Wait Until You See This, Herbally Speaking

 I was going to complain about the "New" Blogger, but what's the use!  They are just going to keep changing so I'll just go with it.  No, the photo you see isn't on its side.  The plant (a sweet lavender) is growing towards the light in the garage so it is on its side and from experience, it will stay pretty much like this even when it goes back outside.  I thought it might straighten up.  After so many days in the 70's and 80's including yesterday and today, you would think we are on our way to summer, but we will be back in the 50's and 30's at night by tomorrow.  March wasn't March and April is sort of like April but not quite.  Got to go water the seedlings and plants.  It may reach 80 degrees later today.  Hope you had a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

The Conquering of the Garlic Chives!

This is an annual problem in the herb garden.  The garlic chives have such a beautiful enticing flower in the month of August that the beneficial insects just love and so do I.  The downside is that you have hundreds of them in places where they shouldn't be growing.

The Herbal Husband started transplanting them to other areas of the garden.:(  Then he gave up and said too many.:)  So we will be talking about this herbal problem again next year.  I have them in so many places that getting to the seedheads before they drop their seed is going to be virtually impossible!

Here is that area cleaned up for now.  I have other areas to work on in the herb garden and I'll show those to you later.  I'm also coming up with another design or just plant combinations for my herb garden this year.  The weather is beautiful outside.  Talk to you later.

A Wild Thyme Herb Tea!

About a year ago, my friend Susanna Reppert from The Rosemary House in Mechanicsburg, PA asked me if I'd do a talk on wild plant foods for her garden club, so I agreed and put it on my calendar, never knowing that I would be part of an amazing event held this past Monday.
The Penn-Cumberland Garden Club holds an annual Bertha P. Reppert Herb Tea Party, and this year (the 48th!) was themed on wild edibles.
My sister was kind enough to drive me there. I get nervous enough about talking, and the last thing I need is to get jangled up trying to find a place. This led to the added benefit/amusement of getting to watch Maryanne eat some wild edibles too :-D.
We arrived to find the women looking spring-y and dressed for tea. The tables were set with a vast variety of bouquets, featuring a mixture of spring flowers, herbs, and weeds! Tea was served prior to the talk, and Susanna had encouraged us to get there early to enjoy the treats. I'm so glad we did!
I'm hoping she'll put out a small e-book with the recipes from the menu, which included:
Dandelion Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing
Watercress Dip with crisp, fresh vegetables
Nettle Soup
Toasted Weed Sticks
Tansy Egg Sandwich
Chickweed Pie
Red Clover Bread with Blackberry Spread
Sassafras Sorbet
Double Thumbprint Cookie with Elderberry Jam
Cupcakes with Teaberry Frosting
Spring Cordial
Very Berry Tea
We were stuffed! I loved every bit of it. The nettle soup and the sassafras sorbet stood out for me, but it was all delicious.
Generally when I speak about wild edibles, there is some undercurrent running through the crowd - perhaps that they would never actually eat what I'm talking about unless it were an emergency, but find it mildly amusing. This time, the entire group had just thoroughly enjoyed an elegant, delightful experience where the food was not a survival thing, but something they might actually WANT.
That was a new experience for me!

Happy in the Garage, Herbally Speaking!

My peppermint scented geranium is huge and happily blooming in the garage!   The Herbal Husband is anxious to get his car back in the garage.  So he is asking every day whether he can put the plants outside!  NO!  We are so up and down temperature wise and he really knows better, but we go through the same rituals every year.  Hope you are having a great day.  I'm going out to mow the grass.  Working on the great garlic chive removal.  Will talk about that in more detail maybe tomorrow.  Talk to you later.

A Huge Herbal Surprise!

I am outside working in the herb garden and what should I see popping up out the ground!  My LEMON VERBENA is coming back!  Whoo Hoo!  Very, very exciting.  I left two outside and the other one is just growing weeds at the moment!  Now I have to be like a protective mama and remember to cover it when we have our next frost warning!  And you know that will come along!  It has been a weird year.  Hope you are finding herbal surprises in your garden as well.  Talk to you later.

The Essential Herbal - May/June 2012

The May/June issue of The Essential Herbal is in the mail, and headed out to subscribers right now. It's another jam-packed, fun, and informative gathering of all different aspects of herbs and their uses. As always, we were just amazed while putting it together, to see how much love and enthusiasm comes through from our contributors. I know our readers will love this one as much as we do.Table of Contents:

Field Notes
What the heck is going on out there? How are our gardens growing?

Shaker Sachets, Karen Hegre
A quick, easy, and useful herbal craft

Herbs for Bees and Beekeepers, Suzan T Scholl
How to help bees thrive by giving them what they need, and a primer on what products bees make.

Herbal Connections, Herbs for Lowering Cholesterol,Marita A Orr
The word on cholesterol medications isn't looking so good lately, so Marita discusses several herbal options that can be just as effective without the side effects.

Edible Flowers: More than Decoration, Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh
Many, many ideas and recipes for using edible flowers in the kitchen!

Vinegar of the Four Thieves, Rita Richardson
An interesting vinegar to make and use - whether a plague abounds or not.

The Scented Imagination: Random Thoughts on Ambergris, Marcia Elston
"The Gold of the Ocean" or whale vomit? However you look at ambergis, Marcia's article makes me dream of wandering the shore-line looking for gray lumps :-)

Faith in Tomatoes, Belle DiMonté
A love letter to the simple act of loving plants.

LA Lagniappe, River Town Shrimp & Eggplant Jambalaya, Sarah Liberta
Authentic Jambalaya recipe from deep in the heart of Louisiana, this recipe will have your mouth watering!

How to Make a Plant Press, Erin McIntosh
Directions to help you make a plant press to keep some of the spring and summer available for crafting or sweet memories.

Toxins in the Home, Heddy Johannesen
There are many ways we can lessen the chemical load in our housekeeping. Lots of simple, useful ideas for keeping a healthier home.

Natural Facials, Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh
Cleanser for each type of skin, using herbs and kitchen items.

What I Do with Herbs, Susan Broyles
Susan shares the many ways she incorporates herbs into all the days of her life.

The Soap Pot, Herbal Color Swirling, Alicia Grosso
Three soaps, colored with herbs, and swirled into a spectacular bar of herbie goodness.

Getting to Know Spicebush, Ym-health
The Notable Native of 2012 is Spicebush, and we take a look at this very prolific woodland shrub.

Summertime Herbal Friends, Ym-health
A few quick wild herbal helpers to get through the bumps and bugs of summer.

Women Herbalists, Hildegard of Bingen, Susanna Reppert Brill
Visions or migraines? We'll never know for certain, but Susanna takes us along on a trek into the 12th century and Medieval time of herbalism.

Not So Humble Chickweed, Sandy Michelsen
Chickweed salve recipe with some information about this amazing, common weed.

Strawberry Scones, Janet Roberson
What could be better at this time of year, than to start the day (or during mid-afternoon tea) with a burst of strawberry?

I'm Stumped (Non-herbal Question)!

The Herbal Husband found these branches lying around the base of our Norway maple in the back.  It's hard to see but they look like some kind of fungi.  Tried "Googling" them and couldn't come up with anything.  The fungi (not necessarily these in the photo) appear often around the base of the trunk of a tree that's dying.  These are on the branches that are dead.  Maybe the fungi just like the decaying bark to form.  If you have had a similar experience, please let me know.  It is a beautiful warm day outside and here I am inside working on my posts for The Herb Companion!  I'll get outside eventually.  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.

Was Outside Looking Around!

Lady's Mantle in its Second Season!

Golden Oregano and 'Walker's Low' Catmint in Bloom!

This is Why An Outdoor Cat is Necessary!  Darn Chipmunk!  Making Holes Under Plants!

Strawberries in Bloom Already!

Mystery Plant!  Probably a Weed, but I've Been Wrong Before!

We were out briefly in the yard surveying what's coming up and what's left to do!  Lots and lots more!  So instead of working outside, we are going to the movies and out to our favorite restaurant later.  Supposed to storm!  Always fun dashing through the raindrops.  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.

ahhh... vacation!

It's taken me a while to get around to posting. A week ago, I was packing my bag to come home from a rest by the sea.
It may seem that I run around the countryside a lot, but it is a rare time that doesn't include some kind of work - a presentation, setting up a booth, or some kind of research or business.
Most of the people I know in herbs are shaking their heads, knowing that no matter how much we adore what we do, there are times when we need to recharge. Oh, I walked beside the dunes looking at the plants thriving there, and considered well all the herbs and spices included in the delicious meals that were served to me. There might even have been a conversation here or there about the medicinal merits of various herbs, but for the most part it was a true vacation.
It was interesting. With social media and being out among people at herb events, it isn't really anything I usually think about, but being away reminded me of the privacy that we all willingly give away to conduct our lives and businesses these days. Do we really think about how exhausting that can be?
The "B side" of any time away is usually the catching up, but Maryanne pulled all of the orders that came in during my absence, and the printer took care of the mailing of the May/June issue of The Essential Herbal that had been sent in just prior to my leaving, so I could really take advantage of the great energy I brought home.
I couldn't wait to get outside and see what the plant world had been up to. It would be impossible to express how exciting/frightening this spring has been so far. It seems that this growing season *might* have been extended by three full months. I say "might" because there is still a month before we reach our last frost date, and we have a scare once or twice a week. There's just too much outside to rush out and cover, so I'm letting Nature take her course. Who knows what such a long growing season will produce? We've never had one before.
Here is what was waiting for me last week...
The row of dogwoods along the driveway waved to me as I arrived.
The trilliums were waiting for me to get home so they could bloom!
Blueberry bushes are all laden with buds.
The early "Golden" elderberry is preparing to send out the dinner plate sized umbels of blow.
Horseradish that went in the ground last year is back and happy.
Molly and I spent a couple of hours picking violets and the next day Maryanne and I spent another hour crawling around in the woods picking some more.
Everything is way ahead. There are figs on the tree, the ramps are lush and green, and the anise hyssop is nearly knee-high!
It's good to be home and back at it, but it sure was good to get away!

Even These Are A Bit Early!

Chives are usually the barometer in the herb garden.  They did die back, but not like they usually do.  Here they are already starting to bud.  They are a couple of weeks early.  So I will get ready for the nine flower chive omelet!  The Herbal Husband always makes it for me every year.  He forgets that it takes only one flower to flavor an omelet.   It is freezing here today.  The wind is really wild making it that much colder.  Getting ready for my afternoon cup of tea and treat!  Oh, the routines we have.  Hope you are having a great day.  Been working on my next posts for The Herb Companion.  They may be up either today or tomorrow.  Talk to you later.