quote May

"Ye that pipe and ye that play

Ye that through your hearts today

Feel the gladness of the May"

- William Shakespeare

Lavender Survives the Winter Indoors!

These two beauties made it through the winter in a west facing window.  The Grey French lavender looks a little sparse on the left.  It is coming back from the base.  The one on the right is a personal favorite of mine, 'Goodwin Creek' lavender because of its gray foliage.  Both of these lavenders would not have made it through this past winter.  So take heart if you decide to bring a tender lavender inside this coming fall and winter, you can do it with a southern, western or even eastern window.  It was summer for us today in the 80's.  May will be full of ups and downs temperature wise.  Hope you had a wonderful day wherever you may be.

Sea Zest Seasoning: Mountain Rose Herbs Blog Contest

Sea Zest seasoning combines three sources of nutritional powerhouses for a tasty herbal seasoning that adds zest to vegetables, meats, sandwiches, and salads.

The basic recipe includes sesame seeds, kelp and stinging nettle leaf.





Sesame seeds are an excellent source of the minerals copper and manganese. They also contain a good amount of magnesium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc.




Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) contains a vast amount of nutrients. According to the authors of Vegetables from the Sea:

“All the minerals required for human beings, including calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, iodine, iron and zinc are present in sufficient amounts. In addition there are many trace elements in seaweeds.”

Kelp also has significant amounts of vitamins A and C, as well as B1, B2, B6, Niacin, and B12. By adding this nutritious weed of the sea to our diets we can find that our hair grows faster and thicker and our bones, teeth, and nails are stronger. Seaweed also supports metabolic function. In this recipe we'll be using granulated kelp as shown below. You can also use whole kelp fronds and use a blender or food processor to mince them up.




Stinging nettle leaf (Urtica dioica) is one of our most nutritious plants. According to Mark Pederson who wrote the book Nutritional Herbology, nettle contains high amounts of calcium, magnesium, chromium, and zinc.



Making this herbal seasoning is easy.

The recipe is...

3 cups toasted and ground up sesame seeds

1 cup kelp

1 cup nettle

You can buy organic stinging nettle and sesame seeds from Mountain Rose Herbs:



Step 1 ~ Preparing the sesame seeds

You can buy sesame seeds in packages or in bulk at your natural foods store. Sesame seeds are high in oils and can go rancid easily, so be sure to buy from a fresh source (like Mountain Rose Herbs).

When making Sea Zest Seasoning in our home we start with three cups of sesame seeds. If this seems like too much for your family, you can reduce the amount of ingredients in ratio. (For example you could do 1 1⁄2 cups of sesame seeds and a half cup each of kelp and nettle.)



Toast the whole sesame seeds on low heat. We like to use a clean and dry cast iron pan for this, but whatever you have will work fine. Be sure to stir them often so they toast evenly and do not burn. Once they become darker in color and have a nice aromatic smell, remove them from heat.



Using a food processor or blender, grind the seeds into powder and then place in a large mixing bowl.



Step 2 ~ Mixing it together

Add one cup each of granulated kelp and cut and sifted nettle leaf to the sesame seeds.



If you are beginning with whole kelp fronds or whole nettle leaf then you can use the food processor to mince them up well.

One word of caution is that it’s better to have granulated kelp rather than powdered kelp. If it’s too powdery it doesn’t mix well.

Also, buying whole kelp fronds will ensure better quality than buying it granulated


Once it is all mixed together you can bottle it up, label it, and enjoy! That's my husband Xavier below.




Because sesame seeds are high in oils, you’ll want to consume this seasoning quickly so that it doesn’t have a chance to go rancid. If it has gone rancid you’ll notice the strong unpleasant smell.

You can store excess seasoning in the fridge for better storage.



This simple recipe can be a base for many other kinds of seasonings. You could add savory herbs like rosemary, thyme, or oregano. You could also add spicy seasonings like cayenne, ginger, or turmeric. You can buy a large variety of high quality herbs and spices at Mountain Rose Herbs.

We sprinkle this seasoning on practically everything!



This blog post if part of the Mountain Rose Herbs Blog Contest

quote

"Besides germination, April is also the month for planting.  With enthusiasm, yes, with wild enthusiasm and impatience you order seedlings from the nurseries, for you cannot exist any longer without them; you promised all your friends who have gardens that you would come for cuttings; I tell you that you are never satisfied with what you already have.  And so, one day, some 170 seedlings meet in your house, and they must be planted immediately; and then you look round in your garden and find with overwhelming certainty that you have no space left for them!  ...'No, it's not possible here,' he murmurs in a low voice; 'here I have those damned chrysanthemums; phlox would smother it here...and near this achillea there is no room either--where shall I put it?  ...Ha, here is a bit of space; wait, my little seedling, in a moment I will make your bed.  So, there you are, and now grow in peace.'  Yes, but in two days the gardener will discover that he has planted it right on top of the scarlet shoots of an emerging evening primrose..."
- Karel Capek, from The Gardener’s Year

Cheep Rooms on Thursdays!

It's still Thursday, right?  Well, better late than never.  I've been off track for a couple of weeks.  Here is the my cheep room for this week.  As you can see, it's an indoor one.  It says, "Welcome to My Humble Aboot".

quote

"That strain again; it had a dying fall,
O' it came o'er my ear like the sweet south
That breathes upon a bank of violets
Stealing and giving odour."
- William Shakespeare

The Annual Nine Flower Chive Blossom Omelet!

One of the early signs of summer is the blooming of the chives!  It is an Allium and a member of the onion family.  So when The Herbal Husband cooks Saturday breakfast, he offers to make me a chive blossom omelet.  I always say yes and then regret it later.  You see he puts eight or nine WHOLE blossoms into the omelet.  The omelet isn't feeding eight people!  It is feeding just me!  So if he offers this year.  I'm going to gently remind him to just put a few parts of the blossom in the omelet!  Hope you are enjoying the day wherever you may be.  Going out to exercise.  It's a beautiful day here and then I'm going to tackle moving some herbs around.

A feast for the senses

Every time I go to The Rosemary House and/or Sweet Remembrances Tea Room, I am struck with the many numbers of delights found in the shop, gardens, and dining area of the tea room. Besides all of the wonderful things to purchase or taste, just looking around is an enriching, soothing experience.
Let me explain something.... I rarely travel alone. My sense of direction is nil, and that means that until now I've done everything possible to avoid it. Yes, I've been mocked... but that doesn't hold the same sting as driving around aimlessly in the dark with a sense of dread and panic building. As it turns out, I am also pathetic at scheduling, and managed to schedule two off-site soapmaking classes at precisely the same time in two different counties - which meant that the Twisted Sisters went our separate ways last night. And I purchased a GPS. Whoo BABY!
Still, I arrived very early and slightly rattled. Sampling a bit of Susanna's violet libation was a nice touch.... But that little device just may have changed my life.
Walking around the gardens and tea room helped a lot too. There is so much whimsy and attention to detail. The gardens are tucked behind the shops and homes of the Reppert family, and it is just amazing how magical it is to walk out back and find the enchantment. Here's a wee tour....
Pots at the ready, waiting for the next gardening adventure.
The Peace Garden, a nook dedicated to Bertha Reppert, founder of The Rosemary House, and beloved matriarch of the family.
Lunaria growing next to witch hazel.
A tree filled with teapots.
One section of the wall in Sweet Remembrances. The "Tea for the Tillerman" album cover caught my eye, as I've been singing lots of Cat Stevens songs to myself lately. Can you find it?
And really, I just scratched the surface. There is a large bayberry, a big fig tree, a beautiful fairy garden, a koi pond, and literally 100's of plantings - along with a small greenhouse and a plant sales area. The barn front is covered with a collection of birdhouses, and a wringer washer is filled with jewelweed. A bathtub is starting to bloom.
You really, really have to visit. It's beautiful.

My Little Knot Garden Gone Wry Again!

I will be experimenting with my little patch I call my knot garden within my herb garden.  Now that we have had rain for several days, my herb garden has grown up!  It's a wild thing!  I did prune and trim it back and here are several photos with comments.

This is a sage 'Nazareth'.  I really liked it because it was a silver contrast in this section of the garden.  Now it is too big and you can't see it very easily here, but it is mostly new foliage is green!  You say it's bigger and that's a bad thing, Lemon Verbena Lady?  Well, I was trying to keep plants smaller!  So much for that experiment!

This is a Provencal Thyme, Thymus vulgaris 'Provencal'.   It has become a favorite of mine.  It is an upright thyme and lots of thymes are creeping.  This one also has tiny pink flowers now!   I think unusual for a thyme especially because we are still having cold nights like this morning and tomorrow morning is going to be cold.  I got my Provencal thyme at Mulberry Creek Herb Farm.  Unfortunately, they are not doing any more mail order, but if you are in the Huron, Ohio area and Cedar Point, you should definitely check out their farm.  They are open March 16-July 31, Tuesday-Saturday, 10-5 PM and open Sundays in May only 1-5 PM.  Their annual Herbfair will feature a Japanese theme this year.  It will be held Saturday, June 26 from 10 AM to 5 PM and Sunday June 27 from Noon to 5 PM.  Admission is $5.00 per adult (includes 1 free herb) (Kids are free and so are classes.)  They have lots of vendors with herbal themes.

It looked like I had lost my curry plants Helichrysum italicum (angustifolia).  When I trimmed back the dried and dead stems, they were still alive!  Very exciting!  Here is one of the plants after I finished.

I was hoping to get this post up this morning.  It didn't happen Blogger was playing with my photo upload feature.  So looking forward to warmer weather!  Can't wait to plant!  Moving some herbal titans tomorrow!  Stay tuned!

quote

"There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream;

The earth, and every common sight,

To me did seem

Apparelled in celestial light"

- William Wordsworth

Going to Have Berries Soon If The Wildlife Behave!

I'm not including The Herbal Husband in the word Wildlife!  Maybe I should! Always exciting in the spring garden to have fruit to look forward to eating!  Strawberry flowers here!   A cool and raw day in the garden but we should be in the 70's by the end of the week.  We have some of the strawberry plants under a chicken wire enclosure because the deer like to browse the plants.  If it's not the deer pulling the plants out, it's the birds pecking the ripening fruit!  We have to be on our toes as usual!  Well, got to move plants inside, frost tonight!  Can't wait to plant!  Talk to you later.  By the way, Happy 13th Birthday to Miss C!  Can't believe you are officially a teenager!

quote

"If it were of any use, every day the gardener would fall on his knees and pray somehow like this:
O Lord, grant that in some way it may rain every day, say from about midnight until three o'clock in the morning, but you see, it must be gentle and warm so that it can soak in; grant that at the same time it would not rain on campion, alyssum, helianthemum, lavender, and the others which you in your infinite wisdom know are drought-loving plants--I can write their names on a bit of paper if you like--and grant that the sun may shine the whole day long, but not everywhere...and not too much; that there may be plenty of dew and little wind, enough worms, no plant-lice and snails, no mildew, and that once a week, thin liquid manure and guano may fall from Heaven. Amen. "
-Karel Capek, The Gardener's Year, 1929

quote

"We must learn to look on plants not as mere points of color, but as old friends on whose coming we can rely; and who, returning with the recurring seasons, bring back with them pleasant memories of past years."

Henry Bright

Hawthorne for this little heart of mine

Hawthorn
(Crataegus spp.)

Hawthorn
Botanical name: Crataegus oxyacantha
Family: Rosaceae (Rose)
Parts used: leaves and flowers, berries
Properties: slightly cool/dry, cardiac trophorestorative, relaxing nervine, digestant, astringent, diuretic, antioxidant
Used for: heart related illness, cardiac weakness, stagnant digestion, regulation of blood pressure
Plant preparations: tea, tincture, vinegar, food


Hawthorn trees have a long history of medicinal use in many cultures. Traditional Chinese Medicine has documented use of hawthorns for thousands of years. Europeans used them not only for food and medicine, but also pruned them into shrubs to mark boundary lines. In North America, Natives in the Pacific Northwest used the berries as medicine and food and made a variety of different tools using the long thorns found on the tree.



The berries have been traditionally used in western herbalism, but the leaves and blossoms have a long history of use as well. The berries ripen in the late summer to fall and are anywhere from red to black depending on the species. The leaves and flowers are best when harvested in the spring, at the peak of the blossoms. I love using the leaves and blossoms as a strong infusion.

Hawthorn is a cardiac trophorestorative, meaning it brings balance to the heart. It can be used for both high and low blood pressure and to regulate cholesterol levels. It is high in antioxidants, which can reduce oxidative damage on capillary walls. Its relaxing nervine properties are helpful when a person is stressed out, which puts further hardship on the heart.

Herbalists David Winston and Mathew Wood both use hawthorn for children and adults who are restless and irritable with a difficulty in focusing. In his book The Earthwise Herbal Matthew Wood shares his experience using hawthorn for an autistic child.

Paul Bergner speaks beautiful about hawthorne for the physical heart as well as the spiritual heart. Herbalist Deborah Francis uses small amounts of hawthorne in other tinctures to bring out the heart.

The Chinese have used the leaves and flowers for stagnant digestion associated with poor lipid metabolism. Indications for this include heartburn and indigestion.


When the berries are dripping from the trees in late summer I gather plenty for tincturing with brandy and infusing in vinegar. Both mixtures turn out a deep red that is reminiscent of the heart. Hawthorn berries are especially high in pectin and I’ve heard that when making hawthorn berry jam no extra pectin is needed.

Many wild berries can be infused in honey, and despite needing to pick out the seeds, I especially enjoy hawthorn honey on toast.


Hawthorn Honey
Gather enough ripe berries to fill a jar. Cover the berries with honey, stirring well to remove any air pockets.
Let the mixture sit for a couple of days to a week. I like to turn my jar over each day to further mix things up.
You can enjoy this by the spoonful and as a topping on toast. Keep in the fridge for long-term storage and be careful with the small seeds.

Here's a photographic journey featuring hawthorne.

Way Overdue--My Zombie Chicken Award and Awardees

The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken - excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all.

My buddy, Julie from Laughing Horse Art bestowed this esteemed honor upon me weeks ago!  So at the possibility of risking the wrath of the zombie chickens, I choose the following worthy bloggers:


Bloom Where You're Planted
Because Penelope really just has a laid back and playful garden and she has a parrot now.  Check him out!


The Irish Oriental Garden
Barry lives in a beautiful part of the world and shares his garden and life with all of us.


Texas Tufa
I love Tufa Girl's love of Texas, her gardens and her life.


Along Life's Highway-The Yard Art Game
I am usually left speechless in a good way when I visit Along Life's Highway.  Checkout this one of a kind blog and join in!  I still need to!


Sharon Lovejoy writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island
Sharon is getting all kinds of awards for her new and adorable book, Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars.  So why not a Zombie Chicken award!


OK, just pass it on to five worthy bloggers!  Congratulations!

quote

"The boughs of the oak are roaring inside the acorn."
- Charles Tomlinson

New Favorite Pruners!

These are my favorite new pruners!  They are from Fiskars.  You can find them under floral shears.  They are very light weight and precise when I am not necessarily that way.  I was working on pruning the lavender and could get into the tightest spots with them.  Here is some of my handy work.

It's a little difficult to tell, but they are easy to use and make pruning very simple.  Well, we finally got rain here in the 'Burgh so hopefully we will be able to do some more herbal moving around tomorrow.  Gardenline in the morning.  Talk to you later.

Up In The Air!

This is sort of a repeat from last spring, but new photo!  The Herbal Husband has promised to stay home next March, because that is the time we need to prune a lot of our shrubs.  This one needs to be trimmed right after it is finished blooming.  It hopefully will be done soon!  The blooms are waaay up in the bush rather than at nose level.  This is Syringa vulgaris 'Sensation'.  It is a beautiful purple color with a white edge to it.  Syringa vulgaris is an edible flower.  You can use them to decorate cakes or dessert plates.  Make sure you eat organically grown flowers, nothing sprayed or chemically treated.  Hope you are having a good day wherever you are.  We are off to a one year old's birthday party!  I think it is mostly to get the adults together!

quote

"A garden is a private world or it is nothing, and the gardener must be allowed his vagaries."
- Eleanor Perenyi

Road Trip/More Herbal Babies!

I think taking some time off has thrown me off completely.  Not as in tune with blogging as I once was!  Maybe it was the 500th post that has done it.  I have spoiled you all by blogging every day.  Hopefully, I will get back in that frame of mine soon, because I have lots of pictures to share with you of the garden.

Well, I'm still off track because this is one of my favorite herb farms in Ohio, Lily of the Valley.  They have a nice color catalog and if you are within 3 hours of the nursery, they will send you a copy.  They are located 5 miles south of Alliance and 10 miles north of Minerva.  We (my herbal companion, Bonnie and I) look forward to this visit every year.  It was in jeopardy a few years ago when they tried to sell the property.  It didn't happen!  Fortunately, for everyone it has stayed in business and produces beautiful plants every year.  So if you are in the vicinity, please go buy some wonderful herbs, annuals, perennials or Ohio native plants.  We were there early this year to take advantage of their scented geranium sale and we did not miss out on too much!  The heirloom tomatoes they grow weren't ready.  As you can see from the photo below, I didn't leave much for you too chose!  Just kidding!  Have to go help The Herbal Husband move potted plants around, including these little darlings!  Talk to you later.

quote

"Almost anything you do in the garden, for example weeding, is an effort to create some sort of order out of nature's tendency to run wild. There has to be a certain degree of domestication in a garden. The danger is that you can so tame a garden that it becomes a thing. It becomes landscaping."
- Stanley Kunitz

poem

For My Daughter, Age 16, Downcast by Winter

by Philip Legler

April now, and from the ground up

the snow is going, melting

in its six-month hold, the way

ice locks the bay in. Trout,

deep under, rise as if

from their shadows, and along

Lakeshore you park our car

off the road to watch the ice-

breaker slice through and open us

up to summer, the first ore boat

at the harbor.

Ashore, you wade

through puddles, mud, slush,

water flooding our town,

in gutters, from roofs, wind

blowing off Lake Superior, shaking

the Amoco sign like kids

banging a lid. A kite,

bobbing with its string adrift,

swoops over Presque Isle,

climbs a moment, lifts your head

to the sun in a perfect sky.

Tasty Treats for Stress: Mountain Rose Herbs Recipe Contest Medicinal Recipe

We live in a society that promotes excess stress. We can easily accentuate our jobs, our responsibilities, our errands and busyness in general without taking the time to nourish and support ourselves. We know the ill-effects of stress as health headlines commonly refer to stress as underlying factors in many chronic diseases.

We can reduce stress in our lives simply. Taking time each day to breathe deeply, sit and enjoy our favorite cup of tea, and taking walks to enjoy the changing weather can go a long ways in soothing our nerves and allaying stress.

We can also turn to herbs to support us through times of stress in a variety of ways. Herbs like stinging nettle can nourish us with vital nutrients, thus helping to keep our bodies strong. Relaxing nervines like chamomile can calm and soothe our nerves. Adaptogen herbs can help support our resiliency to stress and this is the classification of herbs we'll be working with today.

Adaptogen herbs are non-toxic substances that help the body to adapt to stressful situations while also normalizing physiological states.

Of course adaptogen herbs don’t take away the stress, but they can improve our response to stress. Most adaptogens are gentle and nourishing and can be taken long term for the best results.

Many herbalists use teas and tinctures as a way of taking herbs. The following recipe explores another traditional use of herbal medicine by mixing powdered herbs into a paste that can be eaten.

But first, let’s explore the herbs we’ll be using today.



Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera): This herb comes to us from India and is often called Indian Ginseng. A wonderful restorative tonic especially suitable for people experiencing nervous exhaustion that manifests as insomnia. This herb is slightly warming and is considered a gentle yang tonic.



Shatavri (Asparagus racemosus): Another herb from India that helps to restore energy levels in people who are wrung out and fatigued. Often used in cases of female or male infertility, this adaptogen is also very nutritive and is considered an immune system tonic.

Eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus): This herb was also recently called Siberian Ginseng. It is a gentle adaptogen that is appropriate for most people. David Winston reports that he uses it often for people who “work hard, play hard and hardly sleep.” Like other adaptogens, eleuthero, supports the immune system and can be taken for extended periods of time.

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra): This sweet tasting root may be the most commonly used herb in China as it’s often added to formulas as a balancer. Licorice has a multitude of uses including soothing dry spasmodic coughs, aiding digestive ulcerations, and healing cold sores. As an adaptogen it helps to regulate the immune system, improve energy levels, and restore balance to the body. It should be not be used long term for people with hypertension.

All of these herbs are gentle and can be used for most people. However, this blend is most specifically for people experiencing a deficient state of being.

Herbalist Kiva Rose describes a deficient state as:

“Deficiency occurs when the vital force has been used up or drained by illness, inappropriate lifestyle practices, substance abuse or other misuse of the energetic stores of the body. Deficiency of vital force in the body can result in fragility, weakness, chronic disease, sensations of coldness and hypoimmunity, a lack of tongue coating, lack of desire to move or participate in normal activities, and a general sense of the life force receding from the person.”

Those people who are experiencing more of an excess-type state of being tend to run hot and have a lot of energy that resembles restlessness or agitation. For these people more cooling herbs like mallow, rose, and hawthorne would be helpful.

Now that you know a little more about the herbs we are going to use today, let’s make this tasty treat.

For this recipe you will need:

1 cup of tahini (sesame paste)
1/3 cup of almond butter
½ cup of honey
½ cup of chopped almonds

½ cup of ashwagandha powder
½ cup of shatavri powder
½ cup of eleuthero powder
¼ cup of licorice powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
½ teaspoon of cardamom

½ cup of cocoa nibs (can substitute chopped chocolate chips if necessary)
1 cup of shredded coconut

You can find all of the herbs listed above at Mountain Rose Herbs



Begin by mixing all the powdered herbs together. Set them aside once they are combined well.



Over low heat gently warm the nut butters and honey, stirring constantly. The goal of this isn’t to cook the mixture but rather to warm it just enough to help mix it together.



Once it has warmed enough to form a consistent mixture remove from heat. Immediately stir in the chopped almonds followed by the herbal powder mixture. The end result should be a soft and pliable dough mixture.



After the paste has cooled down add the cocoa nibs. If added too soon the heat from the mixture could melt them.



After everything is combined, form about a tablespoon of the dough into a ball. You can then roll this ball in a bed of coconut.



These balls can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. In our house we eat one to three a day.

This recipe can easily be changed to suit your individual tastes and needs. Have fun experimenting!

If you are allergic to nuts you can use only the tahini (sesame seed butter) and omit the nut butters and nuts.

This blogpost is part of the Mountain Rose Herbs Blog Contest

patting self on back, breaking arm

This web log been getting some notice lately, completely undeserved, but happily accepted! Unfortunately, lately I haven't been posting regularly - life has been getting in the way of art, so to speak. If you're here for the first time, forgive the mess, and please, look to the labels in the sidebar... there might be something worth your visit, there.
What prompted this mea culpa? I ran across a compliment on another website today - Ym-health's Herb Garden was listed by the writer as one of the 50 best blogs to read to learn about herbalism.
 50 best blogs to learn about herbalism


During the last few years I've been asked to advertise a couple of garden products, and to write for a well known herb magazine ... but purely as a volunteer proposition, without any real monetary payment other than getting my "name" out there into the big world, and, wooo! a link back to my blog.
Ahem, I don't need to advertise my blog. I have all the Attagirls I'll ever need from paid staff who know the precise value of volunteers* for their own program's bottom lines. I've volunteered for non-profits thousands of hours, literally. I've made memories and  friends, and have earned the opportunity to contribute to my community, but no points on my Social Security account, nor gas money for a' that. Brownie points, not redeemable for cash. My mother raised me wrong.

*over 20 dollars an hour in 2010, what I call "padding".

quote

"Seeds are a link to the past."
- Rosalind Creasy

quote

"Wth umbled hair of swarms of bees,

And flower-robes dancing in the breeze,

with sweet, unsteady lotus-glances,

Intoxicated, Spring advances."

Translated from Sanskrit poem

Found Some New Herbal Kids!

Never thought I would say this.  We went to Home Depot for lumber yesterday and came home with these darlings, 'Boxwood' basil.  I would say for the price run, don't walk over to your local Home Depot and see if they have some for you!  The only downside is that they can't go in the ground yet and it is always a slippery slope in our house to have too many young herbs waiting to go in the ground.  Basil especially does not like cold soil.  Hopefully, it won't be long now before we can plant these in the herb garden.  I have just the spot!

My master gardening friend gave us this mint last year and as you can see, it has come back very nicely.  Oh, it is a silver mint, moderately invasive, relative of common spearmint and doubles as an ornamental.  I have mint everywhere in the garden and have learned my lesson.  In a container is the only way to have mint in your garden!

This last darling is my name sake, lemon verbena.  An anonymous comment led me to show you how our lemon verbena weathered the winter.  It was in a south facing window and did well until an attack of white flies really brought it back to reality!   If it hadn't been attacked, it would probably be a little larger with larger leaves.  It is rebounding rather well and it will go into the ground and we will have a new little one for this pot.  It will not go out until all danger of frost is gone, mid-May or later.  Always keep your eye on a 14 day temperature trend around this time of year.  It lets you know when you can start planting those tender herbs like, basil or lemon verbena.  Going on a road trip tomorrow to buy what else, herbs!  Stay tuned.  Haven't forgotten about those Zombie Chicken Awards either, really!

Spring in the Methow: A photographic journey

We had a beautiful day in the Methow Valley today and I enjoyed taking a walk around our cabin to see the first signs of spring.



The bluebells are out in full force, carpeting the forest floor with their blue abundance.



Yellow bells are one of my favorite edible roots. They also strongly illustrate how harvesting wild plants can actually increase their growth. When you harvest these bulbs you will find a bunch of tiny bulblets on the bulb. Separate these off and replant them in the same area. In this way you can literally increase their growth in an area by 50 times from how you found it.

The chinese use a species of yellow bells (Fritillaria cirrhosa and F. thunbergii) for medicine and it's on my list to experiment with our own native species, Fritillaria pudica.



Spring beauties (Claytonia lanceolata) are one of my favorite edibles. We eat the aerial portions as salad greens and dry the roots to eat in our winter stews.



These tiny yarrow leaves are beginning to pop up from last's years growth. Yarrow is one of my most used herbs for a myriad of conditions - from UTIs to bug bites to fevers to wounds.

You can see more of todays photo on my flicker account by clicking here

Guest Blogging for The Herb Companion Magazine!

I know this looks like weeds, but they are garlic greens and they can be used in stir fries.  They have the flavor of garlic, but a little milder.  All kinds of good herbs are coming up in the garden.  I have written a guest blog about some of my favorites for The Herb Companion magazine.  Here is the article: Spring Garden Tips:  3 Springtime Recipes.  Hope you enjoy it and are enjoying your spring herb garden as well.  Zombie Chicken Awards tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

quote

"Oh, how this spring of love resembleth
The uncertain glory of an April day!
Which now shows all the beauty of the sun
And by and bye a cloud takes all away."
- William Shakespeare

Now that is good news!

Amy Stork of the Methow Valley Newspaper writes a delicious food column each month.

This month featured a recipe from yours truly.

Check it out here.

I Was Hopeful!

Yesterday while sitting in front of the computer, I was hopeful that I could get my selections made for the Zombie Chicken award.  It was not to be.  As I opened Blogger to get started, my power went off!  We had a rainstorm the night before and our power flashed off and back on, but we didn't lose it because of the storm.  When I called the power company, they always have that cheerful automatic voice that tells you when to expect your power back on.  11:30 PM, April 18th!  Fortunately, they were way off, but it threw me off.  Although I did get off the hook for dinner.  We had Chinese.  I have to go burn off a few more calories than I had planned on having!  So hopefully as Scarlett said, "Tomorrow is another day!"  Above is my Kerria japonica.  The common name is Japanese rose.  Beautiful green stems and leaves.  Wonderful in the spring garden.  Talk to you later.  Thanks for hanging around!

Dandelion Wine Video

Here's parts 1 and 2 of making dandelion wine. This batch was the best batch of dandelion wine I've ever made. If you've got dandelions popping up in your yard, you might give this wine a try! We like to drink a glass of dandelion wine on winter solstice to celebrate the returning sun.

quote

"We begin as a mineral. 
We emerge into plant life and
into animal state, and then into
being human, and always
we have forgotten our former states,
except in early spring, when we slightly recall
being Green again."
- unknown (Can anyone i.d. the origination of this quote?)

Here's another snippet from who knows where(?):

" I am a part of all you see
 In Nature: part of all you feel:
 I am the impact of the bee
 Upon the blossom; in the tree
 I am the sap--that shall reveal
 The leaf, the bloom--that flows and flutes
 Up from the darkness through its roots. "

PA Herb Festival

Today we hit the very beginning of the PA Herb Festival in York. It is going on tomorrow, and if you have some time, run on over and check it out. We were pleasantly surprised. It has been a long time since we've seen so many new and interesting vendors at a festival - that didn't include home parties and window replacements. There were a few soap companies, but not many, many companies like before (we always notice that - what can I say?). The fact is that we always have a great time because we see our friends, but it was good to see some new stuff.
So here's the mini tour. I forgot lots of people, especially Barb from Alloway, and the folks from Willow Pond... but there will be other opportunities.
Sharon Magee is in her 25th year with her herbal pottery. Snap it up, folks. You just never know how long somebody will keep making something. We'll be hanging with Sharon a few days in the coming week during another conference. You'll probably hear more there.
Sarah was settling in to her booth space representing Radiance and Herbs from the Labyrinth. It looked pretty homey, and Kara had headed back to Lancaster to pick up some additional items. There were some recently dyed silk pieces on the aisle, and the market baskets appeared to be flying out of there too. I doubt if she got to sit and relax too much today.
Jason Spring from Spring Thyme Nursery in Dillsburg was doing a great business with his nice big herbs. In years past, it hasn't always been easy to have the herbs ready for this show, but not this time. There was lush patchouli, and the signage at his booth was imaginative.
The Japanese Jack-in-the-pulpit at the Charles Racine Co out of Elkton MD just took my breath away. Worth every cent of the $38 price - if it weren't for the fact that our deer would make a beeline for that plant. Hepatica, a wide variety of Trillium, Woodland Poppies, and Bluebells were all tempting - very tempting. This booth also usually has a splendid array of hostas.
As the doors opened this morning, the crowd began wandering, and many of them went directly into Barb Steele's talk on Dill - the herb of the year for 2010.
We wandered around and saw these trivets made from lucite enclosed herbs and botanicals, stained glass outside lamps, mosaics, stoneware, chimes, soy candles, and a good many teas, dips, botanicals, jewelry, and bath and body care items.
Maryanne chatted with Dee Shartles of Downhome Herbals. I think this is Dee's first year at the festival, but I'm not certain because we don't normally get a lot of time to go visiting. Anyhow, she has some lovely stuff.
Debbi Quinn from Blue Moon Herbals was one of the first people I saw upon entering, and her warm smile and happy voice just drew me right in. Besides having some of the most beautiful curly hair on the planet, Debbi has conjured up some incredible perfumes that are named for different deities. She's an advertiser in the magazine, so you'll see her link on the sidebar (as is Sarah).
Chef Tim had his tasty balsamic vinaigrette on sale, and the samples were delish. I still have a good bit on hand here at the house.
There seemed to be a good bit of sampling going on. Lots to see and do, smell and taste.
Finally, as we were nearing the end of our circuit, we noticed that Susanna of The Rosemary House was doing a demo - and leaving her booth unattended. So we decided that we'd go play behind her booth while she was away. Now that was absolutely perfect! We spent about 30 minutes behind a table joking around with customers. It was fun. When Susanna came back, we sampled some of the cordials and concoctions she brought along for a workshop she was doing later (and will repeat at 2:15 tomorrow).

As we drove off to make another soap delivery in another part of the county, we agreed that we'd made the right decision to limit our shows this year.
It was really great to see people - and we'll see most of them again over the next few weeks - but it was truly wonderful to be able to leave.