Beat the Winter Blues with These Plants
By: Marcus Griswold
Tags: Nature, Self Improvement, Health, Gardening, Psychology

We wake up, it’s dark. We finish work, look up from our computer, it’s dark. Oh, right, it’s winter.

I don’t know about you, but this dark, cold season can really get me down.

Fortunately, there are some backyard plants that you can grow and use to give you an extra pep in the dark season.

St. John’s Wort

This may be one of the most common medicinal plants you will find. Most people think it’s just a weed, so it will probably grow well in your backyard medicinal plant garden throughout much of the U.S., as well as Europe, Asia and North Africa.

This might be one of those super herbs. Its been long used to treat depression. The tea has been used for bladder ailments, depression, anxiety, nervous tension, dysentery, diarrhea, worms, tuberculosis, stomach cancer, herpes, and hemorrhoids.

For getting rid of those winter blues, St. Johns Wort contains hypericin, hyperiforin, and melatonin. This trio can be more powerful than antidepressants from your pharmacy. It can lower lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol and enhances the activity of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a naturally occurring tranquilizer in the brain.

You can make a nice hot tea from this plant, or if you need a faster acting form, make a tincture. For full effects you should try for a few months to see if it helps you. It’s best to use this one fresh or freeze-dry so not to lose the medicinal effects. Note if you are picking this from a field, pick a flower and rub it between your fingers. If your fingers turn red you have the right species — that’s the hypericin.

Making the tea is simple. Steep 2–3 teaspoons of fresh flowers in hot water for 4 minutes, and then strain the flowers out. If you want the tincture cover fresh flowers with 95 proof vodka, at a 1:2 fresh herb ratio. Shake every day, and let sit for 4 weeks, then strain out the flowers and cap tightly. Take 15–20 drops 3 times daily.

Note this one is powerful, so you should let your doctor know if you are taking it with other meds. St. John’s Wort does have the potential for serious interactions with a wide variety of prescription drugs, including birth control pills, antidepressants, HIV medications, and blood thinners.

Rose

Not only do roses look and smell nice, they can instill calmness and soften your heart. Containing flavonoids, roses can help you deal with stress, anxiety, and depression.

In a previous story I shared the benefits of roses to your immune system. Make rose hips tea and you can protect your immune system and reduce anxiety — a perfect winter mix.

You can use both fresh or dried rose hips for making a rose hip tea tea. Add 1–2 teaspoons to a cup of water, a bit more if they are fresh. Boil over low heat for 10–15 minutes and strain out the rosehips.

Oat Straw or Common Oat

Oat straw, or Avena Sativa, has been used since the Middle Ages to battle anxiety and balance moods. This plant can also inhibit “monoamine oxidase-B” (MAO-B), protecting dopamine levels, and reducing stress. The other part of this powerful grass is its magnesium and calcium content, both of which can help reduce anxiety and calm your body and mind.

Sip on an infusion when muscles go into spasm or try adding oats to your bathwater and soak till you begin to feel at ease. One cup of oat straw infusion is loaded with minerals and about 300 milligrams of calcium. The infusion is just like making tea, but longer. Boil 1 cup of water and add it to a jar with 1 cup of oat straw. Let it sit for 4–10 hours and strain the oat straw before drinking.

Lavender

Who doesn’t go ahhhh when walking through a field of lavender. Lavender oil has a range of uses that include antidepressive and anti-anxiety as well as antibacterial and antifungal. Lavender cream has even been found to reduce stress in pregnant women.

Lavender contains high concentrations of vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, and amino acids that aid overall health. These compounds help to boost the immune system.

Add the lavender flowers to a tea ball or tea sachet and place inside the teapot. Let it steep for 10 minutes. Add some chamomile if you want to sleep or mint if you want a little pep.

Jasmine

Jasmine seems to be everywhere and I can smell it a block away near my house. The scent of jasmine can improve mood and reduce anxiety. Making jasmine into a tea can uplift you out of your winter blues.

But to make jasmine tea you must be patient with this delicate flower. Start with a base of green tea. Spread your loose green tea leaves on a surface and place a layer of jasmine leaves on top overnight. Remove in the morning and repeat for a few nights. If the tea leaves become moist, very gently heat them in the oven. Steep the tea in boiling water for 5 minutes and top with fresh jasmine flowers.

Lemongrass

Lemongrass is a “nervine” — a herb that specifically supports the nervous system to combat symptoms of stress and anxiety. It lowers levels of stress hormones and acts as a tonic for frazzled nerves, making it beneficial in the treatment of various nervous disorders such as vertigo and uncontrollable shaking. It helps to soothe the mind and body by inducing the release of serotonin, the pre-cursor to the sleep hormone melatonin.

A cup of Lemongrass tea or diffusing the essential oil in your bedroom can help you to relax and wind down in readiness for sleep. Cut lemongrass into small pieces and steep for 10 minutes then strain.

Rhodiola rosea

Rhodiola Rosea (golden or arctic root) reduces the stress hormone cortisol, leading to feelings of relaxation and decreasing anxiety. It can help our bodies produce dopamine and serotonin, making us feel good and has reduced depression in people with mild to moderate levels. Not only that but this plant can make us think more clearly. Studies have found this plant can repair damaged cells in the hippocampus, which helps us organize our thoughts and store them as long term memories.

To use this plant you can make a simple tea by adding 2 tablespoons of dried Rhodiola root to 1 tablespoon of honey and hot water. Let steep for about 12 minutes and strain. If you want something a little more fun, add rooibos tea and milk. Note if you drink this before bed it may be hard for you to get to sleep and you may experience vivid dreams. If you have trouble getting to sleep, binaural beats can help you get there.

Schisandra

Schisandra chinensis (five flavor fruit) vine found in Asia and Russia. It’s called the five flavor fruit because your taste buds get an explosion of all five flavors; sweet, salty, bitter, pungent, and sour. And it’s these berries you should focus on. You may also see these called Omija in some Asian grocery stores.

Like Rhodiola, Schisandra is known as an adaptogen known for reducing anxiety, fighting adrenal fatigue, lowering stress and getting mental clarity. Bonus: it’s also known to help fight liver disease and Alzheimer's.

To make the tea, add 10 grams of dried berries to 1 Liter of cold water overnight and strain out the berries. Note if you heat this berry you may be stuck with a bitter tea and a one flavor fruit!

Thyme

Thyme is easy to grow inside or outside and gives us a tasty flavor to many recipes. But it also has carvacrol in it that increases dopamine and serotonin levels. This can help make us feel happy and relaxed. There are a slew of other potential benefits, but another well known one is it’s antimicrobial properties and help in reducing coughs.

Making thyme tea is as simple as adding 3 to 4 sprigs to hot water and letting it steep for 10–15 minutes. Fresh thyme may take longer than dried thyme to steep, You can also cold brew this tea overnight. If you want some extra warmth add a couple of cinnamon sticks.

Basil

Another easy herb to grown inside or outside, basil adds to any good Italian recipe. But it also contains linalool, which is not only where it gets its characteristic scent but also improves mood. Basil can also help fight cancer, reduce inflammation, and regulate blood sugar.

Basil has the greatest benefits when fresh versus dried, so take a few leaves from your indoor herb garden. Add 3–4 good size leaves to hot water and some lemon and steep for 5–10 minutes. Note that lemon is acidic and can help extract what you need from the basil.

Crocus sativus (Saffron)

I remember the little purple Crocus flower popping up through the last bit of snow right around Easter growing up. Crocus sativus is also known as the spice saffron, which is produced from parts of the flower. You may know this spice for its use in breads, desserts, curry, and paella. But, did you know that saffron has been found to reduce depression in people due to its serotonergic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroendocrine, and neuroprotective effects. Saffron can also help with heart health, memory, and fighting cancer.

There are many ways to make saffron tea and relax into its calm warmness. You could simply add 0.25 grams saffron to hot water and add a little honey. Another way to bring more warmth is to add in 1 stick of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 10 mint leaves, and a few squeezes from a lemon. Add milk if you’d like more of a Persian version.

Make Your Own Medicinal Herb Garden

Most of the plants above can be grown easily throughout the US, inside or outside. Many of these are expensive if you decide to buy them already prepared from the store, plus you don’t know the quality you are getting. Very few commercially produced plants avoid pesticide exposure, either directly or indirectly.

First, start small. Each plant can be finicky. Get to know the plant, how much sun, water, and nutrients it needs before moving to another. Containers will work for most. This will let you move them around as the sun shifts over the year, and if you are in a cold zone, you can bring them inside. Since many put out scents, you also can warm your house with beautiful scents that are not those artificial chemicals you can buy from the big box stores.

Experiment with the amount of heat, light, water and nutrients. Most container plants will continue to need fertilizer after each season. Also experiment with when you harvest the plant. Do the young leaves work better or the older leaves? This can be both the taste and how they make you feel. Either way we all know growing plants is relaxing and meditative, so go have fun!