Summer Solstice Sun Tea Recipes
The clouds make way, the night lessens, and the sun shines brightly as ever. It is the summer solstice—the longest day of the year! On this day, the sunbeams high in the sky, proudly providing warmth and light. A new season is ushered in, with the hope of a successful harvest to follow. The summer…
Rose and Vanilla Honey Recipe
Rose and vanilla honey is a wonderful gift idea for someone you love. Containing ingredients known for their association with romance and love, this simple honey is sure to be a hit to the heart. Rose (Rosa spp.) is such a loving plant and is a wonderful addition to any love potions meant for others…
DIY Spring Herb Salve With Lavender, Calendula, and Rose
Fresh slow-infused calendula drips through a strainer sending drops of gold liquid splashing to the bottom of the glass. Next to it a jar filled with sweet lavender oil fills the room with a soothing aroma. A glittering of copper paints the wall as the sun hits the lid to my rose-infused oil. This right…
Meadowsweet Tea With Rose
This meadowsweet tea recipe offers a chance to calm the mind and gently soothe aches and pains while hydrating the body. A great way to practice self-care, this cup of herbal tea contains ingredients known to quiet a busy mind. Also known as Queen of the Meadow, meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) flower appears to have analgesic…
Herbal Bath Tea with Chamomile & Rose
Herbal bath tea makes a wonderful homemade gift, especially if that gift recipient is you! By blending together botanicals known for their nervine effects, this recipe includes chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) flowers and rose (Rosa spp.) petals to combine relaxation with aromatics. Chamomile contains a flavonoid, apigenin, thought to be the source of the plant’s sedative…
Mom’s Raspberry Leaf Tea with Lady’s Mantle and Mint
Raspberry (Rubus spp.) leaf mixed with members of the rose and mint families come together in this new mother’s tea recipe, making the most of herbs and botanicals that are known for their association with pregnancy and postpartum health. Mineral-rich and aromatically soothing, this raspberry leaf tea with mint (Mentha spp.) leaf and lady’s mantle…
Hawthorn Berry Homemade Cordial
Harvesting hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) berries in late fall can produce a basket of sweet red berries ideal for a vitamin-rich homemade cordial (Harford,2020). Blended with seasonal favorites, including apple, rosehip (Rosa spp.), and cinnamon (Cinnamomum spp.), this hawthorn berry homemade cordial is sure to delight and soothe. The hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) tree offers many gifts:…
How To Use Rose for Grief Support
I believe that the world was created and approved by love, that it subsists, coheres, and endures by love, and that insofar as it is redeemable, it can be redeemed only by love. –Wendell Berry I’ve been thinking a lot about the briar lately—or more specifically, the rose. I see a need for the actions…
9 Edible Flowers And How To Use Them
The use of edible flowers in cooking is an act of pure earthly delight! Fragrance and sheer beauty combine to create a truly sensually scrumptious experience right on your plate. You may be surprised to learn that there are a wide variety of flowers to enjoy. Discover how to enjoy using edible flowers and take…
How to Make and Use Rose Water
There are many well-known herbal flowers I’ve had the privilege of using over the years…lavender, chamomile, calendula…all very popular in any herbal arsenal. But one flower that I’ve often overlooked and kept in the “for decoration only” category, has recently caught my attention for its wonderful herbal properties. The beautiful, fragrant rose. For years I…
