Sage Officinalis is especially splendid this year with her long tendrils of periwinkle blooms that sprawl over the rock garden after the evening's rain. Sage is native to the Mediterranean and North Africa, and hence why she prefers dry conditions; nonetheless, she will readily grow wherever she is welcomed. The leaves and flowers are cut back in the early summer just before flowering. One can harvest sage two or three times over the season, cutting the plant back by 1/3 to provide you with a bounty of goodness that will serve well over the winter season. Sage means “to save” in French: salvere. There is an old saying that sage follows the fortunes of the household. I feel so deeply grateful for the home Misia and I have been in the last ten years. And sage has been a part of that. Sage heals by deeply and simply serving us, people and animals alike. Sage is a superb hormonal support. It is a glandular tonic, rich in volatile oils of up to 30%, with thujone, cineole, linalol, camphor, salvene and pinene, with tannins, triterpenes, flavanoids and resins. Sage is anti-inflammatory, carminative, anti-spasmodic, astringent, anti-catarrhal, emmenegogue, and a febrifuge. Sage is effective and soothing for young women during puberty, for fertile women in motherhood, and for the crone, in the menopausal years. Sage, being estrogenic, helps young women regulate their menses in the early years, and smooths out emotions, helps nursing mothers reduce their lactation, and skillfully addresses perspiration and salivation excess in the menopausal years. Sage is antiseptic, anti-bacterial and microbial, like all plants in the Mint Family (lamiaceae family), and readily treats the mouth and gums as a gargle. It works with colds and coughs, as well as laryngitis, and acute sinus infections. Sage has an overall gentle, yet pronounced effect on the digestion with conditions such as dyspepsia. Sage supports folks with weak spleens and unchaste liver malaise. Although sage is not the first native plant I think of, it can be used as a poultice to heal a wound. Sage would be prepared medicinally, drank as a tea, made as an infusion, poultice, or alcohol tincture. Sage is delicious and earthy made as a tea, especially for the elderly, to treat both mild anxiety and depression as well as poor digestion. Have you tasted sage honey? Available in the Dharani Dispensary. Lady Sage works her magic on the many layers of our mind, body and spirit. Invite her into your garden today and revel in her goodness. Herbal medicine is people's medicine. Sage Infusion for Hot Flashes Place one ounce or 30 gram of dried, crushed sage leaves in a liter jar. Fill to the top with filtered and boiled water. Let this sit on the counter with the lid on, for a minimum of four hours. Decant the herb, and store the sage infusion in a mason jar in the fridge. Take 1-2 tablespoon with honey in a little warm water or milk in the evening time for 3 to 6 weeks to reduce hot flashes easily. Sage Pesto Prepare your pesto as you might a basil pesto. Use the blooms of the sage plant instead of the basil leaves. The sage blossoms, walnut oil and ground flax seeds give the pesto a delicate taste that is creamy and thick to enjoy with just about any of our summer menus where pesto is called for.