The Plant Allies of Summer: How to Create a Summer Wellness Apothecary

Continuing my series of creating your own seasonal wellness apothecaries, we've arrived at the height of heat and light - summer. During summer it's a time of being excited (to varying degrees for varying folks) about the increase of the aforementioned light and heat as well as more time spent outdoors (sometimes alongside creatures that bite and sting). Just as with any other seasonal wellness apothecary, a little bit of planning ahead means that more time can be spent enjoying the weather with easy remedies close at hand should the need for herbal care arise.

As with my winter and spring apothecary posts, I've organized my recommendation by herbal actions such as cooling herbs for post-sun recovery. As always, I've tried to highlight herbs that are easy to access (especially in North America, where I am writing this from) and/or inexpensive to grow yourself, but hopefully you'll feel inspired and able to work with herbs local to your area. I also think it's a good idea for all herb folk (whether professionals or home herbalists) to get first aid training including wilderness first aid if you like being out and about beyond city limits.  

Ready for some summertime healing? Let's explore some of the common ailments and the plant allies we can connect to during the season of summer. 

image via @baraajalahej

Cooling Off: Supporting the body post-sun exposure 

Herbal Actions: Cooling, anti-inflammatory, alterative, emollient, and demulcent

With the risk of sounding like an afterschool commercial, the best way to stay sun safe is to stay sun smart. Stick to the shade, keep hydrated, wear sunscreen and/or cool protective layers, and respect the power of the Sun. The following plants are great friends for cooling off (and not burning out) after long summer days. 

Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis) : My favorite herb to use topically after a day spent in the sun. The inner gel of the plant is cooling and moist, alleviating inflammation in the body both internally and externally. While I have become wiser in my sunways as I get older, when I was younger Aloe Vera saved me from many a sunburn. I also find that in addition to alleviating the physical discomfort of sunburn Aloe Vera can also be a useful ally when dealing with the emotional stress of burnout.

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis): I turn to Lemon Balm again and again throughout the warmer months of the year. It is gently cooling and tastes like summer to me. I like using it in my daily teas, but also as a skin wash or addition to an herbal bath after a long day in the heat. Lemon Balm also helps us deal with the stress that summer can bring, especially around expectations of being social. If you've overdone it in the heat and find yourself dealing with heat exhaustion, Lemon Balm can be a great ally to have at hand. In addition to drinking the tea (best to let it cool to room temperature if you're recovering from heat exhaustion), I like to use it as part of a cool compress at the wrists and back of the neck. If I know I'll be out in the heat, I make a jar of Lemon Balm tea at the beginning of the day so that when I get back it'll be ready for me to drink and use in compresses if need be.

Borage (Borago officinalis): In my training as an herbalist I was taught to make Borage ice cubes for the summer where you freeze Borage flowers in ice cube molds and then add them to your water throughout the day. Whether or not this is the secret to staying cool (honestly, room temperature water is more helpful than iced when it comes to regulating body temperature, generally speaking), it sure looks pretty in a glass jar. Borage is a wonderfully cooling plant ally and can be a delicious treat when you're cooling off in the shade.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium): Yarrow is a classic fever reducer in traditional western herbalism and can be equally useful in cases of heat exhaustion when lowering the body's temperature is needed. Use as a tea, in a cool compress, or in a cool foot bath.

Other cooling herbs to keep close by are Lavender (Lavandula spp.), Rose (Rosa spp.), Peppermint (Mentha piperita), and Milky Oat (Avena sativa).

Unbothered: Caring for the skin during the summer months against bugs, bumps, and more

Herbal Actions: Anti-inflammatory, alterative, and nervine tonics

Some of the first herbal remedies I made were topical herbal oils for uses on my bruises and sore muscles that I got as an athlete. While I was impressed by the results, I loved the process of creating these special blends, applying them, and taking care of myself in ways that I didn't always feel looked out for as an athlete. For me, working with plant allies to care for our body's largest organ, the skin, is an act of love.

Lavender (Lavandula spp.): Lavender is one of the few essential oils that I use on a regular basis because it is so helpful for reducing the itch and discomfort of bug bites. The essential oil can be applied in small amounts directly to the skin (for most essential oils this is not safe and not recommended). I also use compresses of the flowers for skin health and recovering from bumps, bruises, bites, and rashes. It makes a wonderful addition to herbal baths as well as a great summer hydrosol to keep in the fridge and use as needed throughout the day.

Plantain (Plantago spp.): If a bump has occurred some variety of Plantain salve is pulled out and applied. Plantain is an easy and inexpensive herbal remedy to use for bumps, bruises, sprains, and strains. Topically, Plantain is a powerful remedy, helping to draw out toxins from the body, heal damaged tissue, alleviate pain, and generally serve folks well when it comes to wound care. If Plantain is growing nearby when you or someone is bit by a bee or other insect, crush up a Plantain leaf (I was taught to chew it) and apply it to the bite for pain relief and reduction of swelling. I can personally attest to the effectiveness of Plantain on bee stings having to use it myself when I was stung by a bee between my toes. Using Plantain I was able to make the walk back home. Want to learn more about beautiful Plantain? A complete profile is available in The Plant Ally Library.

St. Joan's Wort (Hypericum perforatum): I like using a combination of St. Joan's Wort and Rose (Rosa spp.) herbal oil as a post sun skin treatment. I like to apply the herbal oil after a shower (so that the oil helps to contain the oil and keep the skin hydrated) or after spraying the skin with a hydrosol like Rose. St. Joan's Wort is wonderfully soothing to sunburns, reparative to the skin in general, and also helps to nourish the nervous system. It's great for bumps and bruises, too.

Other herbs to keep handy are Mullein (Verbascum thapsus), Calendula (Calendula officinalis), Sage (Salvia officinalis), Catnip (Nepeta cataria) as a natural mosquito repellant, and Milky Oat (Avena sativa). The latter is especially useful for calming an overstimulated nervous and sensory system due to the irritation and increased sensation of bug bites and/or injury.

Opening Up: Nourishing the heart

Herbal Actions: Cardiotonics, circulatory tonics, and nervines

Any season can be a season of opening up the heart, but there is something about the expectation of adventuring, dreaming, and socializing in the summer that can call to some extra herbal support when it comes to issues of the heart.

Rose (Rosa spp): Any season can be a season of opening up the heart, but there is something about the expectation of adventuring, dreaming, and socializing in the summer that can call to some extra herbal support when it comes to issues of the heart. Rose is my favorite heart-opening, love-supporting herb not only for its thorn magick, but for the ways it helps to soften the hard edges of our emotional experiences in all the right ways. Rose has the added benefit of being a cooling herb and I add it to my morning tea during the hot summer months. A Rose hydrosol is especially pleasing sprayed on the skin throughout the day during the summer months.

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna): The magick of Hawthorn is something that is hard to describe. It is a wonderful cardiotonic and I've used it in a wide range of heart health needs including helping to reduce stress that cause some heart issues in the first place. Hawthorn is an herb which helps us to love again after a period of heartbreak. We learn to live heart first with Hawthorn as an ally and to meet the uncertainty of what comes next with the steadfastness of trusting our own heart's trusty rhythm.

Other heart herbs to consider working with are Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca), Cacao (Theobroma cacao), and Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa).

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Friends, I hope you enjoyed reading about some of my favorite plant allies of for the summer months. Be sure to check out the rest of the series on creating seasonal wellness apothecaries. Next in the series I’ll be looking at some of my most beloved plant allies for the autumn months.

If you’re looking for some more summertime inspiration, I write more about summer wellness over here. What’s my favorite summertime drink, you might be wondering? Swamp tea, of course! Or is it rainbow lattes? And, as always, there are summertime tarot spreads for Midsummer and Lughnasadh for all your divinatory needs.

May your summer be sweet and full of all the right sorts of adventures!

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