Calendula

My calendula plants are doing amazingly well despite the gift of clay soil I gave it this spring. I snip them every week, sometimes several times, and still, they brighten up my flowerbeds with vibrant orange and yellow.  The object is---DON'T let them go to seed!!!  So I have screens of them drying, petals in anything edible that can stand it and jars of infusing oils on my windowsill. 

And, not that this has anything to do with calendula---but is worth celebrating nonetheless....I finally *FINALLY* finished weeding, haying and thinning the carrots!  I handed the thinnings to the children who took turns nibbling them like rabbits and when I was done, I whooped!  (I can't imagine what the roofers next door were thinking...)  There is only ONE more big job in the garden before the little, daily weed pluckings and that is doing the same thing as was done to the carrots, except to the beets.  But THAT day, I will get lovely beet greens with dinner as a reward.  

Happy Friday to you all and have a great weekend!

Tonight is the night!

I've got the honey chamomile cupcakes made,

the batches of peppermint tea and lavender lemonade chilling in the fridge,

and my hair amply POOFED for such an occasion. (the no-heat curling trick again. It either works beautifully or turns me into a poodle. I prefer the working beautifully, but it is the poodle look that gets the most 'ooooh's and aaaaahh's from the crowd of children.)

(please pardon the STILL not wallpapered bathroom...)

I guess all that is left is actually TEACHING the class on Herbs tonight.

It is at 7:00 if you want to come. ;-)

Ready or not....here I go!

A trip around the herb 'garden'

I use the term 'garden' loosely here, since I am no where near the someday place I envision.

There is....

oregano, chives, thyme, lemon balm, chamomile, a bit of dill, sage, the most luscious lemon verbena you have ever smelled, hyssop, lavender, rosemary, basil and of course, plenty of mint.

Not a day goes by where something is not either being dried or plucked by stubby, chubby fingers by the handful upon Mama's request.

What is so lovely about herbs is that the more they are used, the more they thank you with bounty. So I am never afraid to use them. In fact, my lavender has given me FOUR (so far) new growth periods this year because I keep cutting all the buds to dry!

Many of my herbs are in pots and I bring them in during the winter months to enjoy fresh herbs all year long; they do surprisingly well, only whimpering for warm sunshine around midmarch/april....just about the time they can be put back outside. But I do hope someday, to have a garden like this:




(forewarning: video is narrated in Japanese. But who needs words, anyway?)

Chamomile

Harvesting the heads of my chamomile flowers and drying on an old screen.

They thank me by producing three times as many.