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.

Wild Blackberry Cordial

This article/recipe is from the Jul/Aug '04 issue of The Essential Herbal. Christie Sarles from radicalweeds.com wrote it, and it is a recipe that readers have stretched and changed to make all sorts of cordials that include different fruits and herbs.

Wild Blackberry Cordial

This delicious, nutritious, and very simple recipe literally spans the growing season here in northern New England, combining one of the glories of the late summer harvest with the very first taste of early spring. I make it in gallon batches and decant into interesting little bottles for holiday giving, but you can easily make less-- or more!-- using the same proportions of ingredients.

Pick enough berries to fill a clean glass jar in the size of your choice at least a third, and up to a half, full. I use about two quarts of berries for a gallon of cordial. If those lovely wild blackberries don't grow in your neighborhood, you can substitute raspberries or blueberries. The little wild blueberries will give your cordial a more intense flavor than the larger cultivated ones, but either way blueberries are relatively tough-skinned and you will need to macerate them - crush or grind coarsely - before adding the other ingredients.

Fill the jar to the top with equal parts of maple syrup and brandy. I usually use E&J brandy, but any decent variety of 80 proof brandy will do fine. As for the maple syrup, I like the dark, late-season Grade B syrup because it has the strongest maple taste and contains more minerals than the three lighter Grade A syrups produced earlier in the sugaring season. You can use whatever grade of maple syrup you prefer, but please make it real. Don't use the artificial stuff!!

Put the cover on the jar and shake to mix. Label, date, and leave the fruit to infuse for at least 10 days, and up to 6 weeks. Shake occasionally when you think of it. Strain out the fruit (marvelous over ice cream) and decant the cordial into glass jars or bottles. Keeps for years without refrigeration - but I guarantee it won't last that long!

A Morning in Early June

From my office window, I see the rolling hills covered with row upon row of conifers. Soon the trimming will commence and the air will be filled with the fresh green scent of the different pines and firs. Balsam and Concolor are closest to the house, and their scents just happen to be my favorites. If you've never smelled the Concolor Fir, its needles have the scent of citrus mingled with pine. It's luscious!

This year we decided to put in a lot of different blueberries, just on the inside of the split-rail fence. I mail-ordered 6, and they arrived as tiny sticks. There will be no berries on those plants this year, so I found a couple of big plants that will bear fruit this year at nearby garden centers. One is almost ready to turn color, and the other will be ripe later in the season, as they are different varieties. I'm keeping an eye out for a few more. They are so good for you, and when I buy the berries my daughter will eat the whole quart in a sitting. I figure the only way I'll ever actually get any to eat would be to grow them myself - enough that she'll tire of them. It doesn't seem right to complain that the child is so enamoured of such a healthy food, so until they are all bearing fruit, I'll be content with some tasty tea brewed up with the leaves mixed with some leaves from the many wild raspberries around here and the rose hips covering the hillside. In the patch, I've also stuck the mountain mint that came home from Baton Rouge (right in front of the one post), and a couple elderberry plants from Possum Creek Herbs in TN, along with a Witch Hazel plant that some resident animal snapped off a few inches up the stem. I think it will survive, though. The Pawpaw tree from Maureen's old yard doesn't look so good. I didn't have the heart to include that in the picture, although the birds love to sit on it and eye the berries as they get ready to ripen. I'm already planning the netting to keep them from getting them all. Anyway, as I looked at the little plot of soil, it crossed my mind that dirt from all over the country had been introduced into this little area. It's a well-traveled little plot.

I'll try to remember to take a shot at the end of summer to compare how they've grown.

The last few days have been intense here on the farm, but all is resolving slowly. We had some rain (finally), and I went out to look around at how well the weeds are doing. Everything has taken a giant leap - including the groundhog, who found the peas and seems to love the tender shoots at the tips of the plants. Grrrr.... The chamomile (German, Matricaria) that I rescued from the nearby construction site has made itself quite at home in the little plot we gave it, and is happily going to seed. Next year there will be enough to distill, I hope.

Next up, a half-barrel bucket of lamb's quarters. Before last year's move to the farm, all of the gardening was done in the buckets. They are still nice for certain things. The saffron bulbs are safe from the bunnies in one of them, and last summer, this particular container held cherry tomatoes and basil plants. It is now filled with my very favorite wild greens, and I've decided to let it go so that they will be easily accessible for salads and cooking. They are another very nutritious wild food, and considering the price of produce this year at the store, they taste better than ever.

Lots of wild greens are coming up. Another month and the raspberries will have me battling through the brush with a pail.

Now it's time to get to work on the mailing so those magazines can hit the post office tomorrow!

Be careful what you wish for!

Yesterday I was jabbering about being rushed and spending so much time in the garden. It seemed like there was a never ending list of chores to be done, all of them a pleasure, all of them things I love to do, but I was whining nevertheless.
In the course of the next 12 hours, my top two menfolk both wound up in the hospital. Suddenly all of that other stuff became so unimportant. All I cared about was them getting better. They will. They'll be fine. And all of the things that really NEED to be done will be done. Some will fall by the wayside, and nobody will even notice.

When my sister and I had our herb shop, we were very determined to succeed, and we did very well. We opened our full-time shop within two weeks of opening our renaissance faire shop for the season. We started holding weekly classes, and soon started accepting speaking engagements. We participated in lots of festivals and fairs, trying to find our niche and get our name out there. We learned to make soap, and sold it in both shops, eventually stretching to sell wholesale (which Maryanne still does). It worked, and the shop was successful almost from the beginning. But our kids and marriages suffered. We were always in a tailspin, cramming more and more into every day until there wasn't a minute to spare.
We had to stop. We changed our lives.

Now that we have our own separate businesses, we still work together, helping each other in tight spots. Our natural tendency to start stuffing our days has reared its ugly head again, and once again we found the month of May to be overwhelming, culminating in the last few days of May and the first weekend of June becoming almost impossibly full.

Imagine our surprise to find both of our men ill. The fast train ground to a halt, and the silence is palpable.

Ok. I get it. I'm listening. The roses need smelling and the lavender wands await weaving. Quiet, peaceful pleasurable pursuits. The rest is all a facade anyway.

Death by Gardening

I'm pretty sure there is such a thing, and I'm also pretty sure it has a hold on me. Every day, I stride purposefully past the basket of laundry, the debris from last week's great furniture swap, and the unread newspaper, and grab my trusty shovel and basket of gardening implements.
Oh, I try to resist. Really I do; but it is right outside the office window, and stretches out past the row of pines that might otherwise protect me from the siren's song. Each morning I NEED to see what is blooming and what survived another night of deer browsing. One of the new plants might need a drink! One of the weeds might need a yank. One of the groundhogs might need a good scare. It's pathetic. I can see that.
The heat drives me inside during the middle of the day, but after dinner the itch returns. I marvel at how good I've become with the shovel. Last year, the blade would only turn up small, delicate divots. All the force would toss me off balance while the rocky soil mocked my futile attempts. This year the shovel hits its mark and turns up big clods of dirt. By Jove, I think I've got it!
Each evening ends with a mud-streaked face, fingers sore and stained, and knees and back aching. The sunset is always beautiful from the deck where I cool off before going inside. Life is so good!

It's been a while since I've posted - not since the magazine deadline. We got the proof for the next issue approved, so it should start printing next week. I worried that this might be a scanty issue because of all the things herbies need to do in May, but that was all for naught. I wrote about our trip, there's another article about a traveling herbal seminar. Another came in about a legendary local herbalist from "way back", and we got so many recipes to use with our harvests! It filled up so beautifully, and we even got a new writer on board who will be reviewing books and interviewing authors in this and upcoming issues. We've already got a couple articles stored away for the Sept/Oct issue! With the new postal rates, we've decided that we really need to stick to 32 pages - no matter what. That may mean smaller type - heh heh heh. Anyway, that's where I've been, getting all of that put to bed. You're going to love this issue, of that I am certain.

Off to picnic with the crew - hope your weekend is green and dirty :-).

Planting Patio Herbs in Containers

From the Jul/Aug '02 issue of The Essential Herbal , and written by Johann McKee. (Be sure to read Johann's poem at the bottom of the post.)

Planting Patio Herbs in Containers

First of all, herbs need three things when grown in a container: sunlight, air circulation, and well-drained soil. The plants should be kept a little on the dry side so it is best to choose containers that have drainage holes.

There are many soil mixtures available now in garden shops. If you plan to mix your own, you might want to consider these four ingredients in equal parts: topsoil from your yard, coarse perlite (not vermiculite), peat moss, and coarse sand. Homemade compost can be substituted for peat moss.

Most herbs respond to a little fertilizer. The simple organic method is to use one cupful of dried cow manure or bone meal to a bushel of potting soil. There are many natural fertilizers available on the market; simply follow the directions on the container. Feeding the herbs twice a month should be sufficient.

Containers are the next thing to consider. The porous containers made out of wood or terra cotta seem to work best. The down side of clay posts is they tend to crack if left outside over winter. It would be necessary to store them in a sheltered area such as an unheated garage or basement if the herb contained perennials.

What herbs would you like to plant? For me, I would plant the ones that I would actually use and they would be oregano, basil, thyme, savory, sweetbay, sage, cilantro, parsley, French tarragon, and rosemary. Of these, rosemary, bay, and sage would prefer being in their own individual pots. The other perennials - oregano, tarragon, thyme, and cilantro could live together in one pot. Helpful hint: pinch back the tips or flower buds of the basil to keep it from going to seed, thereby prolonging its season.

Harvesting can be done anytime, but for best flavor, it is best to do it before the plant blooms. Snip them early morning after the dew has dried. Small bunches may then be hung to dry in a dark airy area. Other methods of preserving/drying include screens, paper towels and on cookie sheets in a 200 degree oven. When dry, strip the leaves and store in glass jars in a dark area. Fresh herbs may also be put in freezer bags and stored in the freezer.

Finally, herbs are not usually bothered by insects. Bay is the exception. Scale seems to love it and the only safe treatment is to wash each bump with alcohol or insecticidal soap. Santolina and pennyroyal can be planted close to culinary herbs as they keep bugs away. I have had a carpet of pennyroyal growing inside my garden gate for many years and the only bugs that give me grief are leaf minors on the chard and squash borers in the zucchini.
I hope some of this info is helpful to you. Please let The Essential Herbal know how it goes. Happy Gardening, Johann.

SPRING
by Johann McKee

Hunkered down at the edge of Spring.

Listen......
Through the shrieks and laughter of children
Playing in the warming sun

Listen......
Through the songs and frantic chirps of birds
As they rush to build their nests

Listen.....
Through the groan and hum of tractors
As they plow the barren fields

Listen....listen......hear them?
Deep in the earth, the birthing cries
Of a thousand seeds, as they burst into life
And begin their upward climb toward a light
They can only sense
But have never seen.

Herb Faire FUN!

Landis Valley Herb Faire held their 20th faire this past weekend, and it didn't disappoint us. Never does. It is a profitable venue, but it is much, much more than that. Over the years we've found that it is a chance to meet other herb vendors, buy great original, handmade works of art, find unusual plants, and see our customers in person.

In the "old days" our customers were people we had already met - either from the Renaissance Faire or our own shop. It was a chance to visit with them in a different setting, and a great place to debut new products or books.

Now with the internet, all of that has changed. Many times we find that we have wonderful relationships with people we've never met. That means that a faire like this, that draws from several states, gives us the opportunity to meet many friends for the first time. It is terrific and exhilarating!

But... even more fun is the regular "gang" in our tent. We've known Susanna Reppert from The Rosemary House almost from the very beginning of our herbal sojourn. Barb and Fred Will from Sugar Grove Herbs we met within a year or two after that, and more recently, Mike "the Emu oil guy" - sorry, that's all I've got :-) has become part of this merry band. We all set up in the back half of one of the circus tents, and the atmosphere is almost party-like. We take money for each other, give critiques, and just contribute to the general hilarity. For instance, Susanna held off bringing a product until Barb sold all of hers - bringing a rousing cheer whenever Barb sold one. None of us are really in competition with each other, so there is a real joint effort.

And then there is Fred, the "tent husband". Barb very generously offers Fred's help (and Fred is just as generous!) whenever there is something heavy or too-high to be moved. A true gentleman of the highest order, Fred has some very special products of his own, coopering buckets and creating intricate barn stars - a barn decoration unique to Somerset Co. PA, where they live. You can see some of them in the background of the picture of our booth.

Late in the day, I wandered past the Heirloom Seed Project area, and saw Fred among a group of men, sitting and talking about their various historical reproduction projects that consume them. The scene reminded me of the old thresherman's reunions that we would attend with our grandfather way back when.

We came home (with raindrops just beginning to hit the windshield - what timing!) feeling very satisfied and content. A spectacular couple of days, filled with laughter, good people, and lots of sharing. It is such a cool thing to hang with other people who share your dreams and visions. Add to that the sharing of ideas and ways of doing things that you hadn't thought about, and you have a rejuvenation of spirit.

In such a busy time of year for herbies, this was a dream weekend.

Oh!

and just because I think I have the most specialest kid in the world, here's a pic of Molly (in green) and her friend Lanie goofing around before the prom on Saturday night.

Good kids, they had fun dancing the night away. They went in a "gang" and just had a ball.

She'd kill me if she knew this was here. Hahaha.

The Twisted Sisters Ride On - Baton Rouge

We just returned from a whirlwind tour of Baton Rouge, led by the intrepid Sarah Liberta, and her terrific accomplice Charlene Bishop. Those two women know where all the best food can be found, and were determined that we should get a sampling. It was a delicious trip - in every way. The purpose of the trip was to present a program at White Oak Plantation, owned and operated by Chef John Folse. I'll be writing an article in the next few days for the July/August issue of The Essential Herbal, so I won't go into too much detail, but that place is a plant lover's heaven on earth. Sarah is Director of Education on the plantation, and we took the still down for a demo, and did a quickie demo on making balms and salves while we were at it. Here you see Charlene resting under the jasmine arbor. Sigh....
We walked around the grounds a bit the first day to get a feel for the place. This is a view of a tiny portion of the lake. The plants that grow there are not seen in our part of the country, and we were astounded.
After finishing up the program, we headed back to Sarah's to hang out for a little while before heading out for yet another smorgasbord of Cajun gastronomical delights. They were lamenting the fact that lavender doesn't grow well in the humid weather of Baton Rouge, and they had never had the pleasure of making lavender wands - although both had a desire to try it. We came up with the idea of using another fragrant plant that does grow well there (again, gotta save some stuff for the article) and we sat around the table trying our hands at it. They turned out beautifully. Here, Charlene, Maryanne, and Sarah work on the wands and share in friendly chatter. Did I mention that this was a simply wonderful visit?
On the trip home, I looked out the plane window to see the quiltwork of farmland below that we call home. The windows were a little misty, and there was a slight cloud cover, but you can see Dauphin County, PA below. The fields are just beginning to fill out, and in another month will be varying shades of green, amber, and tans.
It was so much fun to be out as the Twisted Sisters again. It had been a while since we'd been introduced that way, and you know... that's just who we are :-).

Early May - a day in my life

May in Pennsylvania is breathtaking. April brought all the fleeting wild flowers that most people never see (the bloodroot, the trilliums, and various other beauties of the forest floor). May is spring for "everyman". This comes earlier or later in other parts of the country, but for us it is May. The practice of hanging small cones of flowers on neighbors' doors as a child was quite a challenge. That first day of May would have but some dogwood, tulips, and forget-me-nots. Dandelions would be everywhere, of course, and violets are common enough if you had the fortitude. Bunches of violets were only for special people. We have almost an equal number of yellow violets growing here. They are a bit unusual, but more common in woodlands than lawns and gardens, I suppose. Yellow violets are also edible - like the blue and purple and white, but may be mildly cathartic. They don't seem as tasty to me, but it might be the color. I enjoy eating the "pretty" ones more.
One week later, the lilacs, lily of the valley, and many more tulips are waving their beautiful heads. The bleeding hearts are in full bloom, and some of the early perennials in the garden are seriously thinking about sending out shoots. Trees that were completely bare except for buds a couple of weeks ago, are green and lush, filled with love-crazed birds, furiously building nests.
I went walking in my favorite woods alone the other day. I don't particularly like going alone, for several reasons. #1- there is nobody there to see the amazing discoveries that one is sure to find. #2 - it has always creeped me out a bit. I worry a little about animals and as much as the silence brings a sense of timelessness, it is just not as much fun.
The first thing I noticed was that whatever animal found the wild ginger to be irresistable last year, is still of the same opinion. You can see the blooms in the picture, and if you follow the leaf stems, you'll note that a couple of the leaves are completely gone. This was a very leafy plant last week.
The creek was low, so I wandered down the middle of it for a bit. Off in the distance, there is a dead deer, and the smell hit me. Eventually, I noticed that the smell lessened as I got closer, which meant that there was something else. I hate that. It's a part of nature, and of being outside, but I have to admit that it bothers me a lot.
So this day, being alone, I decided to hike up the far side of the creek, and back out to the road along a field, to avoid running into whatever I'd missed going in.
From above, the scene looks very different. The creek and the cabin are both very distant, it appears, and the foliage and flowers are different than what grows in the thick of the shade. The climb was good too, as my "mountain goat" tendencies come out on a climb, and I enjoy finding footholds.
This week we'll head to Baton Rouge. I am very interested in seeing what natives grow there. The camera is already packed, and it will probably also be an article for the next issue of the magazine.