Lately Dandelions have been getting some attention because they are among the 1st food sources for honeybees at the beginning of Spring. So, this year I waited a bit until the trees and other flowers started blossoming before I harvested ONLY the wide open flowering tops of dandelions to make Dandelion Wine! I've done this every year for the last 3 years and am in LOVE with both the process of picking and preparing and with the beautiful golden wine that results. My girls love to help pick flowers too!
I blogged about the recipe and process last Spring and am currently at the point in the process where I'm waiting for the must to activate with the yeast. In another day or so I'll bottle it up in a 1 gallon carboy.

Here's our haul

Quinn helped me "Pick and Pluck" this year!

Ani helped me stir the ingredients together for wine!

A lot of people plant Calendula or Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis) in their veggie gardens to keep the pests away.  It definitely has a potent, but not unpleasant scent to it and has both astringent and antibacterial properties. These healing properties make it a perfect candidate for drying and using as a healing "gardener's salve" to put on hands that have been digging in the garden without gloves, or have perhaps been a little overzealous in a blackberry patch.

There is a Native American herbal legend that says whatever grows in excess during the growing season is an indication of what kind of a cold/flu/viral season it's going to be.   See lots of  random "volunteer" Coltsfoot?  Expect croup to show up.  See lots of Mullein? Bad upcoming hayfever season... Etcetera.  I see no reason to doubt this theory, it seems as plausible as any.  And this year I see lots and LOTS of Purple Aster and Goldenrod (there's always lots of goldenrod, by the way). New York (Purple) Aster (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii) is known to be a fairly strong nervine and is sometimes prefered over Valerian for sedative and sleep-promoting purposes.  It is also traditionally used to help counteract asthma and other bronchial irritation.  So, traditionally, the abundance of purple aster is telling us to expect a very "bronchial/sleep deprived" cold and flu season.  I believe it!  My asthma has been abnormally terrible the last couple of weeks and there's a story all over the news about some new virus that's causing fairly severe bronchial distress.


Granted, we still have our humidifiers and antibiotics and Doctors and, in my case, albuterol inhalers, but wouldn't it be great to have to use that stuff less?!


I had a great time harvesting 2 gorgeous flowering weeds today and they often grow together:  Purple Aster, and Goldenrod flowering tops.  I made a tincture out of the purple aster and added some elderberries to the mix for extra "cough" help, and I made an infused oil out of the goldenrod which is supposed to work really well when rubbed externally into sore muscles. Can't wait to try the oil when I decide after the Holidays that it's time to shape up a little (this happens every year! HAHA!).

The Summer Solstice was a busy day around here! And the beer that resulted from my nettle harvest is ready (in just under 2 weeks).  It's carbonated, zingy with a large dose of citrus, and has the bitterness of mature nettle that is reminiscent of Cascade hops.

*side-note*    Mature stinging nettle, in our area, is bitter. Not completely unpalatable...but my kids and husband did not appreciate it in the soup that I made.  If you're using your nettle in a food recipe that you do not want to be mildly bitter, use young nettle early in the season.  I'll be trying this again next May, since I now know where there's a large patch of it.

And now, on to the beer!

For as long as I can remember, I've been enchanted by everything Victorian (and Renaissance, and Medieval, and... old).  I have seen plenty of recipes calling for rosewater for both bath and body and for baking. When the wild roses bloomed this year is huge CRAZY amounts in the backyard, I couldn't help myself.  Making my own rosewater was so easy to do and a really fun project.  I can't wait to try it out in some recipes which I plan to share on here as I go.  The Rosewater from this particular recipe is supposed to keep for up to 1 month in the refridgerator.

About a week and a half ago I brought my 2-year-old to the far side of the neighborhood pond.  She threw rocks and sticks in the water and picked a few early Daiseys, and then came home for a nap.  While we were out there, I noted that the Red Clover were high and almost ready to blossom and when I got home, I made note that last year's clover stash was dwindling. 


Lets rewind a bit here.  Whatever prompted me to make red clover flower tea in the first place?  Well, I read up on it a while back and found out these things regarding the effect of  this flower's estrogen and isoflavones on women who were dealing with infertility and other menstrual issues (it took us a year to get pregnant with child #1 due to some of the imbalances I was dealing with).  The medical community finds many of the claims made for the usefulness of Red Clover to be inconclusive, but does note that women use it to control symptoms of PMS etc and to even out estrogen levels (as long as the quantities taken aren't in excess).   Susun Weed, my favorite herbalist, attests "Dozens of women have told me that they had successful pregnancies after drinking a cup or more (up to four cups) a day of red clover infusion"  and notes that "An infusion (not tea, not tincture, not capsules) of red clover blossoms, leaves, and stems is not only very high in protein, macro- and trace-minerals, and vitamins (except B12), it is an excellent source of phytosterols. Phytosterols are hormone-like substances found in many plants that can be bio-converted in the human gut into active anti-cancer estrogens and other helpful anti-stress hormones. Calling phytosterols phytoestrogens is confusing, as it implies harmful, not protective, effects."

Well, I ended up finally getting pregnant with baby #1 during the winter months, and didn't get to try out the Red Clover idea (not safe for pregnant women, btw).  

HOWEVER!  18 months after my first baby was born, I decided that if I wanted to have another child, fairly close in age to my first, I should start getting my body back to healthy/fertility mode sooner than later.  Also, it was June at this point and the Red Clover were out and beautiful.   I picked a bagful and dried it over the next couple of weeks.  I started drinking the tea and THAT MONTH I found myself pregnant with baby #2!   I didn't even get to finish my stash.   Now, whether this was complete coincidence, phytoestrogens, restored trace minerals or what, I don't know...but this is my personal experience with Red Clover.

It also tastes nice as a tea or infusion (think "grassy" or fresh mown hay), looks pretty, is nutritionally beneficial, and it's FREE and abundant!


So, yesterday I took a shopping bag over to the far side of the pond and it was a good thing that I did... here's what I found: 



I picked just the ariel parts ( flowers and top leaves). Brought them home and spread them out on trays lined with paper toweling to dry.

I'm convinced 1 single layer is key to drying.  I've had people tell me they have problems with their flowers molding, but I've never run into this issue.  Just make sure to dry them in a well-ventilated area.


Dry for 2-3 weeks and then store in an airtight container.   My favorite way to prepare these is to take a handful and put it in a teapot and then cover it with boiling water.


Let it steep for a while, then enjoy!

... And don't say I didn't warn you if you find yourself pregnant out of the blue ;-)