Workshop: "There's a herb for that - medicinal plants here and elsewhere".

With the alternative practitioner Ines Fehrmann, telephone registration until 10 June: 05542-72812, cost contribution 12 €.

The workshop connects the theoretical explanations of the exhibition boards and the accompanying lectures with practical doing. During a short tour of the teaching and learning garden and the tropical greenhouse, the participants explore medicinal plants with all their senses and then mix a home tea from a variety of herbs at the "tea bar", which suits their own needs and preferences.

In addition, a salve will be prepared together, and workshop participants will also learn how valuable ingredients are preserved through proper gathering and preservation.

Background:

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), medicinal plants are in high demand worldwide - after all, 80 percent of the world's population uses plants as the basis for tea drugs, phytopharmaceuticals or as isolated pure substances. Many of the common medicines we can buy in pharmacies contain herbal raw materials, but where do they come from and what is the path from the plant to the package? Which of the plant species growing in our country can and may we collect? Valerian in the evening, for example, promotes sleep readiness, shortens the time it takes to fall asleep and improves sleep quality. But can I collect and use valerian myself?  Or should I rather switch to the product with passion flowers?

Many well-known medicinal plants are also culinary herbs and spices. Of course, you could also say it the other way around: that many spices also have healing effects. Thyme is mainly known as a typical spice of Mediterranean cuisine, but it is also a good remedy for respiratory diseases. Derived from the Greek "thymos", which means strength and courage, Roman legionaries are said to have bathed in thyme infusions before battle to generally increase motivation. Even the famous Greek physician Hippocrates (460 - 377 BC) used thyme successfully against ailments. We still find thyme today in many different formulations for use against respiratory infections. But it can do much more: its very potent essential oil is said to have antifungal, bacterial, viral and antioxidant effects, it relieves cramps and maintains not only our courage but also our mental and physical fitness.  

The workshop is part of the program accompanying the exhibition: "The Green Pharmacy - from Hortus Medicus to Pharmaceutical Research" by the Association of Botanical Gardens, June 10-17, 2018,  open daily from 2-4pm.