I have an extremely cold and wet temperament, and every year around this time, early to mid May through late June, early July, I suffer from severe springtime allergies.  The only over-the-counter medicine that ever really worked for me was Claritin. Actually, Benadryl also works, but it puts me right to sleep, so I can only take it at night. Last year, I discovered an interesting use for the wild violets that grow like weeds in the yard….well, I guess technically they are weeds.

It seems that violets can be used an expectorant and is often useful for congestion due to allergies. According to Culpepper’s Complete Herbal, they are cold and moist and of the nature of Venus. According Hildegard of Bingen’s Physica, as translated by Priscilla Throop, they are between hot and cold, or more specifically, “Although, [they are] cold, [they grow] from the [mild, gentle] air which after winter is beginning to warm up.”

I tried them last year along with Claritin, and they seemed to help. Last year, I did not learn of it until the violets were almost through flowering, so I mostly used the leaves. There are several poisonous lookalikes to violets, so to be safe, it is probably best to only harvest violets when they are in flower. I had seen the violets flowering, and I had been weeding them all along, so I was fairly confident I was using the right plant. I was also using the violets from my own garden, so I knew they had not been sprayed with insecticide or herbicide.

I used the violet leaves in an infusion, but I did not care for the flavor, I have to admit. It did not have a bad flavor, but to me, the violet leaf infusion tasted a little grassy by itself. So, I started to experiment with other plants and flowers, and every day it would be a little different, based on what was available when I was doing my gardening. When I told a friend about this, she said that it sounded like my ingredients came from fairies, and I agreed, so I began to call it my fairy tea.

Between my fairy tea and Claritin, I had little to no breakthrough allergy symptoms last year. So, this year, as my annual spring allergies have begun, I am trying it again. I have not started taking Claritin yet, so we will see how it goes over the next couple of weeks. Even if it does not completely control my allergies, it is nice cooling substitute for my second cup of coffee in the morning as the weather is getting warmer.

This year, I have developed a recipe of a sort. Raspberry leaves have a nice flavor, a bit like black tea, but without the caffeine. The flavor of the raspberry leaves blends very nicely with the violet leaves, moderating the grassy flavor. They are best when they are bright green with a reddish tinge, before the plants begin to bloom.  Early spring was quite cold here this year, so everything is blooming a little later, including the violets, and there are violet flowers available now, which have a lovely sweet flavor to them. Violet flowers also freeze nicely. A trick I have learned is to freeze them first separately on a flat surface before putting them together in a container. That makes it easy to take just a few from the container.

I also add a little peppermint for flavor. I planted some peppermint last year, and this year it is coming back and growing like a weed. Luckily I like the flavor of peppermint, so I hope I can keep up with it. Violets also have a bit of a laxative effect, and peppermint seems to moderate that.

Lastly, I add a few rose petals. Rose has a nice flavor, and according to St. Hildegard, increases the effectiveness of all plants used for medicinal purposes. From a metaphysical perspective, this makes a lot of sense, as roses are the archetypal flower, or the Queen of Flowers. The roses in my garden have not bloomed yet, but I still have some dried rose petals left over from last year.

Last year, I had planted a few chamomile plants, and chamomile is also a nice addition if you have it. I find that a little chamomile smooths and blends the flavors. I thought that chamomile was a perennial, but so far, I do not see any signs of it coming back this year. I have a little dried chamomile from last year, but it is almost gone.

So, we will see how my little experiment goes this year. I really do hope to avoid Claritin and Benedryl if I can. They always make me feel a little funny.