Found growing wild in damp ditches, this beautiful herb with its heady clusters of creamy flowers is a used medicinally for pain relief and its gentle soothing properties. 9x9cm pot (8cm depth)
Description
- Good for damp places
- Loved by pollinators
- Aromatic
- Good for a wildlife garden
Meadowsweet was thought to be a herb important to the druids herb and has a long history of medicinal use. In 1838 salicylic acid was isolated from meadowsweet and then synthesized as acetylsalicylic acid which is the active ingredient of Aspirin. Aspirin in fact gets its name from the old name for meadowsweet - spiraea. Meadowsweet is used to soothe the mucus membranes of the digestive tract, reducing acidity and easing nausea. Its pain relieving action helps with rheumatism in muscles and joints. Its creamy heads can be found bobbing above many a roadside ditch in summer.
Plant Care
- Height: 60-100cm
- Type: Hardy
- Aspect: Sun
- Soil: Any/alkaline
- Flower colour: White
- Flowering period: June - September
A herb that prefers a damp soil and is excellent for growing in boggy places and alongside water. It will grow happily in the garden in heavier soils and in pots, but needs to be well watered over the dry summer months. The flowering stems of meadowsweet like to be in the sun and the lower section better in the shade. Simply cut back the flower stems in autumn, the rest of the plant dies down by the end of December and shoots again in spring.
Usage
The frothy white heads of meadowsweet flowers have sweet honey aroma which has been used for centuries for medicine and beverages. Salicyclic acid was first found in meadowsweet, and it was this compound that went on to be synthesised and become the aspirin that we know today. Dry the flowers on a sunny day and infuse for a gentle treatment for heartburn and indigestion, it has a soothing anti-inflammatory action on the stomach and for conditions such as arthritis and rheumatism.
The flowers are edible and make a lovely refreshing summer drink. It was once used to enhance the flavour of mead and as a strewing herb.