Ugh! Colds are hard to get rid of completely!

I have a few suggestions, hopefully one of them works!

Thyme is probably your best bet, it really is fantastic and everyone has it, or can get it. Make an infusion of 1tsp of dried or 2tsp of fresh herbs per cup of water and drink three times a day. Fresh is always best if you can get it.

Or you could try a 50/50 blend of german chamomile (the common one that grows everywhere) and thyme. That works better for some people. 

If you have someone nice to rub your chest for you, I highly recommend a blend of thyme and eucalyptus oils in a base carrier oil, rubbed into the chest twice a day. It's no fun if you have to do it for yourself though.

One of the most effective herbs for catarrh, bronchitis etc is elecampane. It's absolutely fantastic but I'm not sure how readily available it is here - I have trouble getting it sometimes. If you can though, definitely try it first. You need to make decoction (where you boil the roots in with the water for about ten minutes). You will probably need to add something to it to make it palatable though, it's pretty vile. Licorice is always a good option as that's good for coughs too.

Good luck!

Hmmmmm, I think that elecampane with a side dish of liquorice allsorts would fix just about anything. If you like liquorice, that is (I don't, so the thought of adding it to anything to make it more palatable amuses me). Come to think of it, most herbs taste like 50 kinds of bum to me...but they do their job and that's the main thing.

As an aside, try a tea made of lavender and lemon balm. It's to die for and is fantastic for stress, which is always good around this time of year. And it's BLUE.

Joe

Camomile is one of the easiest things to grow, so you're in luck! As long as it has ample sunshine and drainage it will just quietly do its own thing without much prompting. Make sure to get German camomile. Although Roman and German have similar medicinal qualities, Roman is really, really wimpy and a bit more bitter.

I'd go with Gavin's note to make sure that you get JUST the flowers. It's a bit of mucking around but you'll be thankful you took the time when you get lovely tea instead of something that tastes like cat wee.

Good luck!