Now is the time of year when you can pick hop - here in Cudworth it is abundant, as opposed to last year, when there was hardly any. Hop helps me sleep. I dry the flowers, put them in jars and then make a hop cushion with some of them. Or rather, I fill a hankie with some hops, close it with a rubber band, stick it in a jar by my bed and when I can’t sleep I take it out and put it under my nose. Usually it works in about 20 minutes. Not always, but enough to reward the trouble of picking and drying them.
I once bought some dried hops for beer making but they smell totally different, rather unpleasant I find, so I’m glad with my plentiful home-picked harvest this year.
Oh and once I run out of hops (the hankie works only for a few weeks, though by day I always put it back in its jar) I do the same with rosemary, dried or as essential oil, but that does not feel so rewarding.
By the way, I just went to the library and saw a recipe book ‘Eat to sleep’, by Heather Thomas. May be useful as well.