The winter solstice and cold moon passed. The light is returning now, oh so slowly at first. There are many plants that can help us move joyfully through the dark wintertime, supported by a vibrant immune system that wards off cold and flu alike.

Black elder (Sambucus nigra) is a wonderful ally in your herbal winter apothecary and a beautiful plant in your garden, blessing you with potent medicine and abundant wildlife that is attracted by her blossoms and fruit.

The Elder in your Garden

You will need a big open sunny spot in your garden that is well irrigated and mulched with a thick layer of wood chips – elder likes wet feet. So much that the Elder Mother grows wild most abundantly in wetlands and along creeks where the big shrub helps to dry the soil after flooding. Peppermint and spearmint are nice companion plants, covering and shading the soil in between and providing aromatic cooling mint teas in the summer. I absolutely love my elder tree (actually gifted to me by a good friend), it is a beautiful tree (which can also be maintained in a pot) and its flowers bring so much joy. The flowers are easy to dry and make a great tea or infusion. My plant is yet to provide me with much fruit, so I opt to purchase good quality dried elderberries to make my own elderberry syrup, a great tonic to have a home to support the immune system throughout winter (safe and effective in children too), and it is delicious!

Elder, like other dark coloured fruit such as blackberries and blueberries, has a lot of antioxidants, protecting the body from free radicals, reducing inflammation and freeing the immune system to prevent the invasion of bacteria and viruses. Elderberries have strong anti-viral properties and contain ample vitamin C. The elder plant holds wisdom for the elder body in particular, keeping the immune system strong and responsive and toning the cardiovascular system, while detoxifying and building the blood. Elder is an antispasmodic, relaxes smooth muscles and relieves coughing fits and stomach cramps. You can actually also make your own tincture (alcohol extract) by adding elderberries in 40% brandy, it tastes delicious and has the right amount of alcohol to keep it stable.

How to Make Elderberry Tincture

1. Fill a mason jar ½ with dried elderberries, fill to the top if the berries are fresh, then fill the jar all the way to the top with brandy.

2. Close lid tightly, label jar with the plant name, alcohol type, and date and let sit in a cool dark place. Shake jar every few days.

3. After 4 to 6 weeks strain and press the plant matter from the alcohol and voila! – you made beautiful elder medicine for yourself and your loved ones.

Elder works as a preventative and for acute infections alike. Take a teaspoon of elder tincture once or twice daily to stay healthy all winter long. If you feel you have a cold or flu coming on – take more, up to 6 teaspoons daily, to help the body cope with an infection in a short period of time.

Another wonderful way to enjoy elder medicine is elderberry syrup or elixir, made with a strong decoction of the fruit, brandy, and honey. I like to combine elderberries with marshmallow root to sooth and heal inflamed lung tissue and fresh ginger for its warming and anti-inflammatory medicine. Feel free to add other plant medicines for the lungs such a elecampane root, thyme or hyssop to your syrup.

Elderberry Elixir Recipe:

Ingredients

• 14 oz dried elderberries

• ½ oz dried marshmallow root

• ½ oz fresh ginger, cut in thin slices

• 1 cup raw local honey

• 1 ½ cups brandy

• ooking pot

• metal ruler

Directions

1. Combine elderberries, marshmallow root and ginger with 5 cups of water in a pot. Bring to a boil and with the lid on, let simmer for 2 hours.

2. Remove lid. Measure height of liquid in pot with a metal ruler.

3. Without lid, let the decoction simmer on medium heat until ½ of the liquid has evaporated.

4. Pour through a strainer and press the remaining liquid out of the plant material. You can offer the spent plant material to your compost Goddess.

5. While the decoction is still warm, add 1 cup raw local honey and stir with a whisk until the honey is completely dissolved.

6. Add 1½ cups brandy.

Bottle, label and store in a dark cool place. No need to refrigerate, honey and alcohol are great preservatives.

The Wellness Mama Elderberry Syrup Recipe:

• 3 ½ Cups water

• 2/3 cup elderberries

• 2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• ½ tsp cloves

• 1 cup honey

Place the water into a pan with cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and elderberries. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 min to 1 hour until the liquid has reduced by half.

Remove from the heat and cool, mash the berries and pour through a strainer or nutmilk bag, then add the honey and stir to ensure the honey has dissolved. Pour the syrup into a glass bottle and store in the fridge.