Three Medicines in Your Yard Right Now

There is a particular sort of morning in late March — not quite winter's end, not yet spring's real commotion — when you step outside and the whole garden seems to be holding its breath. Then you look down. The cleavers have been threading themselves through the dead stems for weeks already, with that cheerful velcro impertinence. The violets are flaring purple in the lawn. At the base of what looked like bare soil a fortnight ago, the first crinkled leaves of lemon balm are unfurling like small green hands.

This is the moment the old herbalists lived for. Not July's lush abundance when everything clamors for attention — but this quieter, more urgent season when the first medicines arrive tender and potent, with a narrow window to meet them properly.

I have spent the past week with all three of these plants — watching the cleavers and taking enough for now and leaving much more to mature, picking violet flowers for drying, and noting where the lemon balm is pushing back up. (It has a habit of wandering, you know…) 

Here is what I what I want to share about them – and what I am doing with mine.

Go look in your hedgerows, your fence lines, the shaggy margin where lawn meets woodland. If you are in Zone 7a, cleavers has been up for weeks, and right now — before it bolts and its hooks turn stiff — is its prime. You will know it by touch before you see it properly: that insistent cling to your sleeve, the small whorled leaves in rings of six to eight around square stems. Some call it sticky willy, goosegrass, bedstraw. The apothecary's shelf has always called it one of spring's finest tonics.

Medicinal parts: The whole aerial plant — stems, leaves, and all. Used internally as a lymphatic and urinary tonic.

When to Harvest

Now, in Zone 7a — and the window is narrow. Harvest while the plant is young and soft, before it bolts and the tiny hooks stiffen. Once it goes to seed, the medicine is largely past. You want the tender spring growth, ideally before flowering.

How to Prepare and Extract

Here is the critical thing about cleavers: heat destroys much of what you are after, and drying degrades it significantly. This is one of the exceptions — fresh plant, cold extraction. Do not dry it for tea.

Cold infusion (primary method): Pack a generous handful of crushed fresh plant — stems, leaves, the whole tangled lot — into a quart jar. Cover with cold water. Refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours. Strain off the pale green liquid and sip it throughout the day. This is the gold standard preparation for cleavers.

Fresh juice: Juicing the cleavers with a juice extraction machine is possible- or you can run the fresh plant through a bullet style machine or blender with a small amount of water, then strain through cheesecloth. More concentrated than the cold infusion. Drink a few tablespoons diluted in water.

My preferred way is a mix of the cold infusion and blender method. I put a generous handful of fresh herb into my bullet style blender and fill it with water. I use this blender and then I put it in the fridge for 2 days before straining it. This makes a potent extraction that I can drink now or preserve for later. 

Preserving for later: Press the fresh juice and freeze it in ice cube trays. Once frozen, transfer the cubes to a freezer bag. They will keep for up to a year. Thaw a cube into a glass of water when you want it out of season. This is the only reliable way to preserve cleavers' medicine — dried cleavers in hot water is barely medicine at all.

Tincture: A fresh plant tincture (fresh herb in alcohol) captures some of what the cold infusion does and offers shelf stability. Look for fresh plant, not dried, as the starting material if purchasing. And be sure to use the highest proof alcohol you can find. It won't taste good- but it's necessary to have a minimum of 100 proof to account for the water content in the fresh herb and prevent spoiling. Aim for 120 - 190 proof if you can find it. Admittedly this isn't a method I use as I worry about knowing the exact water content of the tincture. But do your research and do what works best for you. 

How to Use It

Cleavers is used internally as a spring tonic for lymphatic and urinary system support. Drink the cold infusion throughout the day — there is no precise dosage in the traditional literature, as there are so many variables including the medicinal qualities at the time of harvest and the concentration and extraction method used. Anywhere from 4 oz to a quart jar over the course of a day could be standard practice. The fresh juice is more concentrated; a few tablespoons daily, diluted. Frozen cubes can be thawed into water or added to smoothies.

I do recommend, unless you enjoy the taste of a freshly mowed lawn, you mask the juice in another cold drink. I have a strong raspberry iced tea that I make that can overpower nearly any fowl taste and it's quite useful to pair with cleavers.

What the Research Says

In July 2024, a team published in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies what amounted to a vindication of the old wound-healers who relied on this plant. Their study — "Bringing back Galium aparine L. from forgotten corners of traditional wound treatment procedures" — tested a hydroalcoholic extract of cleavers against bacterial strains, measured its antioxidant and radical-scavenging capacity, and ran in-vitro wound healing assays on human cell lines. The results confirmed antimicrobial activity, meaningful antioxidant capacity, and promoted cell viability in the wound-healing models. A 2020 study had earlier documented that ethanolic extracts of cleavers stimulate the transformational activity of immunocompetent blood cells — a mechanistic hint at its traditional reputation as a lymphatic ally. The science is still young. The plant has been at this far longer.

Study link: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 2024 | PMC immunomodulatory study, 2020

Zone Adjustments

Zones 3–5: your cleavers is just emerging, if at all — harvest window is still 3–5 weeks out. Zones 6b: a week or two behind 7a; the window is opening. Zones 8–10: check now — if temperatures have been warm, it may already be going to seed. Harvest what is still young and soft.

If there is a more underestimated medicine in the American lawn, I have not found it. Right now in Zone 7a, the violets are blooming — that particular shade of blue-purple that stops you mid-stride — and both the flowers and the young leaves are at peak usefulness. But here is the thing most people miss: the flowers and the leaves are two different medicines.

Medicinal parts: Leaves and flowers, with different strengths. Used internally (tea, food) and externally (poultice).

When to Harvest

Flowers: Right now, at peak bloom. Pick them in the morning after the dew dries. The bloom window in Zone 7a is a few weeks — once it passes, you are done until next spring. Harvest what you can and dry the rest for later.

Leaves: More forgiving. Young leaves are best, but they remain useful through the growing season even after the flowers fade. Pick the tender ones now; continue harvesting leaves through summer.

How to Prepare and Extract

Drying flowers for tea: Pick flowers with as little stem as possible. Spread in a single layer on a screen or drying rack out of direct sunlight — the color fades in sun. They are thin and dry quickly, often in 1–2 days in a warm room with airflow. Done when they feel papery and crisp. Store immediately in an airtight glass jar away from light. These hold their color and potency well for a year.

Drying leaves for tea: Strip leaves from stems. Spread in a single layer and dry as with flowers — slightly longer, as leaves hold more moisture. Done when they snap cleanly. Store the same way.

Fresh uses: Both flowers and young leaves are edible fresh. Add to salads, float in lemonade (the flowers turn pink in acidic liquid — a genuinely delightful trick and a good source of vitamin C coming out of winter when local fresh fruit and vegetables have been scarce). Fresh leaves can also be used in a poultice for skin irritation.

How to Use It

Tea from dried flowers: Steep 1–2 teaspoons of dried flowers in a cup of just-boiled water. Cover immediately — the volatile constituents escape in steam. Steep 10 minutes. The flowers are high in vitamin C and make a mild, pleasant tea on their own or blended with other herbs.

Tea from dried leaves: Place 3 grams of dried violet leaf (or a loose handful of fresh — roughly twice the volume, to account for water weight) in a cup of just-boiled water. Cover and steep 10 minutes. The covering preserves the delicate mucilaginous quality. Strain and drink two to three cups daily for respiratory complaints — dry coughs, sore throats, bronchial irritation. The British Herbal Pharmacopoeia lists violet specifically for pertussis and acute bronchitis.

Food and drink: Fresh flowers in salads, as garnish, or dropped into lemonade for color and vitamin C. Young leaves can be added to soups and cooked greens.

Poultice: Fresh leaves, bruised and applied to the skin, are a traditional remedy for minor skin irritation and swelling.

Soap: If you're a soap maker, try using both water and oil infused with violet leaves as part of your recipe. The infusion results in a wonderfully silky lather. The complex polysaccharides in the violet's mucilage are resistant to the saponification process, as well as vitamin e. 

The chemistry behind all of this is respectable. Violet leaves and flowers carry significant quantities of vitamins A and C, along with rutin (a glycoside of quercetin), saponins, mucilage, tannins, and flavonoids. The saponins account for its expectorant reputation; the mucilage and flavonoids explain the soothing action on inflamed mucous membranes.

What the Research Says

No clinical study has been conducted on V. sororia specifically, but a 2023 systematic review published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine — covered more than 500 species in the genus Viola — documented validated pharmacological activities across the genus including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antihypertensive effects. This is not folklore. The breadth of documented activity across the genus is genuinely impressive, spanning respiratory, dermatological, and cardiovascular applications.

Study link: PMC Systematic Review of Viola genus, 2023

Zone Adjustments

Zones 3–5: violets are likely not yet blooming — perhaps another three to four weeks. Zones 8–10: flowers may already be fading; focus now on the leaves, which remain useful through the season.

Kneel down at the base of where your lemon balm grew last year. If you are in Zone 7a, you should find the first small rosettes pushing up — crinkled, bright, and unmistakably lemony when you rub them between your fingers. This is the moment to note the plant's return. You are a few weeks from having enough to harvest seriously, but worth knowing it is alive and moving.

Medicinal parts: Leaves. Used internally (tea, tincture) for anxiety, sleep, and nervous tension.

When to Harvest

Not quite yet in Zone 7a — the plant needs a few more weeks of growth before there is enough to harvest without weakening the crown. The best medicinal harvest comes just before flowering, when volatile oil content peaks. For Zone 7a, that window is typically late May through June. For now, note its return and leave it be.

How to Prepare and Extract

Drying for tea: When the time comes, harvest stems in the morning. Strip the leaves and spread in a single layer to dry — warm air, no direct sun, good airflow. Lemon balm dries quickly. The dried leaf holds its potency reasonably well if stored immediately in an airtight jar away from light. Use within a year for best results.

Tea from dried leaf: Use 1.5 to 4.5 grams of dried leaf in 150 ml of water just off the boil. Cover and steep 7 to 10 minutes — the covering is essential. Lemon balm's volatile oils are abundant but fragile; you will see them condensed on the underside of the lid if you peek. That is your medicine. Put the lid back.

Tea from fresh leaf: A small handful of fresh leaves in a cup, just-boiled water, covered, 7–10 minutes. More aromatic than dried but requires more material.

Tincture: Lemon balm tinctures well and is widely available commercially. A tincture offers convenient dosing and year-round access to the medicine when fresh or dried leaf is not on hand.

How to Use It

Drink the tea in the evening for sleep support, or throughout the day for anxiety and nervous tension. The mechanism appears to involve rosmarinic acid's inhibition of GABA transaminase, increasing GABA availability in the brain — the same pathway targeted by many pharmaceutical sedatives, though with a gentler profile. Lemon balm is also a pleasant culinary herb — the fresh leaves are excellent in salads, cold drinks, and as a garnish. I've used it paired with lemongrass as a marinade with wonderful results. 

What the Research Says

The research on lemon balm has become genuinely impressive. A 2023 prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial published in Frontiers in Pharmacology enrolled 100 adults with moderate anxiety, depression, or stress — or poor sleep scores. Those receiving a standardized lemon balm extract for three weeks showed significant improvements across measures of depression, anxiety, stress, mental wellbeing, positive affect, and sleep quality compared to placebo. This is not a small pilot study with questionable methods. This is proper clinical work.

Study link: Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2023

Zone Adjustments

Zones 3–5: lemon balm may not have broken ground yet; patience. Zones 6b: just emerging. Zones 8–10: plants may already be several inches tall — first light harvest is possible.

A spring task worth doing this week. Cut back any dead lemon balm stalks from last year and top-dress around the emerging crowns with a thin layer of compost. This plant rewards a little attention early and repays it extravagantly through July.

For those who forage. Viola sororia (common blue violet) is the species most widely distributed across the mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Other violet species are generally similarly useful, but always confirm your identification before eating or preparing any foraged plant.

On drying versus fresh. If you have ever wondered why dried herbs often make stronger tea than fresh — and why some herbs like cleavers are the exception — I wrote a full breakdown of the science here.

Three things worth having in the dispensary this season:

A quality fresh plant tincture of cleavers. Cleavers is wide spread across the world. It is naturalized and widespread across North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Africa, thriving in temperate, moist, disturbed soils worldwide. It occurs in every U.S. state except Hawaii. Stickywilly is present in parts of northern Mexico and in most Canadian provinces. I find it prefers to grow at the edge of things. Fencelines, treelines, etc. 

A salad spinner for washing and drying herbs. I love this salad spinner as a way of jump starting the drying process. Using this cuts hours off of 'counter' drying and makes the dehydrator run much more efficiently.

A lidded tea mug or small teapot. Covering your infusion while it steeps — violet, lemon balm, any aromatic herb — genuinely changes the medicinal result. This is my absolute favorite mug with a built in fine mesh strainer. I have it in multiple colors. It's large enough to warm your hands on chilly spring mornings and quite a bit of herb fits in the strainer making medicinal quantities easy to manage.

Late March is the pharmacopoeia refreshing itself. Be out in it when you can, and pay attention to the low things — the ground-huggers, the sticky hangers-on, the small purple faces looking up from the grass. The medicines worth knowing rarely announce themselves grandly.

Until next week, The Apothecary