I like elderberry (American) flowers and berry juice for bronchitis, as well as horehound, which grows fairly well for me (it is quite bitter). I have been able to collect elderberry flowers from bushes I planted, but the birds usually eat the berries-- I purchase Sambucol syrup instead. The English elderberry tree is more poisonous, and there are several types of American ones as well which are more so, so elderberry needs to be used with caution after reading up on it a bit. I like to substitute Dandelion root for coffee, and occasionally drink Pau D'Arco tea when I start to feel paranoid about cancer. My theory is that it may not cure a full-blown cancer, but might be discouraging to a few cancerous cells floating around. I purchase both of those. During the summer I just make teas out of whatever I can find growing well in my garden. Japanese honeysuckle blossoms are supposed to have some antibacterial properties, and taste nice with various mints. Sometimes I make a tea with ground ivy (not really an ivy; a weedy little ivy-like thing with purple flowers that I think is cute) or violet leaves. Supposedly forsythia buds have some antibiotic value; the Chinese grow a special strain of forsythia that is supposed to be more effective. I haven't tried any yet to see what they taste like. I also like to mix pineapple mint and pineapple sage in a tea, as is suggested in one of my books on herbs. That has a very nice fragrance. I found an hebal salve in the local health food store with comfrey gel in it that seems to help my arthritis, so I also like that.

The problem with this thinking... which to me used to be fine, till I noticed, that all is fine and dandy till something goes wrong....then people scream... For example, you may want to take any drug you want, then your cousin dies of an ephedra problem.... then all of a sudden your thinking is changed. Personally, I generally agree. I think that the stupids who mess with something they don't understand.... just weeds out their genes from the gene pool. But apparently, others don't see it this way. I see this in almost all aspects of American life... ANOTHER example... You all want a freemarket system... till you pay $3 a gallon for gas... then you scream. People seem to want what they want with no concern for the consequences... I just do it... and unlike Cacye, I LISTEN when someone says there is a danger... some don't... that's why they try to beat trains in train crossings.... ANOTHER way to weed certain genes from the gene pool.

uhm- I'm going to echo the above posters, and tell you that Valium sounds like Valerian for a reason... psycho-active compounds are not something to play with. raw plant matter is not something to be consumed without some idea of concentration, dosage, and ideally a 'minder' to help you guage effects (YOU may not feel strange, but a friend might notice you're swimming sideways, eh?) 'relaxant' is a misleading term at best...heat is the best natural relaxant. there are natural sedatives, calmants, sleep aids, euphorics... and they come in degrees of availability, useability, effectiveness, and safety. personally, I prefer Kava to Valerian. I prefer extracts to capsules, and I won't make a tincture/tisane/tea out of any plant I haven't been growing for several years...and I am leery of prescribing or recommending dosages to other people without knowing more about their body chemistry than THEY usually know (or are willing to admit) you might be better off starting out with several months of research and some cautious experimenting- and I would definately research yoga before I turned to drugs... the drugs that your own body produces are clean, safe, and easy to regulate, so training yourself TO produce your own pain-killers, muscle relaxants, and sleeping pills is always the best bet.

I drink coffee in the morning but tea during the rest of the day. For green, I normally like one that has a flavor enhancer such as jasmine or mint. When I have a cold I love mint tea or earl grey with lavender. I like flavored black teas if I am making iced tea and one favorite is ginger peach black. If I am in an herbal mood or do not want caffeeine a favorite is Rooibos Capetown blend. I have to say though, I am not a fan of Darjeeling. A splash of Gran Marnier in tea is excellent. We tend to only use loose teas which we get from a local coffee shop and I use an infuser like the one linked below. The hinged balls would tend to leak sediment into my tea and I do not like texture. Here is a link that might be useful: tea infuser