So what is a salve, and what is it used for? A salve is a healing herbal product made with simple ingredients: oil infused with healing herbs of your choice, beeswax, and perhaps some essential oils. Depending on the herbs used, these salves can help alleviate headaches, soothe burns and bug bites, help with joint pain, calm eczema and much more.
Over the years, I have formulated over fifty salves and plan to make many more. A well-stocked family salve collection should include at least five salves. Salves are easy to make and have a long shelf life using the correct oil bases.
A salve garden should have at least four to six plants that can be grown in pots on windowsills or on a patio to full-sized gardens. Most of the suggested herbs are easy to grow and are very forgiving. Add some earth, sun and water, and your garden will blossom.
One of the bonuses of salve gardens is you can use multi-purposed herbs. For example, you can use them as flavourings in your food, infused oils for cooking or massage oils, salves, cough syrups and tinctures. That is a whole lot of functions for so little effort and space!
I have recommended five herbs that would be great for a salve garden. These herbs are easy to find and grow; many will regrow next year or re-seed themselves. See below
Check out the SALVES & BALM courses available at our Here on Earth Academy
You will learn how to make infused oils, salves, and balms, what herbs for what functions, and the many formulations available to make.
(c) Wendy Murdoch
