Earlier this month, my entire family got hit with the flu.  I was caught a bit off-guard, because we had not been sick in so long, and I realized I had never unpacked my herbal "medicine cabinet" after our move onto the land.  Furthermore, when I finally did find my box of herbs, tinctures, homeopathic remedies, and essential oils, I found it rather incomplete. It was time to re-stock with natural remedies for health and wellness, and to make elderberry syrup. One of my favorite plant medicines, reported to be an immune booster and cold and flu remedy, is Elderberry (Sambucus nigra).  A subspecies of S. nigra grows as a native perennial here in Missouri; in fact, there are … [Read more...]