Heal-All

Here is a great medicinal plant I am going to gather today. It is Heal-All,Self-Heal, Prunella vulgaris.
It is a perennial of the mint family which is indicated by it's weakly square stem and the shape of it's flowers. Research shows it contains ursolic acid which is a antitumor compound. Some research suggest it possesses antibiotic ,and hypotensive  properties.One traditional use that I like is using a leaf tea as a gargle for sore throats and mouth sores. It is used in traditional Chinese medicine also. Used in reasonable amounts, there does not seem to be any toxicity issues. As always do not use any plant you can not 100% positively identify, and of course, this is a description of traditional uses and not medical advice!

On a different note, here is a view of our main garden. Every thing is doing fairly well but the insects are out in huge numbers this year. I have been dusting with diatomaceous earth ( DE ) on a regular basis. It has been dry enough that slugs are not to bad. They can be problematic with deep mulch during a wet year. The deep mulch is great weed control and most of the garden is fairly weed free. I actually am leaving some weeds grow, both as bait a crop for the bad bugs but also as habitat for good bugs. I don't let the weeds go to seed but being totally weed free in a organic setting is not practical nor desirable. Besides, a lot of those "weeds" are great food!