Yarrow and comfrey are two things I can actually grow in abundance here in northern Alberta. I’m really growing to love comfrey. It creates these large soft hairy leaves that I can cut and use as mulch around my fruit trees. It breaks down quickly and I’m told its roots are able to mine deep into our clay soil, making it a nutrient dense, mineral rich herb.
Comfrey has been called “knit bone” because it’s been used to heal broken bones. When I broke my tibia plateau last fall I had the most unsuspecting people advise me to use comfrey on my broken knee. I had lots in my cupboard from my garden so I made poultices daily, honestly… I think it worked. I did a lot of other things too but I noticed a reduction in pain with comfrey poultices, and whether by coincidence or use of comfrey, I was walking weeks before the surgeon told me I would. I also didn’t end up getting surgery but rather healed naturally, further, I had compressed the bone and it healed back up into place! No surgery, no wires, no screws. Anyway, all due to comfrey? Maybe? Maybe a culmination of things I tried, regardless, I keep comfrey in our winter pantry and grow it in abundance in our vegetable gardens.
Yarrow is another amazing herb that flowers into a variety of beautful colors. It is drought tolerant and survives our harsh winters, coming back stronger each year and spreading through my vegetable garden. I’ve spent years adding varieties to hybridize and now I have some beautful unique colors: peachy pinks, antique rose, creamy yellows… it’s one of my favorite things to decorate with as the flowers hold much of their color even after drying. My daughters and I like to use them in decorating willow wreaths.
Medicinally, yarrow is an amazing herb. Yarrow: soothes bug bites and rashes, stops bleeding and heals bruises faster. Relieves muscle pain, soothes digestive upset, helps with PMS, swelling, varicose veins… legend has it that Achilles’s mother dipped him in yarrow to strengthen him, she held his heel which wasn’t dipped in yarrow and as the story goes, Paris kills him with an arrow in the ankle.
Yarrow is just a great herb to grow, easy to harvest and dry; and is a staple in our winter pantry.
Combining these two impressive herbs creates a potent muscle relief salve. My son injured his knee processing firewood and the pain wasn’t getting better after a few days. Naturally, I used yarrow and comfrey to make him a salve.
Here’s what I did.
I have this herbal infusing machine that crushes and heats the herbs and oil and mixes it altogether. You could also just add the herbs and oil to a double boiler and heat the oil to infuse it with the herbs.
To my little herbal infusion machine, I added several tbsp of dried herbs, yarrow amd comfrey. Then I added one cup of coconut oil and two tbsps of mango butter. I allowed this to infuse for a day or so.
Once my oils were infused, I poured the contents through a paper towel in a sieve. I find this easiest because once I gently squeeze out all the oil I can, I simply toss the entire thing into my compost.
It made a pretty green color.
Then I create a double boiler with a small stock pot with some water and place a Pyrex measuring cup into that. Then I add two tbsp of beeswax and let that melt before adding and mixing in my infused oils.
While the beeswax is melting, I wipe out the jars I’m going to store my salve in with isopropyl alcohol.
When the beeswax has melted and I’ve mixed my oils in, I remove from the heat and add a few drops of myrrh. You could also try lavender, frankincense or chamomile. Helychrisium is another amazing essential oil for pain relief, it’s rather expensive though and I don’t always have it on hand.
If you’re interested to find therapeutic grade essential oils recommended by aromatherapists that are not MLM, check out New Directions.
Once I stir my essential oils in I just pour into my disinfected jars to cool before storing. This week I have my son rubbing this on his knee twice a day.
If you’re interested in more yarrow recipes, check out my yarrow infused body serum. Yarrow Infused Body Serum
