Flitting, Buzzing, Chirping and Dipping

The yard is a busy, busy place right now. Every window and door leads out to a view of some crazed activity. The butterfly bushes in the front and side are simply alive with creatures. I sat in the window and watched the largest one for a while yesterday. There are Monarchs, Yellow Swallowtails, and the large black butterflies with the blue spots, along with scads of white and yellow sulphurs. There are many other butterflies - browns, and ambers, and the tiniest azure. Among the branches are gold finches, house finches, and purple finches, all taking turns lighting on the nearby echinacea. At one point a hummingbird came along and sipped from the blossoms of the butterfly bush, and then a sphinx moth showed up today - the first I ever saw in broad daylight.

Out back there is constant motion. There is a slight breeze, and the butterflies vie for space on the parsley and dill, while the birds push each other off the blueberry bushes and peck at the sunflowers. Flocks fly from tree to tree with no real plan that I can discern. They seem to have taken care of the earlier beetle infestation, and now I really wish they'd do something about the flies. Farm country, and it is fly season. Yuck. The caterpillars are going to town on the dill. There are about 10 of different size that I could count, and they are really very difficult to see without looking intently for a few moments. Their pattern is very similar to the dark and light of the flowers/stems/air.

We also have an abundance of bees. I don't know enough about bees to know if they are honeybees, but they are out there - all shapes and sizes, sipping away on the nectar of the flowers all around. Sort of reminds me of "The Ugly Bug Ball" that Burle Ives sang in Pollyanna to little Hayley Mills.

Here in human-ville, my daughter got her driver's permit today and we had a little lesson. I learned a lot. I learned, in particular, that I may not be cut out for this whole driver's ed thing. I learned that making jerking motions and stamping my foot while seated in the passenger's seat has absolutely ZERO effect on the motion of the vehicle. I learned why some people drink in the middle of the day, and most of all, I learned that if my daughter is proud enough of herself, she'll believe me when I say, "you did a great job, hon!" even when I am visibly shaking.

In other news, a parcel filled with Chukar chicks arrived at my sister's house for BIL to raise. We'll have another flock around for the year, and another gang to take up the bizarre mating call next spring. Maybe the lonely little guy that spent most of May on my roof listening to the echo of his calls coming from the building across the road might actually find a lady next spring.

Mount Joy Farm Market

We decided to have a little fun on Saturday mornings, and signed up to take a stand at the local farm market. It is a small-ish market with about a dozen vendors, and it is a very friendly group! Almost everyone sells produce, although there is local honey, fresh baked goods, plants, jars of preserves and pickles, and home made dog treats. My sister's soaps and my books and magazines were a welcome addition. We also took along some herbal products that we make jointly.

I've always enjoyed retail. It's a little more difficult to enjoy it when the products are of your own hands because there is the whole aspect of ego, putting a value on your product, and having to stand behind what you make, but after the initial shock, it is more satisfying to sell our own things than those just bought for resale.

Of course retail has it's down side. After selling our shop years ago, it became clear that being tied to the unending hours of owning a shop is only for the most committed. It was a dream job, but there were always those small irritants of difficult customers, delayed shipments, overhead, and time, time, time.

We found the farm market to be perfect! 4 short hours of face-to-face interaction. The best part is that we can take what we have and not sweat what we don't. No pressure. We pulled stock on Friday, threw a table and stools in the car, and off we went the next morning. It's a great way to test out new products, sell off discontinued fragrances, and make new contacts.

The market itself is in a covered breezeway of a local bank that is closed on Saturdays and allows the market to use the space. Everyone is under roof, and there is a nice bit of air flowing. There is just the right lighting, and since it's a small town there is a feeling of talking to neighbors. We did get to renew some acquaintances both from our old shop customers, and some unexpected friends with whom we'd lost touch. We met a lot of new friends too. People are not in a hurry.

On top of that, we got to buy some goodies to bring home. The woman next to us had some incredible cabbages, and across the way were whoopie pies and molasses cookies. Local honey came home with us too. Oh, and some big sandwich tomatoes! The men across the way were selling glads, zinnias, and sunflowers, and gave us each a bouquet when the morning was done.

Yesterday was one of the most beautiful days of the year thus far. See how happy Maryanne looks? It was sunny and cool with almost no humidity. I'm hoping the market will continue to be as simple and enjoyable as our first day out. Next time, we'll add a second table so that everything isn't so squished together, and so there will be room for the rest of TEH books. There is a recipe exchange, and I'll harvest bunches of fresh herbs to go along with the recipes that we will submit.

Almost Perfect Day for a Walk in the Woods

I woke up this morning to some perfect weather. There was a lovely breeze coming in the office window, almost no humidity, and mild mid-70's predicted for the day. We've been baking in a sauna lately, so this was entirely, whole-heartedly welcome.
There were a million things to do. I hurried to get orders packed up and shipped so that would be done for the day, and grabbed some groceries on the way home from the post office. The yellow Queen Anne cherries must have had a great year, because they were the same price as the Bings. Yummah!
After lunch, I had an appointment with the soap wrapping machine, and to put finishing touches on the upcoming issue of the magazine, but first it was into the woods.
I went alone and have mixed feelings about that. On one hand, it's such an incredible feeling of solitude, and being *in* the woods, while on the other, there's that feeling of solitude and being *in* the woods. It started out walking along the pond. I stopped to see if I could catch a glimpse of the koi under the duckweed. Directly behind me in the underbrush of the bank something moved. A lot. It could have been a groundhog, or a rabbit. Or it could have been a snake. And so it begins. Why, oh why do I never bother to change into boots?
This spring, my brother-in-law cut a path along the creek that runs through the woods. I thought it would be a good chance to see what grows there because up until now it has always been too overgrown to actually get in there any time beyond the end of May. There is an entire meadow of jewelweed! It is beautiful all along the path. However, there hasn't been a lot of rain lately. That means that there are little pools of stagnant water where the creek isn't running fast enough to keep it moving. Bugs. Lots and lots of bugs.
But the butterflies made up for that! They were everywhere, and I probably saw 10 or 12 different kinds. I'd taken along a berry basket just in case there were some stragglers to pick. I was very glad to have something to swing because the spiders have found the path to be an excellent place to weave webs and catch stuff. Today that was me. It's hard to keep your eyes on the path to watch for snakes while swinging a basket ahead to avoid spider webs. It must have been an amusing sight to the deer who were watching from behind the brush.
Towards the end of the woods, there is a steep hill that leads to a field of evergreens. I walked along the edge of the field, and discovered that Japanese beetles must really love wild grape leaves. All along the ground were leaf skeletons in varying shades from pale green to dark brown. They look like lace, and I scooped up a few of them. There must be a way to preserve them, because they are just beautiful. As I got to the grove of Mimosa trees, the scent of the blossoms hit me full force, stopping me in my tracks. How have I never smelled that before? We had purchased some Mimosa wax when we had the shop - a byproduct of the process used to acquire the absolute used in aromatherapy. It was not nearly as fragrant as the flowers!
The afternoon ended with me watering the garden, and my daughter blithely leaving the house and LOCKING THE DOOR so that I couldn't get in! Luckily, she was just down the hill. The little scamp. Yeah, that's what she is.
Oh... and I think I found some Jersey tea. I'll have to look more closely tomorrow. That will have to wait until we get home from our first day at the local farmer's market. I can't wait to see how that goes!

Making a wreath with herbs

Making Herbal Wreaths
By Tina Sams, photos by Maryanne Schwartz
Sept/Oct '06 issue of The Essential Herbal

The time is right to make a wreath, should you be so inclined. The simplicity and beauty of this craft is so rewarding, yet many are put off by the seeming complexity of it. Wreath-making classes were always quite crowded (and messy), and the creations almost always surprised the participants with their talent.

We began this particular session by going into the garden and nearby meadow in search of interesting looking botanicals. Grasses and seed heads are gorgeous, and we’ve seen really gorgeous wreaths made with nothing but the russet dock seed heads and pennywort that grow as weeds around here. Some of the other things we chose were hydrangea, ivy, bee balm, bamboo leaves (they were surprisingly pretty on the wreath!), ornamental oregano, sage, yarrow, silver king artemesia… and whatever other plants struck our fancy.
Filling a basket was easy. Stopping was a little bit harder, as the more you look, the more you see. Try to imagine how much the things will shrink when dried.

There are a few other things you need. A wreath form, greening pins, and a piece of wire for a hanger.
These items are available at craft stores. We used about 75 greening pins for this wreath.
The first thing you need to do is form a loop that will be the hanger. You may first wish to wrap the wire with florist’s tape – green lightly tacky tape that you see on floral arrangements. We did not in this case, but it adds a nice finished touch. Another consideration is to tie a ribbon to the loop so that its easy to find when the wreath is full and lush. Wrap the wire around the form and twist it closed. With the two ends, make a small loop and twist the ends together with the wire where the original twist took place.

Now you are ready to begin attaching the foliage. We were taught to make wreaths by a very particular woman who
sold hundreds of prince’s pine wreaths each holiday season. We made them for her, and if there were any holes, less than perfect branches, uneven spots, or lopsided-ness….we heard about it! Although our fingers were bruised and bloody that year, it was a great lesson in how to make wreaths, and how much more fun it is to do them for yourself.
Begin by choosing a background for your wreath. The form that we used here already had a green herby base, so we started with bamboo leaves – mostly because the bamboo plants are taking over the one hillside, and it seemed appropriate. Choose sections about 4” – 6” long and pin them to the form, overlapping them about 2” apart. Go the same direction all the way around.

The outside ring will go in the same direction, and is the next step. Alternate with other materials where you like. The small 4-6” sections that are pinned on can resemble small nosegays or bouquets.

The third shot of the wreath in process, shows the inside and outside rings completed as we are just about to start adding the center circle. At this point, we make certain that the form is closely covered, adding bits here and there, making the inside and outside rings full. We saved most of the flowers for the top or center ring. Now the real fun begins.

The center circle is set in the opposite direction to the inner and outer rings. This is done to make certain that the wreath is full and that there are no holes showing. This feels a lot like frosting a cake.

The tiny bouquets are added to all the spaces you can cram them into, resulting in the finished photo at the beginning of this post.

Dry the wreath flat on a table or counter. After two days the botanicals will have dried and shrunken, and you may then choose to add more so that it is full.
Wreaths can be made with almost anything you find growing – and even other found articles. Have fun with it, and if you don’t like it one way, take out the pins and start again!

Sunflower Women

If you've read the Jul/Aug issue of The Essential Herbal, you've seen the little sidebar Maryanne Schwartz wrote about the PA Dutch symbol, the distelfink. Distelfinks are "thistle finches" or gold finches and there are many around. There is one perched on the tip of a pine tree right outside the window as I type. In the symbolism of the old hex signs placed on Amish barns in our area, they represent harmony and happiness. Combined with cardinals and bluejays, they round out the color wheel here, bright flashes of color. However, the article also mentioned that the PA Dutch were quite superstitious, and some of that has filtered into my life. Only once have I acted on it, and I prefer to chalk that up to the insanity of menopause. But I digress.... The point is that we play a little game here.

For me, it began when I was on my way home from my final day of work before beginning the frighteningly expensive gamble that would eventually bring my daughter into the world. I was afraid and full of doubts, wondering if I was making a very bad choice. As I rounded a bend on a back road, there stood about 30 wild turkeys. I'd never seen wild turkeys before, and the sight was so magnificent that I stopped the car and sat and watched them. I can't explain it other than to say that they calmed me, and I knew it was going to be ok. I know, I know. It sounds weird.

Since then, I've enjoyed watching and considering the birds and animals that cross my path. When we were vendors at the renaissance fair, we started counting the ringneck pheasants we saw on the way each morning, and decided that they were omens of good money days - as in, "it's a three pheasant day!" It was just for fun, and on one of our best days ever, we rode along the way home, only to come across a large group of cows that had just discovered their freedom. They were fairly flying across the roadway, scurrying up into the field of grain. We called them the "happy, dancing cows" because that's how they looked. We enjoyed relating the story to the other vendors, who by then had started to ask us what we'd seen.... yeah, the ren faire is like that :-). As for turkeys, they've returned on a few occasions. Once when I was driving to meet my sister to look at the shop we were thinking of renting, and again, I took that as a green flag. Later, before signing the lease, we went to the beach with the kids for a few days to ponder that move, and a school of dolphins came up to within a few feet of us. They played at our feet, and my sister and I just looked at each other in astonishment.

But the point of this post (yes, there is a point) is sunflowers. One evening, many years ago, my sister and I sat in an apartment in NYC with our friend Laura, talking about our dreams and sunflowers. We considered how the massive stalks spring from the earth and produce the gorgeous blooms. The blossoms look towards the sky, growing beyond the bounds of "normal" and proceed to grow massive plates of seeds that are then scattered, growing more impossible dreams. Silly as we are, we dubbed ourselves "the sunflower women" and went for our dreams. To this day, I'll occasionally go to the mailbox and find a card from Laura with a glorious picture of a sunflower (or 3), and be reminded to keep going.

This year, a volunteer sunflower found it's way to my garden. This is no ordinary sunflower. Short in stature, it is a powerhouse of blooms. I've been watching it in amazement each day, and this morning realized that this flower is for Laura, as she embarks on an exciting new aspect of her career. So Laura, CHECK IT OUT!!!! This one's for you. Go, LittleBigVoice, and don't look back!

Outside in Early July

I'm not even going to show you the veggie garden right now. The peppers, squash, and cucumbers are fairly frightening in their proliferation. The tomatoes are turning red, and the canteloupe and watermelon vines are so covered in small fruits that there just has to be a fruit stand in my future. There's no way I'll be able to eat, share, or unload all of those melons on my own. It was only 3 of each plant, but they took off like crazy. The beans are also pretty darned happy, with the eggplant looking heavy too. I love summer eating.

This year after we stained the decks a light color, I wanted something bright on the front, and got a big hybiscus. It was a great choice, because once it started blooming, it makes me happy every time I see it. There are pink and white marshmallows on the other side of the entrance to the deck, so in another couple of days it is going to be breathtaking. The beetles don't seem overly fond of either plant right now, preferring to dine on the Virginia Creeper that found it's way into the front garden. Hope it stays that way for a while, because they are bad this year.

On the side of the house, beyond the yard, there are several rows of powder blue Spruces. I'm not sure if they are the Schwartzii blue spruce, propagated by my brother-in-law's father, but I think they might be. They are the bluest blue. They look so pretty against the bumper crop of queen anne's lace that grow among them. One year my sister and her husband did wreaths out of them for a national catalog. We put burgundy velvet bows on them, and they were spectacular. Those needles are very prickly, though. Some people do take them inside to decorate over the holidays, but they're too mean for me. I like them outside just fine.

This year, after the septic system was cleaned, there was an oval garden added - just a few inches of dirt, surrounded by stones. That's where the rescued chamomile from the construction site lives. These sunflowers volunteered right at the end. They aren't very tall, maybe 3 feet, but there are lots and lots of flowers. Somehow we got a gourd vine in there too. Can't wait to see how that turns out, and what sort of gourds we get.

The last picture was taken last week when we went out on a delivery run. We started to notice that there were small fields of tobacco popping up everywhere. When I was growing up, tobacco was a big crop around here. The type of tobacco typically grown locally is the stuff that is the outer wrapping of cigars (of course we rotten kids didn't know that when we snitched leaves to dry and roll up in our notebook paper and try smoking - dumb kids!). Most farm boys raised a patch every year. Tobacco is very labor intensive, requiring topping at a specific time, and then being speared on lathe and dried in a special aerated part of the barn. Tobacco brought very good prices, and those boys used their tobacco money to buy hot cars. As time passed, there was less and less tobacco grown here. The prices dropped, and we switched to corn, soybeans, wheat, and a variety of other crops.
So it was odd to see so much tobacco out there. One of my brothers remarked on the same thing when I saw him last week. Could it be that the demand for corn (biodiesel fuel) has switched other parts of the country to a different crop, making tobacco prices worth growing it again? Anyhow, I guess that will remain to be seen. On that same trip, we also saw - for the first time in about 25 years - a field of wheat that was in shocks. Wow, I couldn't get my camera out in time, but I sure was surprised and thrilled to see that again. What's next? Snow fences?

New Stuff - and a SALE!

We have had a bang-up year so far at The Essential Herbal! Our subscriber rate is growing by leaps and bounds, and we feel very gratified. On top of that, the plants around us have been doing very well, supplying us with inspiration and lots of good food.
In honor of our good fortune, we'll be having a sale all during the week of the fourth. It starts tomorrow (Monday, July 2) and will run through July 8th. Just add the word BANG! to the comments section of the shopping cart, and we'll deduct 10%. Order over $44, and shipping is free. This sale does not include wholesale, subscriptions, or advertising . It does include everything else - books, t-shirts, and some new stuff that we'll introduce right now. These items can be found under "Essential Favorites" .

First up is our new Hiker's Releaf. A spray made by infusing jewelweed, plantain, and sage in apple cider vinegar, this is something you won't want to be without. Back in our Renaissance Faire days, we'd been to see Bertha Reppert speak, and she talked about using the vinegar with sage to dry up poison ivy. That very year, most of the cast members spent a day on the river, and came back with the rash. They found the elixir to be very helpful. Over the years, we've jazzed it up with jewelweed and plantain, making it even more useful, as in folk medicine plantain is often used for both poison ivy/oak and insect bites and stings. The jewelweed is very well known among herbalists for rashes caused by other plants - poison ivy/oak and stinging nettle, for instance. The 2 ounce bottle sells for $8.95

We also put together an "Outdoor Trio". This includes the Hiker's Releaf, a lovely bar of jewelweed soap (cold-process, all vegetable), and a Bug-Wand. The Bug Wand is a solid lotion bar in a convenient push up container. It is full of essential oils said to be helpful in repelling the bugs that love us so when we are out doing what we love - be it gardening, hiking, fishing, or any other outdoor activity. Sold separately, the items are $17.55. The kit is only $16.

We've started to carry the CobraHead gardening tool, too! Last year I did a review on the CobraHead. I usually get frustrated with just about any garden tool, and eventually just get in there with my fingers and start ripping. Not good. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that this tool didn't let me down. It is built to get in under the roots and pull them up without having to break a sweat or break a nail. It is stronger than anything I've used before, and now I don't want to be in the garden without it. $24.95 includes shipping!
We wrote about weaving lavender wands a few posts back, giving full instructions and lots of pictures. Even so, we know there are people who don't have the plant available and want one of those wands! We put them up on the site too. They are $7.50 each.
There are some other goodies too. Some are still on their way here - some old favorites from our shop days. Incense matches, some favorite incenses, herbal magic candles, and amber filled boxes! They'll be up in the next day or two.

I hope you'll find something you like, and help us celebrate!!!

Pygmalion and Galatea

This might not seem herbal, but I'll get to that eventually :-).

The oil painting of Pygmalion and Galatea was created by Jean Leon Gerome around 1890. The first time I ever saw it, we were visiting friends in NYC (see LittleBigVoice in the blogroll), and a large print was in their living room. For 3 days, I was transfixed with the image. Many times, paintings and pictures convey a feeling or thought, but for some reason, this one is soul wrenching.

The painting depicts Pygmalion, King of Cyprus, who in abject loneliness sculpts his ideal woman from ivory. Aphrodite brings her to life with an arrow.

We returned home, and the image haunted me until that following holiday season there was a print under the tree with my name on it. It hung in our dining room until my daughter told me it bothered her. Nudity in the dining room, pre-teen embarrassment... ok, it went to my room.

The image is about longing, but it represents so much more to me.

When I look at it, I see how we each in our own way, sculpt our lives. We take what we have and chip away or add to, until it is what we want or need.

Take the garden, for instance. We take a place that may be barren - or overgrown, and within that space create something that was only present in our mind's eye. All of life is filled with this passion and yearning. We learn to make things from the plants we grow. Some of us enjoy cooking, some make medicine, some wreaths and potpourris, soaps, and toiletries. No matter what it is, we are all taking a "lump of clay" and changing it into something we only see inside or feel in our hearts.

It's probably been more than a decade since this image became part of my home. It still moves me each time I look at it, reminding me that reality is of our own invention. What we create changes reality into something it wasn't before.

Personally, of course, I think about the magazine - how it began as a yearning to bring together the herbal community and be able to write regularly, and how passionate our contributors are about what they do. It certainly changed MY reality, and when I read letters from herb newbies, they write about their new-found love of plants. My sister does the same thing with molten glass, visualizing and creating what pleases her, and I am fortunate to be surrounded by a farm that was dreamed in a most beautiful design, and manifested and nurtured by capable hands (and a strong back).

So today, rearranging the things on the wall, it dawned on me that this painting illustrates the very essence of life for nearly all of the people I deal with on a day-to-day basis. They are all dreaming and conjuring their lives, making their own reality as they go. What a fortunate lot we are!

Morning has broken, like the first morning...

Cat Stevens was part of the soundtrack of my youth, and every time there is a particularly beautiful day, the song "Morning has broken" plays in my head as I sit in my office looking out over the acres and acres that stretch before me. Sometime in my late 30's, I was surprised to find the song on the program in a church one Sunday. I liked Cat's version better - more lilting.

On this particular morning, I was possessed with the desire to go find some berries. The blueberries have been giving me a handful each day to nibble on while weeding. There was some discussion on The Essential Herbal Yahoo group the other day about mulberries, and that made me think of the tree just out by the end of the near field. That - of course - reminded me that Bob had mentioned that the raspberries were starting to ripen over on the edge of the next field. So, 6:45, basket in hand, I set out.

Now mulberries are a funny thing. They are so common as to be a nuisance plant around here. The birds feast on them, and splatter cars with the magenta after-effects. The trees pop up everywhere, due to said after-effects. Some people don't even eat them, and I think that is because they are so common.

But to children (my sister excluded - she doesn't like them) they are a miracle! When Molly was a toddler, I could look out the kitchen window, and see a trail of clothing. That meant that I'd find her down by the mulberry tree. She was nothing if not tidy, and mulberries are very juicy. She'd be standing under the mulberry tree naked, eating her fill and singing to herself - smeared with juice from head to toe. The tree would be so laden with fruit that the boughs bent down almost to the ground. The best way to find mulberries is to stand under the branches where the fruit dangles under the leaves.

Just a couple years ago, a city-boy friend, who I happen to know LOVES berries told me he'd never had them. At that particular moment, I spied a tree just across the parking lot and swerved on over to pick some for him to try. They are a much under-rated fruit.
Mulberries can be used like any other berry, but has no tartness, so maybe a few drops of lemon juice might be required for some recipes. The stems are edible. Here's a recipe using mulberries along with other berries...
From Wild Foods for Every Table

Wildberry Slump
from Geri Burgert

1 c fresh ripe wineberries (Rubus phoenicolasius)
3 c fresh ripe dark mulberries
1 c all-purpose flour
1 c sugar
1 - 1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t salt
3/4 c whole milk
2 T unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Put berries in an ungreased 5 to 6 cup deep-dish pie plate and sprinkle with 3/4 cup sugar.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar into a bowl. Add milk and butter and stir with a whisk until smooth, then pour over berries.

Bake slump in the middle of the oven until the top is golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a raack and cool 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.


Along the way this morning, I picked some wild flowers. There is a whole drift of them that were planted last year, and have spread and continued to grow. The coreopsis and blanket flower have done the best, but blue cornflower, flax, heart's ease, batchelor's buttons, yarrow, and poppies didn't do too shabbily either.
It was a glorious stroll. The neighbors weren't up yet, and the dogs didn't notice me. At some point, I rounded a corner and surprised the guinea hens. Sensing the quiet of the morning, they didn't even set up their usual squawking.
There are a couple other flowers I snapped along the way. The first picture is Lupine. These are sweet spires of various colored flowers. Very striking. After a couple of tries with these at the old house, I almost gave up, but these did ok, so maybe we'll have them around. There was a book we used to read at bedtime called "The Lupine Lady" about a woman who lived in a little town, and people thought she was odd and stand-offish. Her main activity was to spread lupine seeds, and at some point in the story the kids wander over the top of a hill and find lupine spires for as far as the eye could see, giving them a different perspective of the old woman.
Lastly is the picture of Blue-eyed Grass. I can distinctly recall the first time I ever saw this plant. It was growing along the side of the road, in a ditch on the dirt road leading to our house in VA. There were so many of them, and the color is so vivid, that I screeched to a halt. I may have screamed too... you'd have to ask Molly. We dug up a little clump to transplant by the door, but (of course) the goats ate them. So this year, Putnum Hill had the plant for sale at Landis Valley, and I scooped one up, feeling like I'd found a box full of sapphires. They've bloomed everyday since they got into the gardens. No goats - hee hee hee.

Making Lavender Wands

Every year we enjoy this craft at The Essential Herbal. It isn't new, and I have no idea where it first came from, but I first saw it in Phyllis Shaudys' book Herbal Treasures. They make nice drawer sachets, and sweet little tie-ons for gifts. Besides, it is such a pleasant way to spend an hour or so in the garden.

We've taken a series of photos to show you how to make your own. If you miss a stem, or it doesn't look quite right, don't fret. It's LAVENDER, for Pete's sake! It's supposed to be relaxing. The first one will probably not turn out very well. Do a second, and you'll see improvement. Also, even though they take longer, it is actually easier to do the ones that have more stems.
To begin, choose an ODD number of stems of lavender. Grosso is a good choice because the stems are long and straight. Let the stems wilt - but not dry. These were left on the counter overnight.

Choose a ribbon to weave. For beginners, try using 1/4" rather than the 1/8" I've used here. You'll need a good yard of it to weave with, and another couple of feet for finishing.
After you've tied the ribbon snugly at the base of the blossoms (use one end of the ribbon to tie, leaving the rest of the ribbon free for weaving), begin bending the stems down over the blossoms. Try to bend them evenly so that they are spaced well. Enclose the short end of the ribbon inside the stems.

You'll wind up with a cage around the lavender flowers.

Begin weaving in and out. It is easiest to lift the stem, and slide the ribbon underneath. The first two rows are the hardest.

When you reach the bottom of the blossoms, it is time to tie it off. You'll find that it gets very confusing as you get to the bottom, because all of the stems are close together.

Cut another length of ribbon, and center the wand on it, tying the leftover weaving end along with the new ribbon. I used a square knot.






Twist one end down to the bottom of the stems.

Twist the other end in the other direction and tie at the bottom.

Add a bow at the top and trim the ends of the stem evenly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you'd like to try something just a little different: 

https://theessentialherbal.blogspot.com/2011/06/spiraled-lavender-wands.html

The Essential Herbal July/Aug 2007

Another terrific issue is starting to arrive in homes and shops. The deadline fell just 2 days after we arrived home from Baton Rouge, and the magazine almost put itself together. We were thrilled with the variety of articles and recipes. We think you will be too. We've heard from some subscribers nearby (PA and NY) who have already received their copies. Those of you that are further away may not see it for a couple more weeks. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason for delivery schedule. They all go out at the same time, but the different postal hubs throughout the country (and outside the US) seem to have their own timetables. So sit tight. It will be there by the Fourth of July.

Here's what we have inside:

July/August 2007 Table of Contents

Crossword Puzzle – Welcome Summer!
Field Notes from the Editor – Why do we garden?
Essential Oils and Eczema – Sarah Menefee
Never Enough Thyme – Susanna Reppert
Traveling Herb Seminar to some Herbal Treasures
Book Review – Katherine Turcotte
Botany in a Day: The Patterns of Plant Identification
Down on the Farm – Michele Brown and Pat Stewart
Native Plants in Tennessee
Salads for Summer Sizzle – Susan Evans
Delicious Dining from the Garden
Suburban Herbie – Geri Burgert
Slow State, Taking the Time to Look
Aromatherapy & Essential Oil Quality – Katherine Turcotte
Mountain Mary – Sue Hess
Legendary Healer of Olden Times
Hex Signs – Maryanne Schwartz
A Lesson on the Barn Décor of Lancaster County PA
List Article – What did you wait for all winter long?
An Herbal Garden Party – Betsy May
Recipes for the Perfect Picnic under the old maple tree.
The Pleasures of a Fragrance Garden – Mary Ellen Wilcox
Description of some fragrant plants, and some delightful uses
The Twisted Sisters Ride On – Tina Sams
Our trip to White Oak Plantation in Baton Rouge
Louisiana Lagniappe – Sarah Liberta
She named a recipe after the Twisted Sisters!
The Angel’s Plant – Maureen Rogers
Profile and recipes for Angelica
Bloody Marys on a Stick – Maggie Howe
Wild About Food – Kristine Farley
Eating local and wild!
Mother and Child – Pam Ferry
An Herbal Pregnancy, The countdown has begun.
Herb or ‘Erb – Bertha Reppert, submitted by Susanna Reppert
How do you say it?

I found my thrill....

...on blueberry hill.

You may have been following along with my blueberry saga. If so, you may be amused by the shelter we built - we being Molly and me.

The resident FAT groundhog has been eyeing up my berries, and there are legions of birds in the trees, so it was starting to keep me awake at night, worrying about those berries and the tiny plants that won't bear til next year.

I should allow that I am a thrifty person. Ok, ok, I'm cheap. We had some bamboo poles from the bamboo that grows down on the farm, and there was some old bird netting around, so gradually this plan formed in my overactive imagination. The main problem (up until the storm today that brought high winds and hail, that is) was that the bird netting was used before, and was in several pieces. It needed to be "sewn together in places - note the white string. It still needs to have bricks placed around the perimeter, but so far the ground hog has not ventured a try. I did see a bird trying to take some of the netting for a nest. Guess that's where the term "bird-brain" comes from.

Here is one of the plants in fruit. Some of the others won't be ripe for another month or more. Next year....

But alas, the storm came.

A couple of the poles decided that it might be easier to become a lean-to. We went out between storms and took the mallet to them. It is standing once more, but I need to think about this for a bit. Obviously this requires more planning. Or maybe an actual outlay of money.

Let's not talk about this anymore.



They'll be fine until tomorrow, and then I can devote more attention to a bigger and better plan.


Instead, let's move on to some of the plants that look like marijuana here on the property.


The first one is a plant that my mother planted. I don't have a clue what it is. At first, I thought it was a variety of elderberry. There is one with leaves that are cut like this, but as the summer wore on last year, there were no frothy blooms. In late July or August, it started to put out beautiful hibiscus-like flowers in the deepest of reds. There were only a few flowers and only one bloomed at a time, each for just a day or two. In winter, it dies back completely, leaving only a single tawny stalk. The new growth ignores that stalk, and sends out new ones.

Next we have the lovely little vitex tree-to-be. There is a second, larger vitex in the front yard, but neither is large enough to blossom this year. The leaves of these also made my daughter giggle, because they too resemble Marijuana leaves. This little beauty took forever to leaf out this spring, and I was just about to give up on it, thinking it had died. It went into the ground in late October last year, and had been an indoor potted plant that outgrew it's welcome at a friend's house. It has such a lush, beautiful growth habit, I'm happy it made it through its first winter. That bodes well for future winters.


Although this doesn't look like anything illicit I snapped a shot of the pink larkspur. There is deep purple right beside it, but that isn't blooming at the moment. Larkspur is one of my favorite flowers. It doesn't really have a scent that I can discern, and it doesn't "do" anything, but it is such a happy little flower with the lacy foliage, and the stalks of cheerful flowers.

Last but certainly not least, a report on the Mountain Mint that came back on the plane from Baton Rouge in my stuffed suitcase. For several weeks, it looked pretty raggedy. Can't blame it really, being smooshed in there for a whole day, with just a wet paper towel in a baggie. But to my great delight, it has rebounded and is making itself right at home by the railing next to the thyme and tarragon. It is the strongest mint I've ever smelled. Here's hoping there's enough next year to try a distillation! Maggie at Prairieland does a mountain mint distillate, and gets so many raves on it. Either way, it's a beautiful little plant, and very brave to travel so far from home.