together…
Over the last week or so I’ve been gathering some of our wonderful local plants while they’re at their best, then drying them away for the darker months ahead.
What I love about making a blend like this is that every plant brings something different — and many have a long history in traditional herbalism:
🌸 Red clover — especially interesting in women’s herbalism. It naturally contains isoflavones (plant compounds with oestrogen-like activity) and has traditionally been used around menopause.
🌿 Plantain leaf — a wonderfully soothing herb, traditionally used for irritated throats and coughs.
💜 Self-heal — its name gives this one away! A little plant with a long history of traditional use for sore throats, minor wounds and general healing.
🌼 Silverweed — traditionally used for digestive and muscular cramping, including menstrual cramps.
🌱 Feverfew — probably best known for its long association with headaches and migraines.
🌾 Horsetail — an ancient plant, rich in silica, with a long history in herbal preparations and traditionally used to support the urinary system.
🤍 Meadowsweet — beautifully fragrant and traditionally valued for aches and pains, as well as during colds.
🌼 Sneezewort — a close relative of yarrow, with its own fascinating history in folk medicine, including traditional uses for toothache and digestive complaints.
Together, they’ll become my little winter power tea — a jar full of Orkney summer, ready to nourish me through winter. 🌿✨
One of my favourite things about wildcrafting is discovering just how much knowledge is growing quietly around our feet.
*These are traditional herbal uses rather than medical advice. Wild herbs aren’t suitable for everyone and some can interact with medicines or be unsuitable during pregnancy, so always check before using a new plant medicinally.*
Always be confident that you know what you're picking and follow safe and responsible foraging practices 💚
