By Louise Harmon
One of the most cherished residents of my herb garden is Skullcap, Scutellaria laterflora. When I first planted her three years ago, I was cautious not to let her run amuck in the garden as is her nature, placing a flexible garden border around the plants, large enough to allow for growth, but deterring her from taking over the rest of the garden. Last year, feeling this was perhaps overkill, I removed the border to allow Scutellaria just a little more freedom to roam the garden. However, Comfrey and Skullcap now appear to be engaged in a bit of a ‘turf war’. Such is life in the herb garden…
Skullcap, a member of the labiatae or mint family, derives its common name from the flower’s resemblance to military helmets worn long ago. It is a wonderful nervine-its gentle action is calming during times of stress, relaxing for tight muscles and spasms and eases the restlessness of tossing-and-turning into restorative sleep. I add Skullcap to my migraine headache formula to reduce the facial and neck muscle tightness which often accompanies headaches. I combine Skullcap with Hops, and a little Valerian root (all in tincture form) to help with more persistent insomnia especially if it is accompanied by neck, shoulder or back pain with spasms.
What’s been said…