The Essential Herbal Spring Swap (Spoiler :-)

Members of The Essential Herbal Magazine's Yahoo group were invited to participate in a spring swap. Below you will find pictures from that swap. I will add details (and most likely more pictures) after everyone has gotten their package. heh heh heh Good job, everyone! Great stuff!
Partial of Group 2

More of Group 2

All of Group 1

It's Travel Thursday--Off to Spain!

This is our friends' home outside Malaga on the Costa del Sol. The Herbal Husband's classmate from 50 years ago lives with his wife and their three dogs and enjoys life! It is a beautiful place with almond and olive trees, and we really understand why they came here to live. The views are breathtaking! You will see the one behind this curtain later today! Waking up to the view below was a fabulous bonus! The Herbal Husband and I are very lucky people and we enjoyed that view each and every day were we with our friends! I hope you look forward to my next travel post.

What is This Herb? Guest Blogging for The Herb Companion Magazine!

Here is the link to my latest posting for The Herb Companion magazine. Please take a guess what the herb is in the photo before you go to the link. The picture is from the herb garden at Villandry in France. You won't believe it!

Believe it or Not!

We are trying to grow grass! I know it's hard to believe! Our street was repaved late last year. Our front yard was not level with the street. It was the only really "nice" (I use that term loosely) grass we have left. The paving crew dumped topsoil and threw grass seed, but it didn't take. Frankly, I was too tired to try and get it started then! Fall though is the best time to plant grass seed! I know this answering people's questions about grass when I take calls on Gardenline. I guess it hasn't sunk in yet after ten years! I'm interested in more varied plantings! Good excuse. Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Send positive energy this way, PLEASE!

In Record Time!

A lot of years these are still in the garage at the end of the season! Here they are all put together ready to go in the garden before May even gets started! I think a little pressure is a good thing for us! Happy Birthday Miss C!

Favorite Spring Passalongs!

The plant above I think is a perennial forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla). It was dug up for me in Ohio when I went for an herb buying trip many years ago. It has self-sowed around the front garden in a good way! The plant below is Japanese kerria (Kerria japonica) and was given a piece by my neighbor and herbal companion. It got a good chewing by a rabbit its first year. Then we caged it and it has survived by our picket fence. It does sucker, but it has beautiful green stems in the spring and these beautiful single flowers. It brightens the cloudy spring days! It was another hot one in the 'Burgh! 88 on the thermometer! Hope you had a great Sunday where you are!

Hot, Hot, Hot in the 'Burgh!

It was a record hot day today in the 'Burgh! 87 degrees! The garden is greening up nicely. We worked on getting weeds out and plants cut back. I mowed for the first time. The grass was a little long! The apple tree is in bloom. It is just beautiful this time of year. Hope you enjoyed the weather where you are.

The calm of the woods

I'm never quite sure how much I tell on the blog about my personal life. The Essential Herbal blog is a combination of magazine news (like... be sure and read the free issue posted >>>> and then order a subscription on the website :-) and what goes on around here are Frog Hollow, so I really try to keep it "clean", meaning that if there are unpleasant things, they get glossed over.

For the past 3 1/2 years, one of our brothers (his blog) has been struggling with end stage liver disease. He moved in here about a year and a half ago. It has its ups and downs, to put it mildly. So some days it has been hard to find my own center, and the overflow sometimes spills onto the people around me.

I can remember when I had my first apartment "downtown" that I really, really needed to get into the country at least every 2 weeks. If that didn't happen, I got edgy and tense. Even on the trip there, as soon as the streets opened up to roads, it felt as if layers of worry and concern would fly off, one by one.

Now I live close to the woods. This past month has taken me into them almost daily. Spring is always a major siren song, and I cannot resist finding out what might be blooming, bursting through, or multiplying on the forest floor. This year is a little different though, and I find it so enchanting and calming to walk towards the woods. Even stepping outside the door... looking out the window... setting my bare feet into the grass... all of these actions start a chain of events that make me feel better. Here are some of the pictures from yesterday:

Herbal Moving Day!

Well, it is finally done! The Herbal Husband and I moved all of the germander and santolina that was in this bed out! We moved some small boxwoods Buxus microphylla 'Morris Midget' from one of my favorite herb farms (that isn't going away!) Mulberry Creek Herb Farm into this space. I think it looks really good. I'm going to add some dwarf santolinas to fill in the spaces and keep them clipped this time! The linear leaf thyme that is in the concrete container looks a little sparse because it was shaded by the santolina. Well, hope you enjoyed the day wherever you may be!

Week 9 - Blog Contest

Week 9 Blog Contest
At Nature's Gift we have been pleased and excited about hosting this week's contest. The hard part has been trying to decide what to offer as the prize!
We chose Deluxe Personal Inhalers from our new shipment, filled with the winner's choice of several healing synergies.

We'll ship one of these pretty purse-sized inhalers filled with your choice of our SineEase Synergy, for easing sinus pain and congestion, Happy Morning Synergy, recommended for easing the nausea of morning sickness, but also helpful for motion sickness, etc., or our research based depression fighter "Citrus Smile."

To be entered in the contest, respond to this post, here, and at all the blogs listed below.And to make the contest even more exciting, ONE lucky entrant, drawn from one of the listed blogs, will receive a signed copy of Marge's Book "Essential Oils and Aromatics". You may check these links for some of the reviews. From the Journal of the Northeast Herbal Association, or from The Massage Therapy Journal.
Remember all of the blogs below are participating, so visit all of them and post to increase your chances of winning.
Nature's Gift - This week!
Torchsong Studio ??? (next week)
The Rosemary House - The Twelve Month Herbal by Bertha Reppert
Aquarian Bath - lip balm and soaps
Herbs from the Labyrinth - tea samplers
Patti's Potions - lipbalms
PrairieLand Herbs - healing wands
SunRose Aromatics - facial exfoliant and serums
Garden Chick - fairy cookie kits
The Essential Herbal - magazine subscriptions

We're getting down to the wire with some wonderful prizes! Be sure to keep playing to the end.

It's Travel Thursday--Afternoon Tea At the Lanesborough!

It's OH MY GOSH time! One of my favorite afternoons in London was at the Lanesborough Hotel for tea! The Herbal Husband said I don't think I have ever been pampered like that before! It is very ritzy! Our friend and tearoom owner, Nancy Reppert, who owns Sweet Remembrances Tearoom, recommended the Lanesborough. You didn't let us down, Nancy! As you can see the lobby flowers were amazing!

Mango and Passion Fruit with cream to start! Then we had a Stilton Cheese and Red Onion Tart. Very good.
This is our whole tea tray. It was very lovely. Here are some of the choices. (I wish they had had a menu!) The bottom plate contained the tea sandwiches: tuna mayo and caraway seed bread, cheddar and chutney on onion bread, curried egg salad on white bread, sundried tomato bread with cucumber and cream cheese and smoked salmon on a roll. Delish!!!! The middle plate had an apricot cheesecake (I don't think I got mine!), lemon poppyseed bread and carrot bread with crushed nuts. The top plate had a chocolate surprise, caramelized banana tower and hazelnut cake. YUMMY!

Then the Herbal Husband couldn't wait to try the clotted cream (it's his middle name). So here come the scones and tea cakes. Nancy, your scones are still the best! Of course, there were endless cups of Lanesborough Afternoon Blend tea poured from a lovely teapot! With the piano music in the background it was a lovely afternoon of tea at the Lanesborough Hotel. Next time, our hotel in London.

the day after Earth Day

Remember the little guy with the broom following the parade at the end of the intro to The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show? I often picture myself as that little guy.
So after all the great Green Celebration online and in commercial advertising of What We Can Do To Save the Planet for the past few days, and after watching the auditorium in Bay City filled with citizens wearing "Clean Coal" baseball caps and t-shirts touting "Clean Coal = Michigan Jobs" ... I'm feeling a tad cynical.
Note to World: There IS NO Such THING as CLEAN COAL.

Funny, some of the biggest financial supporters of the Wanton Earth-destroyer former president are giving away those energy saving curly light bulbs in their big box stores this week. There has to be a catch.
Ah, yes, mercury.
Invite a curly bulb into your home, invite a mercury contamination site.
Better turn your lights off, or switch to LED fixtures.

If you already have curly bulbs in your home, it might be wise to bone up on the proper way to dispose of these bulbs and how to clean up after breakage. Have a plan.

In case you haven't heard much discussion from your news, or governmental services, or enviro-green-gardening clubs, maybe you can start a local discussion, or at least spread awareness of this small but potentially significant issue.

(UPDATE: I just heard on NPR today the Republican party in Michigan is fighting tougher mercury regulations. But I must admit, politicians on the Right have no lock on stoopid - a prominent local Democrat was there in Bay City touting the air and water for jobs swap deal as well.)

Luckily, a few weeks ago, Sheryl from http://thisgreenblog.com sent this information on CFL bulb breakage from the Natural Resources Defense Council, to pass along to others.

IF YOU BREAK A BULB...

1) Open a window before cleaning up, and turn off any forced-air heating or air conditioning.

2) Instead of sweeping or vacuuming, which can spread the mercury around, scoop up the glass fragments and powder. Use sticky tape to pick up remaining glass fragments or powder. Wipe the area clean with a damp paper towel or wet wipes.

3) Dispose of the broken bulb through your local household hazardous waste program or recycling program. If that service is unavailable in your area, place all clean-up materials in a trash container outside the building.

4) Wash your hands after cleaning up.

5) If vacuuming is needed afterwards, when all visible materials have been removed, vacuum the area and dispose of the vacuum bag in a sealed plastic bag. For the next few times you vacuum, turn off any forced-air heating or air conditioning and open a window before doing so.

NOTE: The most common risk of mercury exposure to children comes from canned tuna because kids eat so much of it. Give them chunk light tuna rather than white albacore, since it's lower in mercury, and limit the portions and frequency according to their weight. Pregnant women should do the same. Get guidelines from the NDRC.

UPDATE (2:30 pm): I just opened an email from the Environmental Working Group with added valuable advice on curly light bulb (CFL) cleanup:

Cleaning up broken CFL bulbs
If a bulb breaks in your home, proper clean-up procedures can reduce airborne mercury concentrations by roughly half.

Follow EWG's 10 step clean-up checklist (link).

The most critical steps:
* Keep children and pregnant or nursing women away from the contaminated area.
* Close doors and open windows to allow volatile mercury vapors to vent outdoors. Stay away for 5 to 15 minutes.
* Scoop up bulb fragments and use tape to collect tiny particles. Seal the waste in a glass jar with screw-top lid. (Second choice: a plastic jar with a screw-on lid.)

This point on the EWG 10 point cleanup list is disturbing:

6. If a bulb breaks on a rug or carpeting:

Fabrics are harder to clean than hard surfaces; removing all mercury may be impossible. Hang a CFL-contaminated rug outside. Experts disagree on whether to vacuum carpeting. EPA recommends doing so and cleaning the vacuum afterward. Scientists with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection disagree: after testing various CLF cleanup scenarios [link], they concluded that vacuuming can spread mercury vapor and permanently contaminate the vacuum.

Keep infants, children and women of childbearing age away from the carpeting for several weeks.

Disposing of spent CFL bulbs
Each state has its own laws and regulations for recycling or disposing of spent CFL bulbs. Learn about your state's recycling and disposal options at this EPA lightbulb site www.epa.gov/bulbrecycling.
Also, Earth911.com, a nationwide recycling information site, lists retailers like Ace Hardware, Home Depot and IKEA and municipal programs that accept burnt-out CFLs.

And, if you've ever had a thermometer or thermostat break ... the EWG adds:
"Thermometers, thermostats and silent switches made with mercury contain more toxic material and pose a much greater health risk. If one of these items breaks, read EPA's clean-up instructions at: http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm#thermometer"

The EWG website also has a thoughtful discussion on proper placement of CFLs in the home - don't put them in children's rooms, recreation rooms, or workshops where breakage is more likely. Don't put them in pole lamps. Don't use them in rooms with valuable carpets.

There is a buying guide on the EWG website as well, listing the bulbs with the least mercury in them. Check out the EWG Green Lighting guide for more discussion (a .pdf link is at the EWG site here).

Happy Earth Day!

Just did a presentation for the Perennial Garden Club about Herbal Kitchen Gardens. I will tease you by telling you to check out my guest blog next week for The Herb Companion magazine. It is related to this talk. I will give you a link when it is up. Definitely a great audience and a fabulous lunch! Thank you ladies for a great day. Also in the small world department I worked with the husband of the woman who hosted us today when I was a legal secretary! It was nice to catch up with their lives. So enjoy this earth today and take care of it, you never know how long we have to enjoy it!

Early Figs!

I can't believe our figs have baby figs! It is unbelievable! Mid April! They may drop before they mature, but it is exciting! The weather is cool and rainy, but mid 70's by the end of the week. So goes April.

a small bit of comic relief - Chia Pet!

I was bopping around the channels on the Tube a few evenings ago, after Herb had turned in for the night, and landed on a random channel showing a stage set with the big word, SALVIA! written across the backdrop ... a gardening show?

No, Dr. Phil (whom I admit I have no patience for), was pushing and pulling some willing edjit (where do they get these people?) through the wringer concerning her inability to parent her son, her problem being that she was letting this kid use drugs, including the latest boogieman of the plant kingdom, (gasp!) Salvia.

Salvia, indeed.

You'd think a doctor would have a better grasp on basic botany than to allow his stage designer to smear a whole genus of diverse but related plants by putting just their in-common name up on a Dr. Phil's Billboard of Shame.

Scatter shot Phil was actually aiming at Salvia divinorum, a hallucinogenic Salvia used by indigenous North Americans in their religious tradition, but that big sign offended the herb gardener in me ...

I happen to like Salvias.
I use various Salvias for colorful yard ornamentation, to stuff my poultry, and to flavor my signature tea blends.
I even use one member of the great Salvia genus for Silliness.

Okay, everyone, now sing along with me...
"Chi, Chi, Chi, Chia PET!"

My depressed local area shaping up to be Garage Sale Central for 2009, I found a Chia Pet Kitty locally, for less than a song on Itunes.

(On consideration, I don't know why my family never bought me a Chia Kit for a holiday or a birthday - did they think I was too sophisticated? Ha! Shows how little they know me, or listen to my broad hinting.)

Anywho, I sent away for Chia seeds, Salvia hispanica, from Richters, who also sells the bad Salvia, by the way.

So, my friends, follow along with me on a little pictorial tutorial on the "Greening of the Kitty".
First: soak your Kitty. Overnight. Soak a small quantity of the Chia seeds as well. They generate a delightful mucus. This project is great for adolescents of all ages.

With your fingers, spread the mucus-y Chia seeds into the grooves on the Kitty.

Devise a little tent of plastic film to keep the seeds hydrated. Place Kitty in a bright spot, remembering to refill her water cavity as needed.

In a matter of a few days, rootlets form, and leaflets.

Another day with good light, Greenness.

And in a few days, with spritzing and watering Kitty, here is what you have:

Cute, huh?
Here is what Richter's catalogue says about Chia:
Incredible supergrain!
An ounce of Chia seed has as much omega-3 as 8 ounces of Atlantic salmon, as much calcium as a cup of milk, the fibre of 1/3 cup of bran, the Vitamin C of 2 oranges, the potassium of half a banana.

Aztecs called it "the running food" because messengers could run all day on a handful of seeds.

The J. L. Hudson seed catalog mentions there are 900 species in the genus Salvia, and of S. hispanica writes that the mucus-y Chia seed hydrated in water or juice "resemble(s) frog's eggs, the whole being drunk and is quite refreshing. ... also an old California-Mexican remedy for diarrhea."

My Neighbor Gave Me These

My neighbor gave me these after Mother's Day one year. Most of the time when you get a Mother's Day gift of bulbs, they do not bloom again. I guess these little guys weren't done. I think they are a species tulip. Hope you enjoy them!

Fun at the Herb Festival

This past weekend was the PA Herb Festival. It is a little too early for me to buy plants, but that didn't seem to be an issue for the hundreds and hundreds of people who streamed past our booth loaded down with armloads of plants. People are eager to get started, and maybe they have a place to keep the plants healthy for another few weeks.
I took the camera along because I wanted to add to my collection of people looking at the magazine that I keep at: www.facebook.dj/essentialherbal Looking over the photos, it occurs to me that A) I have some pretty darned cute people in my life, and B) herb people are fun.

Case in point: Susanna Reppert is covered with dust and dirt after a hypertufa workshop she led. She came back inside looking like a young child who'd been making mud pies, grinning and laughing at the whole situation. We are often next to Susanna and The Rosemary House, and at least a little bit of our time is spent laughing really hard.

The "main event" for this function was a lecture by Susan Wittig Albert, the creator and author of the book series featuring China Bayles, the mystery solving herbalist. I've talked to Susan on-line several times, and it was really a pleasure to meet her in person. She's a lovely, warm woman who has a very large following! You can subscribe to her newsletter here.

Sharon Magee is one of those friends that you just never get enough of being around. She has an infectious excitement for living and is interested in just about everything. Plus, she's fun. Her business is Herbal Pottery, and there is no website. As she would say, she has enough trouble keeping up with orders without putting something up to make it worse! That is how beautiful her work is. Naturally, I didn't get a good picture of any of it...

Roxane is a lover of herbs. She worked for many years on the herb festival, and currently announces and introduces all of the speakers and workshops. I love watching her scurry around making sure she has all of her ducks in a row. Roxane is a vital part of the festival for me.

Here Maryanne talks to a customer as several people browse our wares. There was a fairly steady stream of people through the venue...EXCEPT we could have closed about 1-1/2 hours earlier on Friday, and there was NO reason to open at 8 am on Saturday. I mean really. 8 am on a Saturday???

Molly sold books while Susan Wittig Albert signed them. Here, everything is set up, awaiting the arrival of the author. It was one of the first times that Molly has participated in a festival, and my friends haven't seen her for several years. I enjoyed having her along and hearing her kidding around with people she hasn't talked to since being a tween.

Len and Gerry of Vileniki (which is no longer in operation due to retirement) stopped by to check out the festival. They are always a bright spot in any day.

Debbi of Blue Moon Herbals was there with her stunningly beautiful wares. We are never set up close together enough to really jaw, but we do talk a bit and catch up at every show.

I just loved this one: The huntress becomes the hunted. Behind the guy with the yellow shirt, Sarah of Herbs from the Labyrinth is set up.

There were many other friends there, and it was lots and lots of fun. I got to meet many of my subscribers, and it is always good to put names to faces - especially now, as the magazine is growing so fast. It seems like only yesterday I personally knew most of the people reading it... but that was long ago.

So... if you see us at a festival, please come up and say hello! I love meeting readers. Be forewarned, though... I might just take your picture :-).

THESE JUST IN from Sharon...