Last June during a work day at the Herbal Apothecary in Brewster Stephen asked me to help him harvest Linden from the tree that grows out behind the shop. It’s a beautiful, towering tree and to get to the flowers and bracts he raised me up in a tractor bucket with a basket. It was great fun.
Bees love Linden flowers so we had to be careful, but we came away with a giant heap of beautiful fragrant flowers that he made tincture from in the shop.
Right now I’m sitting with a hot cup of fragrant Linden tea, made from the flowers and bracts. I noticed as I was working on some paperwork that a nice warm feeling of mellow calm swept over me, relaxing me. Chilling me out. And yes, that was the effect I was looking for. I love this feeling.
This tea is lovely. I didn’t even add honey, and I have a sweet tooth; I add honey to almost everything.
A few related notes, just to round off my notes here about Linden.
- Linden is relaxant and cooling. It gives wonderful support for conditions like high blood pressure, and stress related heart problems.
- Soothing to the nerves it is helpful where Fibromyalgia or other nerve pain are present.
- Linden is very safe, even for children and pregnant women.
- Linden grows large and abundantly in the northeast and in many places, so we are free to harvest as many flowers as we like.
I have tinctured it and enjoyed it as tea. Bur during my Herbalism class (Commonwealthherbs.com) I learned that infusing linden in white wine makes a lovely cooling summer drink. Nice idea, right? They also suggest tincturing it in honey and vodka for a sweet and refreshing tincture/drink.
So much to love about Linden.
Backyard Botanics 