It's the deep, sticky middle of July here in the Mid-Atlantic — the kind of week the garden surges or wilts by 2pm, and this year it's mostly surging (thanks to copious amounts of rain!). If you're growing German chamomile, you know the rhythm: cut flowers Monday, and by Thursday there's a fresh flush waiting, as long as you keep deadheading.
Down in the ditches and streambanks, blue vervain is hitting its stride — tall, square-stemmed spikes of blue-violet flowers most people walk past without a second look. Out west, where our humidity doesn't reach, Mormon tea is having its own quiet summer, bright green jointed stems ready to cut from dry slopes and washes.
Three plants, three jobs — one for the nervous system, one for a sluggish gut, one for congested lungs. Let's get into it.