Kristel Vilbaste
Photo Arne Ader
English translation Maret
Estonian text posted 10.07.2018
Linden
Last weekend I had a terrible time - I was suffering of a thundering cough. I must have caught it somewhere either swimming or just roaming around.The weather right now is like a baby’s bottom - one moment terribly hot and then again very cold and wet.
A most peculiar thing happened, when visiting my country home at the beginning of the week I went down to see if the lower pond still had any water in it and if the swan flower had started to bloom, I happened onto an unexpected remedy.
I tumbled over a linden branch, full of blossoms. I had just been thinking, that I would not bother to collect linden blossoms this year, Mikk loved linden tea, I did not. Still, before I left, I had enough sense to drag the branch to the cottage, cut it up and load it into my car, so I could pick the blossoms off it later at home. The car was filled with the sweet aroma of honey.
But I did not have enough sense, even after the otherworldly message sent by my late husband, to immediately start drinking linden tea. I started late, but now I slurp it down, lots of it, and the cough is gradually starting to give.
The odd thing this year is, that usually at this time of the year the linden trees in southern Estonia are just starting to bloom, but this year they are finishing blooming even in northern Estonia!
Do not confuse the regular linden with the big-leaf linden. The latter is a city tree, is planted on roadsides and in parks and starts blooming a whole week or two earlier. This year already two weeks ago.
It’s advisable to collect linden blossoms just when they smell their sweetest. Then their “power” is the strongest. For some reason all the herb manuals recommend cutting the blossoms into tiny pieces and use the resulting powder for tea. However, I like to see floating in my teapot those lovely golden blossoms with their strong leaves. When the linden tea is golden red, its healing capacity is guaranteed.
Even if you have your linden blossoms already collected, don’t put your baskets away yet, as right now there are so many other herbs ready for
picking: willow herbs, fireweed, meadowsweet, yarrow, camomile, mint… Pick the known herbs, that you have always used, but also look out for some unknown beings, that have possibly crept up to your doorstep. Often the herbs we could use come to us uninvited.
