Sweet vernal grass
Anthoxanthum odoratum
Leaf, cut and dried · drying · coumarin
The hay that smells of vanilla when the scythe has been through.
On the nose
How it smells
Sweet hay with vanilla or coumarin, especially when cut or dried. Fresh and aromatic — the smell of a meadow after the scythe.
More hay & vanillaIn the mouth
How it tastes
Vanilla-hay. A sheaf, not a decoction.
Traditional use
A meadow grass kept for its smell. Folk stillrooms dried it with the linen herbs. The sweetness is coumarin — the same family of scent as woodruff. A sheaf, not a soup.
In the cup
Cut and dry. A handful in a sachet or a jar. Do not decoct it.
Blood
Sweet blood · sweet
Sweet first warms, then cools, and it softens. It is relaxing — the reason sugar went into cough syrups — nutritive, building, and hormonally active. Sweet herbs feed the brain and nerves, nourish spleen and pancreas, and coat dry tissue. They cleanse by moving blood toward the organs that wash it.
Read sweet bloodReached for
The promise
A careful hand
A pinch or a rare pot — not a daily habit.
Coumarin when dried. Sachet and scent only — not a beverage, not a daily pot.
Read the whole promiseSits well with
Woodruff
Galium odoratum
Fresh it is quiet. Dried it is vanilla-hay — the May-wine leaf.
Limit the cup
Ground, build, and settle
Life everlasting
Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium
Sweet everlasting — maple-hay in the hand, a scenting herb of the field.
Limit the cup
Ground, build, and settle
Lavender
Lavandula angustifolia
A little goes a long way — the pillow herb in the teacup.
Restless sleep · Frayed nerves · Headache
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Traditional kitchen and folk use only. This is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are pregnant, nursing, on medicine, or unwell, ask a clinician before drinking anything as a remedy.