What's Growing On
Summer Summer - Hot Hot Summer! 2024
Here we are deep in summer, harvesting, infusing oils, making tinctures and teas. Using all the goodness that Mother Nature has giving us and using to make beautiful products. Garlic has been harvested and the Elderberries are doing growing and it looks to be a bumper crop year!
I started sweet potato slips this year and it's a huge learning curve. But enjoying to see the slips grow and get big and hopefully produce! My strawberries fatten up a few chipmucks, sadly but I have a bunch of babies coming a new plan for next year.
I've added 5 more Lavender Plants to the garden and the Mullien, Milk Thistle are doing great! St. Johns Wort blessed me and showed up along with Evening Primrose.
Looking at putting together my first workshop to talk about infused oils and how we can use them in roller or salves.
That's it for now!
Enjoy the heat!
Love and Light
Deep Winter - 2024
We are in February where the days are getting a longer but the temps are fighting us to get that feeling of warmth that these long days bring.
On a different side, embracing our winter months here in New England helps us get our daily allowance of Vitamin D - necessary to beat seasonal depression.
Which brings me to another key piece of our lives that we need - Sleep. Sleep gives us a good tool to help beat stress. Essential Oils of Lavender and Valerian are good to help give the body the necessary tools to quiet the mind to help you fall and stay asleep. Applying either of those Oils to the bottom of your feet is the easiest and one of the best places to apply - as your feet have the biggest pores to allow the Oils to quickly go where they are needed.
Another great option for sleep is to infuse Chamomile and Lavender herbs - fully dried to not build any mold - in a fatty carrier oil - such as Olive Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil or Avocado Oil. Reminder - check for allergies to any carrier oil you use. Fill a jar 1/2 way with herbs and then fill the jar, leaving 1 inch of head space and label and store in a dark place - such as a cabinet over your stove or in a pantry - for 6 weeks. Strain and then you can rub this Infused Oil on your feet. You an also make a tea using fresh herbs. I'll be creating a video on this, so keep an eye out for that.
Enjoy your winter months - stay healthy!
Love and light!
Early Winter 2023
It has been such a strange winter here in New England. We go from having tons of rain, warm weather - to a blizzard! And within 3 days, it was all gone. The weather pattern makes this skier a bit on a the anxious side!
In between waiting for more snow, I've started my Herbalist certification training! I'm very excited about this as it pairs well with my Essential Oil Blending training and my love for creating awesome lovely products for everyone! I can't wait to share what I'm learning!
As I wait for more snow, I'll be sowing some different herbs to make infused oils with and to create more products to share with all of you!
August 2023:
August has come in with cooler and dryer temps. The garden is still growing strong. As with anything we want to flourish, we must continually nourish our gardens - compost, watching for bugs/beetles and generally talk sweetly to all your flowers and vegetables! My learning this year has shown me that 'weeds' are really great medicine - Plantain is anti-inflammatory and may help in reducing inflammation and reduce pain and swelling. Then there is Jewelweed - a must have for those who are sensitive to poison ivy! I'm currently infusing both to creates salves - which I very excited about. I will also be adding Essential Oils to add more benefits to the salves.
That's it for now! Let me know if you have any questions!
Summer of 2023:
I think we have hit the dog days of summer a little bit early! It's been a very hot/humid/rainy gross July here in the NorthEast. But the good thing! The garden is growing leaps and bounds. I'll update some of the pics I took a month ago from the ones in the slide show!
Let's talk about bugs - you know the annoying ones - knats, noseeums, mosquitoes and the dreaded deerflies! These little annoyances hate herbs that we humans love - Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Lemon Balm. Add in Citronella and Eucalyptus and you get one powerful spray.
You can infused the herbs in Witch Hazel let it soak for at least a week if not longer to get it nice a potent. Give it a whirl! Let me know if you do and how it works for you!
You can also use Essential Oils to make your spray. Always use a high quality practitioner grade Essential Oils.
Spring and Summer 2023:
Oh the growth! Oh the addition of herbs and flowers and vegetables! The pictures are just so lovely! Seems like every day there is more growth, more green more love!
I'm am creating a 'bug aversion' planter. Herbs are our best friend and to most flying annoyances, they are exactly that. A little Catnip, Basil, Thyme, Lemongrass and Lavender. The strong scent of these herbs will help keep bugs at bay.
Another option are smudge sticks of Sage, Lavender and other herbs mentioned above. The high level of citronellal from Lemon Balm and Lemon Thyme, bugs detest. Burning Sage along with Lavender and other herbs keep bugs away also. The smoke of the sage with the chemical properties of linalool and camphor of the herbs, make the bugs stay away also.
Herbs don't only make for a tasty meal but they help us in so many other ways!
Have any other questions? Send me an email! Have a wonderful day!
March into April of 2023:
Spring has marched right into our lives. I have built my own seed starting mixture this year. Using a well known mixture of 3 parts compost, 2 parts peat moss and 1 part perlite. The blend is now melding in my garage and I'll be starting all my seeds over the next week. I am moving heavy into more herbs so those will be first to sow. Right behind them will be peppers ( and I'm rather late starting them) then tomatoes, cukes an squash. Once I get the seeds in, I'll be posting what I'm starting and why each one has a special place in my raised beds.
The elderberry bushes are starting to bud - and even my loooong root sprouted up 5 new plants. As soon as the rain stops, I'll post a pic of them. As most of us know, elderberry is a great herb for building immunity and helping when one is feeling yucky or a cold coming on. With our immune systems still a bit out of whack with C** folks are struggling with more colds and some of them nasty. Elderberry is a great add to any medicine cabinet.
Spring also brings seasonal allergies. I have catnip infused tincture I'll be adding to my bug spray this year. Catnip has a long history of being known for it's powerful repellent action on insects, especially mosquitoes. A blend that is helpful for seasonal allergies is Lemon, Lavender and Peppermint. This is a powerful blend that can help open up sinuses and give a boost to your immunity and while soothing and calming.
I'm off till the rains stop and I can pics.. In honor of my best friend - Love and Light to all.
December 2022
Here in New England we haven't had snow yet in the suburbs, but the mountains of NH and ME have. But as what has become normal, the snows take longer to come. Snow is critical to the land and flowers/herbs. It helps the plants to grow strong bones to grow big and strong. Our winter herbs will go dormant and look 'sad' , but they are building strong bones for the harvest that will come.
On the Dec 21st at 4:47pm, we enter the Winter Solstice. Hunkering down, counting blessing and planning planning for the harvest that will come. Seeds start as early at mid-February, right after the big ski trip north. To me winter is lovely.. A beautiful winter Wedding or celebrating the new life with a baby shower to gifting your best friend a basket full of love!
Here's to your happy Winter Solstice - celebrate the Winter and all the blessing Spring will give us!
Love and Light
/Penny
November 2022
I'd like to talk about how I winter over and how I use warm months to help get through the coming cold months. Bringing in herbs can help warm your home up by their beauty and stamina. A trait I admire in the plant world.
As a complete aside - I am lover of all things winter - I ski, snowshoe and play as much as I can in the cold months. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the darkness - which leads me to share this:
Winter brings cold, stillness and almost a loss. This is where summer or the warmer months come into play. Our garden harvests can be brought inside - either as dried herbs or by transplanting.
If transplanting -
Choose 1 or 2 herbs that were in the ground or in containers, bring them inside and you have the beginnings of a strong winter warmth. If dried, let them sit for approximately 3 weeks, then remove from stems and store them in a jar. These can be added, as needed to any food choices you need.
Good choices to transplant/container are parsley, rosemary they will winter over nicely. Give them a sunny window a little drink once a week and they will be fine.
Basil does not winter over easily but sometimes they produce up February. In February things start to swing back. mmm...
If you bring herbs in -
Any container herb can come in during the winter and will go dormant in the winter, water every week or 2, because they need to sleep and grow strong. They will tell you when it's time to water more - you will see new growth, a shoot here or there or the ever loving new bloom!
There is a unique difference between the plant and the essential oil that I would like to share:
This is the Rosemary I have brought in - 2 plants that are sitting in a sunny window. Fresh Rosemary is a great herb to add to many winter meals - chili, stew, soups. It can be safely used unless you have a previous sensitivity to the herb.
Rosemary essential oil that has been distilled, it's potency will be, as with all Practitioner grade Essential Oils, much more intense than the herb . It is recommended to start slow and research.
Rosemary EO is great Immune support, Respiratory Support and Nervous system. It may stimulate memory and may help clear the conscious mind. Caution is required as this oil is not recommended for pregnant women or folks with high blood pressure on medication - it is a great oil to help with low blood pressure. It helps tremendously when there is transition occurring - a new home, new school, relationship.
Essential Oils are wonderful powerhouses to help in so many ways. Different than an herb or flower's strength and each has it's purpose. If you have any questions or want to ask more in depth questions or just have a conversation - send me an email. I'm growing my herbal collection and learning daily - just like a lot of us.
In the words of my favorite person - Love and Light
/Penny
Here we are deep in summer, harvesting, infusing oils, making tinctures and teas. Using all the goodness that Mother Nature has giving us and using to make beautiful products. Garlic has been harvested and the Elderberries are doing growing and it looks to be a bumper crop year!
I started sweet potato slips this year and it's a huge learning curve. But enjoying to see the slips grow and get big and hopefully produce! My strawberries fatten up a few chipmucks, sadly but I have a bunch of babies coming a new plan for next year.
I've added 5 more Lavender Plants to the garden and the Mullien, Milk Thistle are doing great! St. Johns Wort blessed me and showed up along with Evening Primrose.
Looking at putting together my first workshop to talk about infused oils and how we can use them in roller or salves.
That's it for now!
Enjoy the heat!
Love and Light
Deep Winter - 2024
We are in February where the days are getting a longer but the temps are fighting us to get that feeling of warmth that these long days bring.
On a different side, embracing our winter months here in New England helps us get our daily allowance of Vitamin D - necessary to beat seasonal depression.
Which brings me to another key piece of our lives that we need - Sleep. Sleep gives us a good tool to help beat stress. Essential Oils of Lavender and Valerian are good to help give the body the necessary tools to quiet the mind to help you fall and stay asleep. Applying either of those Oils to the bottom of your feet is the easiest and one of the best places to apply - as your feet have the biggest pores to allow the Oils to quickly go where they are needed.
Another great option for sleep is to infuse Chamomile and Lavender herbs - fully dried to not build any mold - in a fatty carrier oil - such as Olive Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil or Avocado Oil. Reminder - check for allergies to any carrier oil you use. Fill a jar 1/2 way with herbs and then fill the jar, leaving 1 inch of head space and label and store in a dark place - such as a cabinet over your stove or in a pantry - for 6 weeks. Strain and then you can rub this Infused Oil on your feet. You an also make a tea using fresh herbs. I'll be creating a video on this, so keep an eye out for that.
Enjoy your winter months - stay healthy!
Love and light!
Early Winter 2023
It has been such a strange winter here in New England. We go from having tons of rain, warm weather - to a blizzard! And within 3 days, it was all gone. The weather pattern makes this skier a bit on a the anxious side!
In between waiting for more snow, I've started my Herbalist certification training! I'm very excited about this as it pairs well with my Essential Oil Blending training and my love for creating awesome lovely products for everyone! I can't wait to share what I'm learning!
As I wait for more snow, I'll be sowing some different herbs to make infused oils with and to create more products to share with all of you!
August 2023:
August has come in with cooler and dryer temps. The garden is still growing strong. As with anything we want to flourish, we must continually nourish our gardens - compost, watching for bugs/beetles and generally talk sweetly to all your flowers and vegetables! My learning this year has shown me that 'weeds' are really great medicine - Plantain is anti-inflammatory and may help in reducing inflammation and reduce pain and swelling. Then there is Jewelweed - a must have for those who are sensitive to poison ivy! I'm currently infusing both to creates salves - which I very excited about. I will also be adding Essential Oils to add more benefits to the salves.
That's it for now! Let me know if you have any questions!
Summer of 2023:
I think we have hit the dog days of summer a little bit early! It's been a very hot/humid/rainy gross July here in the NorthEast. But the good thing! The garden is growing leaps and bounds. I'll update some of the pics I took a month ago from the ones in the slide show!
Let's talk about bugs - you know the annoying ones - knats, noseeums, mosquitoes and the dreaded deerflies! These little annoyances hate herbs that we humans love - Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Lemon Balm. Add in Citronella and Eucalyptus and you get one powerful spray.
You can infused the herbs in Witch Hazel let it soak for at least a week if not longer to get it nice a potent. Give it a whirl! Let me know if you do and how it works for you!
You can also use Essential Oils to make your spray. Always use a high quality practitioner grade Essential Oils.
Spring and Summer 2023:
Oh the growth! Oh the addition of herbs and flowers and vegetables! The pictures are just so lovely! Seems like every day there is more growth, more green more love!
I'm am creating a 'bug aversion' planter. Herbs are our best friend and to most flying annoyances, they are exactly that. A little Catnip, Basil, Thyme, Lemongrass and Lavender. The strong scent of these herbs will help keep bugs at bay.
Another option are smudge sticks of Sage, Lavender and other herbs mentioned above. The high level of citronellal from Lemon Balm and Lemon Thyme, bugs detest. Burning Sage along with Lavender and other herbs keep bugs away also. The smoke of the sage with the chemical properties of linalool and camphor of the herbs, make the bugs stay away also.
Herbs don't only make for a tasty meal but they help us in so many other ways!
Have any other questions? Send me an email! Have a wonderful day!
March into April of 2023:
Spring has marched right into our lives. I have built my own seed starting mixture this year. Using a well known mixture of 3 parts compost, 2 parts peat moss and 1 part perlite. The blend is now melding in my garage and I'll be starting all my seeds over the next week. I am moving heavy into more herbs so those will be first to sow. Right behind them will be peppers ( and I'm rather late starting them) then tomatoes, cukes an squash. Once I get the seeds in, I'll be posting what I'm starting and why each one has a special place in my raised beds.
The elderberry bushes are starting to bud - and even my loooong root sprouted up 5 new plants. As soon as the rain stops, I'll post a pic of them. As most of us know, elderberry is a great herb for building immunity and helping when one is feeling yucky or a cold coming on. With our immune systems still a bit out of whack with C** folks are struggling with more colds and some of them nasty. Elderberry is a great add to any medicine cabinet.
Spring also brings seasonal allergies. I have catnip infused tincture I'll be adding to my bug spray this year. Catnip has a long history of being known for it's powerful repellent action on insects, especially mosquitoes. A blend that is helpful for seasonal allergies is Lemon, Lavender and Peppermint. This is a powerful blend that can help open up sinuses and give a boost to your immunity and while soothing and calming.
I'm off till the rains stop and I can pics.. In honor of my best friend - Love and Light to all.
December 2022
Here in New England we haven't had snow yet in the suburbs, but the mountains of NH and ME have. But as what has become normal, the snows take longer to come. Snow is critical to the land and flowers/herbs. It helps the plants to grow strong bones to grow big and strong. Our winter herbs will go dormant and look 'sad' , but they are building strong bones for the harvest that will come.
On the Dec 21st at 4:47pm, we enter the Winter Solstice. Hunkering down, counting blessing and planning planning for the harvest that will come. Seeds start as early at mid-February, right after the big ski trip north. To me winter is lovely.. A beautiful winter Wedding or celebrating the new life with a baby shower to gifting your best friend a basket full of love!
Here's to your happy Winter Solstice - celebrate the Winter and all the blessing Spring will give us!
Love and Light
/Penny
November 2022
I'd like to talk about how I winter over and how I use warm months to help get through the coming cold months. Bringing in herbs can help warm your home up by their beauty and stamina. A trait I admire in the plant world.
As a complete aside - I am lover of all things winter - I ski, snowshoe and play as much as I can in the cold months. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the darkness - which leads me to share this:
Winter brings cold, stillness and almost a loss. This is where summer or the warmer months come into play. Our garden harvests can be brought inside - either as dried herbs or by transplanting.
If transplanting -
Choose 1 or 2 herbs that were in the ground or in containers, bring them inside and you have the beginnings of a strong winter warmth. If dried, let them sit for approximately 3 weeks, then remove from stems and store them in a jar. These can be added, as needed to any food choices you need.
Good choices to transplant/container are parsley, rosemary they will winter over nicely. Give them a sunny window a little drink once a week and they will be fine.
Basil does not winter over easily but sometimes they produce up February. In February things start to swing back. mmm...
If you bring herbs in -
Any container herb can come in during the winter and will go dormant in the winter, water every week or 2, because they need to sleep and grow strong. They will tell you when it's time to water more - you will see new growth, a shoot here or there or the ever loving new bloom!
There is a unique difference between the plant and the essential oil that I would like to share:
This is the Rosemary I have brought in - 2 plants that are sitting in a sunny window. Fresh Rosemary is a great herb to add to many winter meals - chili, stew, soups. It can be safely used unless you have a previous sensitivity to the herb.
Rosemary essential oil that has been distilled, it's potency will be, as with all Practitioner grade Essential Oils, much more intense than the herb . It is recommended to start slow and research.
Rosemary EO is great Immune support, Respiratory Support and Nervous system. It may stimulate memory and may help clear the conscious mind. Caution is required as this oil is not recommended for pregnant women or folks with high blood pressure on medication - it is a great oil to help with low blood pressure. It helps tremendously when there is transition occurring - a new home, new school, relationship.
Essential Oils are wonderful powerhouses to help in so many ways. Different than an herb or flower's strength and each has it's purpose. If you have any questions or want to ask more in depth questions or just have a conversation - send me an email. I'm growing my herbal collection and learning daily - just like a lot of us.
In the words of my favorite person - Love and Light
/Penny