Guest Blogging for The Herb Companion Magazine!

Talking about my favorite herb this time for The Herb Companion, lemon verbena.  My post is called The Herbal Harvest:  3 Lemon Verbena Recipes.  If you like it, please click the like symbol at the top of the post.  I hope you enjoy it and I was totally surprised to find that lemon verbena leaves can be frozen.  I had it in the dim recesses of my memory that the leaves didn't freeze well.  That must have been some other herb.  As you will see in the post, they froze just fine.  Long term, unsure, but I will be making a lemon verbena bread throughout the fall and winter and will let you know if they worked.  I just don't like to use dried lemon verbena in a recipe.  It is just not the same.  Well, it is a beautiful day out there and I have a lot of trimming and weeding to do.  Sooo got to go.  Talk to you later.  I'll leave you with a photo of my English muffin spread with the Lemony Strawberry Butter from the post.

To fix things, or not

I spend a lot of time thinking about how connected everyone is these days.  Not necessarily to each other, but to devices of communication.  Even in my own home, there are times when several people are "together", but some of them will be engaged in a conversation of texts or emails while attempting to be present.
The thing that has really made me think about it a lot lately is the fact that a storm knocked out the answering machine on my phone a couple of months ago.  I don't use a cell phone unless traveling, so at least when outside I am free.
At first, I mentally planned how to fix it and it would seriously take about 3 minutes of wire wrangling, yet it hasn't happened yet.  "Oh no!" I thought, "How will people leave a message?"  And still I don't fix it.
I get a little guff now and then for not having a telephone number on the web site.  We're 11 years in, and email has worked out pretty well so far.  The typical business-like reasons are that I am not available during regular hours, not willing to handle phone calls at all hours, and at one time there was a teenager with an unpredictable attitude.  Perhaps anymore, the fact is that I just can't think on my feet anymore.  I'm USED to being able to give responses some thought, look on the calendar, check back on prior communications, or whatever it might take to sound like the system here (and my mind) is intact.
Throughout my childhood, well into adolescence, my mother was bound to the front portion of our home 24/7.  Extensions from over 40 businesses rang on a switchboard, and she took messages for all of them.  She tracked down doctors, got emergency fuel deliveries taken care of, and pretty much juggled the problems of 100's of people a day.  She rarely ventured outside, even after an outdoor ringer was installed.  It wasn't worth the hassle.  I started helping out with the phones at the age of nine.  Really.  Later, after that was sold and she went to work for someone else, at 14 I went to work on a bigger answering service with over 200 businesses, a few police departments, an alarm company, a Western Union office, and the first FAX line in the county.  2 people worked at a time, and it was ... um... fun.  Afterwards I went on to be a police dispatcher with the county, where I learned the true meaning of the word emergency, and also how very many of them occur during an 8 hour shift.
So over the course of the last couple of months, I've realized the reason for my resistance to doing anything about the fried message machine.  It is so much easier.  There are probably fewer people who remember than those who don't, but there was a time when you could be alone.  At one time, if the phone rang and nobody answered, that was that.  No messages.  No guilt about getting back to anyone.  The caller could try later, or go ahead and live their life, perhaps checking in the next day.  You could go on a hike and never talk to anyone except the person physically walking beside you, or maybe your dog. 
Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I'll probably fix the phone in a few days.  But always, I'm easier to reach by email :-)

What Time Is It? It's Time for Four O'Clocks!

These flowers never bloom at four o'clock.  This was about 10:30 AM the other morning!  By now you understand that we have Peruvian influences in our garden and this is one of those.  They also have a slight fragrance which The Herbal Husband likes very much.  I think this is considered an old-fashioned garden plant. They are very easily planted because the seeds are particularly large.  Good for those small hands to plant and succeed.  These are volunteers and they seem happy in a semi-shaded space along the fence.  Well, it is another beautiful day.  We had our shopping and Panera lunch day.  Always a good thing.  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.

Less Mowing! Yippee!

My dream has always been to get rid of the lawn mower someday!  Unfortunately it hasn't happened fast enough.  Although I started at about an hour and a half, almost two hours worth of mowing and I'm at around an hour.  Hoping for near zero in the next few years.  Hope you have had a great day.  Just submitted my next post of Herb Companion on my favorite, lemon verbena.  Some different recipes and one surprise that I didn't expect from a reader who had a question.  Weather is beautiful here in the 'Burgh.  Talk to you later.

Mid-Autumn Fruit Splurge

This year, the fig tree has grown large enough to be supplying me with a bounty that is finally pushing me to try different things with them, rather than simply plucking them off the tree and eating them while standing in the yard.  They are full of so many good things.  Fiber, potassium, vitamin K, calcium and iron, for starters. 
Earlier this year, I found a recipe for Vanilla Fig Bars and waited patiently.  I made it the other night and it was very good (I added a touch of honey from my friend Zan's bees).  The only thing is, I can never just leave a recipe alone.  Eating one of those bars, I kept thinking how good that chock-full of health cookie base of almonds, coconut and figs would be used as a crust for a tart of some sort.
And so today, in order to step away from some of the less than savory bits of news coming across the computer, it became a reality.  No eggs, dairy, or grains used.  No baking.  Just perfection.

The recipe for the fruit topping was just a conglomeration of what happens to be on my counter at the moment:
1 cup of fresh ripe elderberries
1 cup sweet ripe figs
1 large juicy peach
about a tablespoon of grated ginger
3 tablespoons of rich, dark honey
1/4 cup sugar
These were all set to simmer until it became a luscious, bubbling, fragrant mass - about 15 minutes .

In the meantime, I put together the crust.  Using fresh figs with the coconut and almond makes the whole thing turn out looking just a little bit more like ham salad than I'd like, but that fades a bit as it sets up.  It holds together exceptionally well.

At the very last minute, I added about 1/4 cup of coconut flour to the fruit mixture, just to help it thicken.  It was taken off the heat for 10 minutes, and then spread over the crust.  It is wonderful!  Absolutely delicious, and while it is nowhere near low-calorie, it is full of things that are good for us.

I suspect my daughter will top it off with a dollop of yogurt with a smidge of honey.

Plants in France: Lady's Mantle

Lady’s Mantle often said to be a magical plant and has long been associated with the alchemists. People have long been fascinated with the perfect little droplets of morning dew are found on the leaves and these drops continue to persist well after dew has dried from other plants. This water was collected and used by alchemists in their attempts to create gold. 

Herbalist Maurice Mességué romantically proclaims it is not morning dew but water created from the plant itself. However you look at it though, this little plant is full of magic. I started growing it this year in my garden and now it’s a morning ritual of mine to head outside first thing to see all the beautiful droplets. 

You can see other posts in this series here: Linden and Gentian. 

The genus name, Alchemilla, means, little alchemist while the species, vulgaris, indicates it is common. We typically use Alchemilla vulgaris for herbal medicine but there are over 300 species of Lady’s mantle and many are used similarly. 

It is Native to Europe and Asia but widely cultivated in gardens. I loved seeing Lady’s Mantle growing wild in France. I most commonly saw it in higher elevations.

Lady’s mantle is in the rose family, or Rosaceae, and is used in a similar way to many rose family plants. (Or as the herbalist Michael Moore coined, YARFA, yet another rose family astringent.)

The flowers bloom roughly from June to August and each plant has lots of numerous small flowers which are green to yellow in color. The flowers do not have petals. The leaves are what are typically harvested for medicine and they are ideally harvested before the plant flowers. 

Long associated with women’s health. Lady’s Mantle gets its common name from a German translation and is also associated with the virgin Mary, which is why the name is Lady’s Mantle with a ‘y’ and not Ladies’ mantle with an ‘ie’. 

The French have a couple names for this plant. One is Peid-de-leon or Lion’s foot because the leaves look like a lion’s paw. It is also referred to as ALCHÉMILLE. 

If you wanted to sum up Lady’s mantle quickly one might say it is a rose family astringent and it is used in many of the classic ways that we use astringents. Such as spongy lax tissues such as bleeding gums, diarrhea and to stop bleeding. 

Nowadays Lady’s Mantle is strongly connected to women’s health. It is used for excessive menstruation, uterine fibroids, as a tonic taken just before labor as well as postpartum. It’s used for leucorrhea and vaginal infections. Nicholas Culpeper recommended it as a fertility herb. 

Before it was associated so strongly with women, it was most famous as an herb for wounds. It was used on the battle field as well as for infected wounds such as gangrene. The root was especially prized as a styptic herb, or an herb that stops bleeding. 

Lady's mantle is a bitter astringent best known as a remedy for female problems dependent on prolapse and boggy, damp, weak tissue. As a bitter astringent it acts on both atrophy and relaxation to increase healthy nutrition and decrease unhealthy dampness. It removes water from the tissues, at the same time improving the quality of the fluids.

Matt Wood

Matt Wood also cites sources that use Lady’s mantle primarily as an herb for the heart, to tone the cardiovascular system. He also mentions its use for healing hernias and other ruptured membranes such as perforated ears. 

Here’s a simple rose family tea that uses Lady’s Mantle. It is astringent and tonifying to the uterus. I use this formula for leukorrhea or dampness in the lower burner. 

Do you use Lady's Mantle? 

I'd love to hear how you are using this magical plant. 

Whatever Their Names Might Be They Are Still Sunflowers!

Planted by the Birds or by the Chipmunks

Planted with Seeds Purchased from Renee's Garden

Whether the birds or chipmunks planted the top sunflower, I'm not sure but we enjoy the goldfinches this time of year coming to pick off the seeds.

Goldfinch Working on Picking Seeds from Volunteer Sunflower

The dark sunflower in the second photo is from Renee's Garden and I think it is called 'Moulin Rouge.'  It might be 'Chocolate' though.  We didn't make a map after we planted them.  We did stick sticks into the ground with names on them, but they can get moved about as they grow.  I might just have to send this photo to Renee for a decision!  Any way we love them whatever their names might be.  Remember sunflower petals are edible.  You can cook the buds like artichokes, but then you won't have any flowers.  Just eat the petals.  Got to get my post set up for The Herb Companion.  Beautiful day here in the 'Burgh!  Have a great day!  Talk to you later!

A Beautiful Day at Garden in the Park-North Park Edition

It was a great day for the Garden in the Park for both parks.  I was at the North Park edition and really want to applaud every master gardener who put their time and energy into the event.  It was really a great day.  My master gardener friend, Shelley and I answered the public's questions pretty much nonstop.  Shelley a bit more than me.  My photos don't do the gardens justice.  They are beautifully manicured and watered gardens.  The sign for the Demonstration Garden mentions that it is a pollinator friendly garden.  My goodness is that a correct phrase.  Pollinators everywhere.  Nancy Knauss has done an beautiful job organizing the master gardeners as a group and keeping them motivated to work at their maximum output!  It was great to see old friends and meet some new faces.  Job well done!  It is a beautiful day here in the 'Burgh!  Hope you are having a good one.  Talk to you later.

80th Division Monument Transformed with an Herb Garden Surrounding It

Some of the Annuals in the Demonstration Garden

I Remember When This Sign Was First Installed

Sorry Had to Put My Favorite in the Photos!

This Spider Had Something Trapped in its Web!

People Enjoying the Tasting Booths, Basil, Tomatoes & Garlic!

Looks Like Everyone Enjoyed the Day!

Today's Table & Tomorrow's Garden

Nasturtiums Are Going Crazy!

We had The Herbal Husband's famous guacamole the other day and here were the nasturtiums waiting to be filled with avocado goodness.  Really this is the time of the year that the nasturtiums shine or bloom with reckless abandon!  I'm getting ready to test my Master Gardener skills at Garden in the Park, a local event at two of our county parks in Allegheny County.  I have been meaning to show you something I purchased last summer when we were in France.

A Nasturtium Funnel with a Lady Bug on the Rim!

Here's the Underside!

I think it is very cute, don't you?  Hope you have had a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

The Essential Herbal Sept/Oct '12

 We've been a little absent on the blog lately, but it isn't for lack of activity!  All kinds of busy here on the farm, with harvesting, preserving, maintaining, and of course the magazine and soap businesses keeping us stepping.
The Sept/Oct '12 issue is headed out to subscribers now, and should be arriving in the next 2 weeks.  If you'd like to join in the fun, subscribe!  We've got plenty.  Not sure?  Click on the free issue along the right sidebar of this blog and check it out without risk. 
Here's what you'll find in the current issue:

Field Notes

During childhood, we establish our relationship with nature. Are we still playing and sharing that with the kids in our lives?

Herbal Connections, Winter Herbs, Marita A Orr

Getting our herbs lined up for the winter ahead, Marita shares her favorites and methods for use.

Grooming & Pruning Herb Plants, Michele Brown

The Herbfarmer gives advice for keeping our herbs in good shape to face the weather ahead so that they’ll be ready to spring into action as soon as the warmth and light return.

Seasonal Support, Suzan T Scholl

Lots of great herbs to have on hand, and now is the time to gather them.

From the Vault, Secrets of the Scented Bead, Carol Huettner

You may be very surprised to learn how myrrh beads and aromatic amber resin are created. It probably isn’t anything like what you expected.

Medicinal Vinegar Tinctures, Marci Lautanen-Raleigh

Alcohol-free medicinal herbal extracts in a base that is good for you? Read on!

SouthRidge Treasures, Pesto, Mary Ellen Wilcox

Look out basil, Mary Ellen is taking pesto far beyond the usual.

Mullein the Great, Marci Tsohonis

This common roadside weed has so much to offer. Like so many plants that we pass daily, it is worth a much closer look.

Autumn Magic, Heddy Johannsen

Welcome the season by celebrating the offerings of nature in the kitchen. Cider making without a press? Hmmm…

Oatmeal—Food as Medicine, TEH Compilation

We know about oatstraw and milky oatseeds as herbal preparations, but sometimes forget that it can be much simpler and we can incorporate the same benefits in delicious every day dishes.

How to Dehydrate Lemons, Delores Harris

Dehydrated citrus can be utilized in many ways over the holidays. Great instructions for excellent results.

Pumpkin, TEH Compilation

Is it the pumpkin, the spice combination, the delicious health benefits of deep orange foods, or the seasonal connection? All of the above? We love pumpkin in just about everything.

Take Three Weeds, Sharon Wolfe Topsick

Teachings from an elder.

What is an Herbalist, Jackie Johnson, ND

Do you ever wonder about this title and what it means?

Herban Legends, Rita Richardson

Old wives’ tales? Maybe, maybe not, but interesting either way.

 

We're sure you're going to love this issue as much as we do.

A Cool Insect in the Garden

This is a tachinid fly.  It is absolutely in love with the variegated mint flowers on our patio.  I don't think I will talk about its cute hairy butt or may be I should.  Better not!  I can see the Google searches now!  There are like 1,500 species of tachinids that provide biological control in your garden.  That is why it is so critical to avoid chemicals if you can.  When I was an active master gardener, I was always reminding the callers that the bad bugs are only about 2 or 3 percent of the total insect population.  I know most of you don't even think about spraying these days, but on the off chance you do, think about all of the good insects that are trying to get those bad insects under control.  Quiet day here.  The Herbal Husband is taking a well deserved break from the garden.  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.

I Thought This Was Going to the Compost!

2009 Bay Was the Herb of the Year!

Last Year Looking Like It Was on the Way Out!

Look At All of These New Shoots!

This poor tortured bay tree.  We have one that is in its 20's and going strong.  Then there is this one that has had scale every year and we have cleaned every leaf and moved it outside to do its thing.  We didn't get it out as soon as I would have like this year.  It is making a big comeback at the moment.  Saving its leaves from being composted!  Just like that fig we planted in the ground earlier!  It is getting it together!  I will leave you with a post I did on the bay laurel from 2009 when it was the herb of the year.  Bay is a wonderful plant to grow, really it is!  Cooler weather.  Fall weather before fall.  Hope you are having a great day!  Talk to you later.

Plants in France: The Grand Yellow Gentian

Gentian growing wild with
valerian in the background

Yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea) from the French alps is world renowned for its healing abilities. It has been used as medicine in Europe for 2200 years. 

We first saw this plant growing high in the French alps in a meadow filled with dandelions and buttercups. My husband’s father pointed it out to us, and, partly because he had misidentified a few plants already, I was sure he was mistaken. The non-flowering plant highly resembles false hellebore (Veratrum viride). A plant that demands respect and caution! 

Yellow Gentian (Gentiana lutea) before flowering

False Hellebore (Veratrum viride) 
See the resemblance? 

But sure enough, this tall beauty was indeed the highly revered local gentian. We found it growing throughout mountain sides in France. Later in the trip we found it growing on a volcano in central France. 

This is a perennial, herbaceous plant that grows up to two meters tall. It flowers after about three years and the roots are harvested for medicine after it is 5 to ten years old.

Because yellow gentian from France is especially revered for medicine, it has been over harvested. France has it designated as an endangered plant and it is illegal to harvest it unless you have a special permit. Mountain Rose Herbs carries gentian root from a cultivated source in France that is very high quality. I’ve been using this myself for the past year in my digestive blends.  

Gentian root is bitter, bitter, bitter. Its actions are cooling and drying. (For more information on how herbalists use the sense of taste, sign up for my newsletter in the upper left-hand column and receive an ebook on the Taste of Herbs for free!)

It is most famously used as a bitter digestive tonic and is frequently made into an aperitif, which is a before dinner drink that increases the appetite. This can be especially useful before eating a rich and fatty meal, which, of course, the French are famous for! After our visit to this beautiful meadow Xavier’s father took us bar hopping - herbalist style. We tried several different digestifs and aperitifs featuring local bitter plants, gentian among them. 

One of my favorite aperitifs that we tried in France!

Gentian is an ingredient in angostura bitters, stockton bitters and vermouth. While traveling around the Alps in France we found numerous small companies that made an aperitif from gentian. Before the introduction of hops it was used as a bitter flavoring for making beer in Germany and Switzerland

As a cooling bitter it has other uses as well. 

It’s used as a antipyretic for use during high fevers. King Gentius of Illyria, who lived from 180-67 BCE is said to have discovered gentian as medicine after this plant cured his army of a mysterious fever and today the plant continues to carry his name. 

This strong bitter is also used as a vermifuge, to expel worms or parasites from the body. 

In the mid 1800’s, gentian was mixed with licorice as a remedy to quit smoking. 

Nicholas Culpepper wrote in the mid 18th century that it was a sure remedy for the plague, but I haven’t had the opportunity to try that out yet.  

Maude Grieve recommends the following recipe as a stomach tonic to restore appetite and improve digestion: 

2 OZ. of the root,
1 OZ. of dried orange peel,
1/2 oz. bruised cardamom seeds 

quart of brandy 

Infuse for four weeks, strain and use in small doses. 

You can buy the ingredients for this recipe at Mountain Rose Herbs (and by using this banner you also help to support the writings on this blog - thank you!)

Do you use yellow gentian? I’d love to hear how you are using this or other bioregional gentians. 

In the spring of 2011 I traveled to France with my (French) husband, Xavier. Like most herbalists on vacation, I felt this was the perfect opportunity to see plants! In this Plants in France article series I am  bringing you photos and lore of some of western herbalism’s favorite plants from locations while highlighting French locations, history and use. This article series is based on the video series that is published at HerbMentor.com. 

To see other blog posts in this series click on the label "Plants in France"


Health Secrets of Plants and Herbs by Maurice Messegue is a great source of information for herbalism through a French perspective

The Path is Back!

So Glad to Have the Path Back!

This Area Still Looks Overgrown, but It is So Much Better!

Viburnum x burkwoodii

Our weather has turned decidedly like the Pacific Northwest!  It is cool and cloudy!  We complain when it is too hot and now it has gone the other way.  Just wanted to show you the finished product.  We are going to move some big hostas to this area as well because of the shade of the apple tree.  Hopefully we can tackle the front garden as well.   So hope you are having a great weekend wherever you may be.  Oh, Hope Springs is great!  Really has a lot of laughs.  Steve Carell as the therapist is very good.  I think you will like it.  It was packed.  Good to finally see a good movie and that lots of other people were out to see it as well.  Talk to you later.

A Bee Hive of Activity!

Well, we are going to try another video!  This was yesterday and I was working on the maintenance path and very close to the mountain mint and the humming sound was wonderful.  So hopefully you will get a sense of how great it was.  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.

My Fourth Blogging Anniversary!

I can hardly believe that it has been four years today that I started my blogging journey.  Here is my very first post.  Not much to look at!  I have been very blessed to "meet" such wonderful people during this blogging experience.  I hope that you have learned a bit about herbs and I hope in the coming year you'll learn a bit more.  This photo represents a more wacky looking herb garden this year.  I'm a bit of a control freak and letting the mullein and volunteer sunflower grow are both not me.  Then there is this 'African Blue' basil in the left front corner that really should be in a container, but isn't!  OK, OK!  I'm just taking a deep breath and letting it go!  But basically I have loved guest blogging for Herb Companion.  You can take an herbal vacation without leaving your house with this latest post called Herbal Travels:  Visiting Gardens During My Herbal Vacation and hope to continue blogging for them for many years to come.  I also promised a giveaway and once I get that organized, I'll post the prizes and there will be some for the US readers and some for the World readers.  Postal rates are just skyrocketing, but I want to include something for everyone!

So I'll leave you with a look at the back garden.  We are slightly preoccupied with the Olympics at the moment.  All those covered bikinis on the "beach" at the Horse Guards Parade!  We got mulch and peat moss for the reclaimed garden in the back.  Maybe photos later in the week.  Hopefully, you are having a great day!  Talk to you later.

My Tribute to Kary!

Kary Loved Apples and Making Pie!  My First Apple Pie of the Season!

My Feet and Shoes Aren't As Pretty As Hers!

Well, my heart is breaking today because I read in Sharon Lovejoy writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island that Kary from My Farmhouse Kitchen has passed away.  It just leaves me breathless to say that.  She popped up on my blog comments a couple of years ago.  I cherished every time she stopped by.  I got caught up in her beautiful photos and recipes, her dear poodles, Buddy and Teddy, her kitty, Dandelion and her dear husband, John.  She loved the seasons and fall was one of her favorite times of the year because of the apples.  Well, I didn't plan this and I didn't know she had gone before I made it, but I made an apple pie with our apples for Kary today.  Oh, the photo of the feet and shoes was when she was cooking in her kitchen.  My tribute to you my blogging friend.  I know you are without pain and I hope to meet you at a farm stand buying apples one day.  RIP.  Talk to you later.

A Garden Tag with a Colorado Connection!

Reclaiming That Maintenance Path!

A Plant Tag with a Peruvian Connection!

A Colorado Nursery Tag in a Pennsylvania Garden!

When I got online this afternoon, I was pleased that Bernideen from Bernideen's Tea Time Blog was having an "Open House" and invited me to participate.  So Bernideen, you won't believe it when I tell you that in reclaiming a maintenance path in the garden and some garden space, we dug up this tag from the previous owner.  We have been in this house 23 years!  It has both a Peruvian (four o'clock flowers) and a Colorado connection.  The plant was from a nursery called Little Valley Wholesale Nursery in Brighton, Colorado!  The plant is long gone, but the nursery still is in existence!  It's Kismet, Bernideen!  One day we're going to meet Bernideen!  I'm looking forward to it!  Hope you all have had a great summer day!  It is hotter than you know here in the 'Burgh.  We are supposed to get some relief in rain and temperature tomorrow.  Talk to you later.