Every year for my birthday, my mom buys me plants for my garden. Best gift ever!
At our new house though, we have deer, which does not bode well for a vegetable garden. So I wasn’t going to plant anything this year.
But then I realized we had a few garden beds that were filled with only weeds, so I did have some space to fill, with flowers at least.
We are also obsessed with butterflies and hummingbirds at our house, so the more butterfly- and hummer-friendly flowers we could find, the better.
Our backyard is becoming quite the magical fairy land.
We’ve seen at least four different hummingbirds on our feeder, we now regularly have lightning bugs and deer and caterpillars and all kinds of whimsical things.
I also created an anti-anxiety garden kind of by accident.
At the nursery, I thought, oh it would be amazing if I had lavender. So, on my quest to find it, I found a section called the “tea garden” where I also found chamomile and lemon balm. They not only sounded fabulous for fresh homemade teas, they are also all renowned for their anti-anxiety properties. I need all the nerve calmers I can get!
Quick profiles of these amazing anti-anxiety herbs:
- Chamomile: often used for anxiety with its mild sedative and antidepressant effects.
- Lavender: induces relaxation, improves sleep and may reduce pain.
- Lemon balm: I’ve heard people in my anxiety groups say that lemon balm is like Xanax. I don’t know if I would go that far, but it sure has some great natural relaxing properties. It’s also great for tummy troubles.
I love that I can go heal in my own garden!!!
I won’t stop taking my anxiety medications, but these are a great natural way to supplement my anti-anxiety regimen.
These plants were super easy to find at my local nursery, so they should be for you too.
As I gather and try out new recipes, I will share what works on here. Last night, I put a sprig of the lemon balm in my chamomile tea and it was delightful! I certainly felt relaxed afterward.
What are you favorite natural calming techniques?