Growing indoor herbs serves best when you want to enjoy homegrown produce, make creative and personalized ideas for gift-giving purposes, or want to create a dash of the green interior in your sweet home. Additionally, herbs are medicinal plants that could treat diseases and help maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Herbs are rich in phytonutrients, natural chemicals with health-boosting properties. Since herbs combine beauty with usefulness, they would be the best candidate for gift ideas. Herbs signify a special message for success or prosperity in a new home. These plants are short with a green and tender stem that doesn’t produce woody tissue; thus, herbs generally die back after their growing season. Basil, oregano, mint, chives, sage, rosemary, and thyme are a few common indoor herbs that are manageable year-round. However, other herbs could add to the list for herb gardeners.
Herb clover, also known as red clover, is a widespread weed growing mainly in meadows throughout Europe and Asia. It is a short-lived perennial (biennial) plant belonging to the pea family. It has a sweet, red flowering head at the branch stems that can be used for culinary and healthy purposes. It is easy to let herb clover grow in house gardens as it only needs a small space to grow and needs little attention for maintenance. Moreover, its numerous health benefits are scientifically proven, and flowers of this herb can decoratively add beauty to one’s abode.
Characteristics of Herb Clover
Herb clover’s stems are hollow and hairy. Its body can grow from eight to thirty-one inches tall. It develops a deep taproot that helps sustain through drought and gives the plant a perfect structuring effect. One distinct appearance of herb clover is it has a watermark on leaflets, and its leaves are alternate trifoliate, which means they have three leaflets. The flower of herb clover has a dark pink color with a paler base, and it can grow up to 0.5 to 0.6 inches long; it is produced in dense clusters targeted by bumblebees.
Origin of Herb Clover
Herb clover is typically grown in Europe, Western Asia, and northwest Africa. Recently, it has been naturalized in other locations, such as North and South America. Herb clover was brought to Chile and Argentina about 100 years ago. However, there is no recording of how herb clover was introduced as a helpful herb. In Chile, herb clover became a status representation of economic stability, and bumblebees had been essential pollinators of this herb. Herb gardeners brought bumblebees to Europe, South America, and New Zealand to produce more herb clover.
Benefits of Herb Clover
1. Herb Clover can help with Menopause
Herb clover contains estrogen-like flavonoids called phytoestrogens, which can help maintain healthy estrogen levels in a female body, especially during the menopausal period. It reduces night sweats and hot flashes; typical symptoms women experience when having menopause. Products that have red clover contents or herb supplements are available in the market for women’s use. These supplements include benefits for reducing bone density loss and improving cardiovascular health.
2. Herb Clover can help with Respiratory Health
Herb clover can be a lubricant for mucus drainage that may affect the respiratory tract. Thus, this herb is good for bronchitis, whooping cough, cold, and asthma. Due to this characteristic, herbal practitioners recommend herb clover to those suffering from coughing and breathing problems as it helps with the secretion of phlegm from the lower airways. For those who are suffering from lack of sleep due to cough, products containing red clover can be helpful as it helps alleviate coughing by calming bronchial spasms for improved sleep quality.
3. Herb Clover can help with Skin Health
Herb clover has been used to treat skin problems such as psoriasis, eczema, and even rashes. This herb can help boost circulation, which speeds up the body’s elimination process of waste that builds up on the skin surface, which results in healthier skin. Also, herb clover has a soothing effect beneficial to skin rashes and wounds. Products with herb clover extract, such as salve, can act as an anti-inflammatory and antiseptic to reduce the swelling of eczema, rashes, cuts, and irritations. Moreover, red clover can delay the process of skin aging because it has estrogen-like effects. It helps maintain vibrant and youthful skin, ensuring appropriate thickness and vascularity.
How to Make Red Clover Tea
Ingredients:
1 cup herb clover blossomed flowers
2 tablespoons mint
4 cups of water
Step 1: Choose the correct herb. Red clover has the three-leaf pattern typical of clover, but unlike white clover, you will see a white “V” mark on each leaf.
Step 2: Inspect flowers and ensure no bugs or insects are on them. Make sure that the flowers have not been sprayed with any toxic chemical.
Step 3: Bring water to boil, remove the water from heat and add clover blossoms and mint.
Step 4: Steep for about 10 minutes. Strain. Add honey or sugar to add taste. Enjoy!
How to Make Red Clover Tincture
Ingredients:
3-4 cups herb clover blossomed flowers
2 cups unflavored vodka (enough to fill a jar of red clover flowers)
Step 1: Wash the blossomed flowers of red clover to remove any dirt or insects.
Step 2: Fill the jar with blossomed flowers with enough space for liquid.
Step 3: Fill the jar with unflavored vodka until the flowers are fully covered.
Step 4: Close the jar with a well-fitted lid.
Step 5: Leave the jar in a cool and dark area.
Step 6: Regularly check the jar and give it a good shake once in a while, after a month. Drain the tincture with cheesecloth to get the extracts needed.
Step 7: Put the extracts in a bottle for future use.
Conclusion
Herb clover is one of the first plants cultivated by man to improve soil and as forage for cattle; however, its nutrient content proves to be more effective for human health. Herb medicine practitioners had been considering red clover as a blood purifier, eliminating toxins from the bloodstream. Along with other uses, you can never go wrong in having herb clover in your home.