Herbal Homekeeping ~ Lavender Love

Lavender is one of the best loved herbs, and for good reason.
Lavender, named by the Romans from the latin- lavare, meaning to wash, is used for many cleansing purposes.  Used in the bath or laundry, lavender gives a soothing, clean fragrance.

Lavender sachets or bags- a small pillow filled with dried lavender, is a pleasant way to scent linens or clothing.  A lavender sachet can be laid between folded towels or sheets to scent them and shoo away pests like moths.  A sachet tucked into the lingerie drawer gives a sweet fragrance to your clothing.
Another use for the lavender sachet is to toss one in the clothes dryer to scent the laundry.  When using them for this purpose, I add a few drops of lavender essential oil to the dried herb before stitching the sachet closed. When the fragrance starts to fade, I just add a few more drops of essential oil to the outside of the bag and let it sit for a few moments before tossing it in with the next load of laundry.

Linen water is another homekeeping item that is frequently scented with lavender.
Here's my recipe for a very simple linen water-
Mix 1 cup distilled water with 20 drops lavender essential oil in a spray bottle.
Use to freshen linens or when ironing.
Some people add vodka or other alcohol to this mixture, but I have not found the need to do so.
I use mine up quickly, so it doesn't have time to get old or otherwise funky.
It also makes a sweet smelling room spray.

Below is a photo of a small lavender harvest from last summer.  Last year was a pitiful garden year due to extreme drought in my part of the country; but even so, the lavender bloomed off and on and I was able to harvest a few stems for drying.  
From the dusty shelves in my photo, I see that I need to find a recipe for lavender furniture polish!

There are many, many uses for lavender, and I'll share more with you next week.  

Do you grow lavender?  If so, what variety is your favorite?


If you have a favorite recipe or tip for using lavender, write a blog post about it.
I will add a link-up to next week's post and we can have our own online Lavender Festival!

Blessings,
Catherine

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Thinking Spring

Spring weather is popping in and out at my house these days.  These warm, breezy days bring out the gardening bug in me quickly.  I am ready to plant a new herb garden; but first a garden spot has to be established and the soil prepared.  I prefer no-till or lasagna gardening, but since we are going from established yard to garden, tilling is the quickest and least expensive way to get started (at least that's my husband's perspective, I'm still not convinced ... we'll see who wins this one!).   Once we have the soil prepared and garden beds installed, I let things be and only cultivate with hand tools, letting nature's gardener's (worms and other soil dwellers) do the tilling and soil turning for me!  It is much healthier for the garden and the environment.

I have a few winter sown herbs popping up in raised beds and containers- dill, cilantro, and comfrey are all showing signs of life.  The scented geraniums are enjoying sunny days outside, as are the bay and lemon trees.

It is time to prune the sage that has gotten ugly and leggy over the winter, and cut back the lemon balm, rue, and mints in preparation for new spring growth.


I'm still perusing seed catalogs, plotting and planning what new things I want to grow this year.  Holy Basil is one new to me herb I plan to grow.  I recently tried a tea made with Tulsi or Holy Basil and it is very nice.  Now I want to grow my own Tulsi tea!  And since rose is the Herb of the Year, I plan to add roses to the garden- some will be container grown, some planted along the fence to climb and vine and do what roses do!

I'm thinking Spring, how about you?
What are you planning to grow this year?  Anything new?
How about starting a new garden?  Do you till or do raised beds, no-till, containers ... all of them?!  

Tell me what your plans are for the herb garden this year!

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Herbal Winter Warm-Ups

Wintry weather is making an appearance this weekend, causing me to seek out warming cups of herb tea and other ways to keep the cold at bay. 
A cup of ginger tea is a simple way to bring warmth to a cold body. 
I add a couple of slices of fresh ginger to my tea cup, pour in boiling water and let it steep for a few minutes.  Then I add a spoonful of honey and maybe a squeeze of lemon to the cup.  Simply delicious.

Spices such as cinnamon and cardamom are also good for warming things up.  I often add a dash of one or both of these to my cup of morning tea or bowl of oatmeal. 

And for something a little more filling, how about a bowl of Curried Mixed Vegetable Stew or Creamy Sweet Potato Ginger Soup?  There's just something about a pot of soup or stew simmering on the stovetop on a winter's day to warm things up. 

So tell me ... what are some of your favorite winter warm-ups? 

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Within Your Reach

This spoke to me today-


Mend the parts of the world that are "within your reach".  ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Lovely.  And so wise.  If we each mend what is in our reach, we can indeed change the world, one life, one home, one community at a time.
I'm thinking of roses today- of planting a few  to grow along the fence, bringing beauty and healing herbs to my own place in this world.  Of making a sanctuary of sorts right here ... where I live, where I am, working with what is within my reach. 

What is within your reach that you can mend, that you can bring beauty to today?  

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Simple Home Remedies ~ Elderberry Honey

This herbal home remedy or tonic is one that I make frequently, especially during cold and flu season.

Elderberry Honey is so simple to make, all you need are 3 ingredients:

Elderberries-1 cup fresh, or 1/2 cup dried (I used dried)
Water- 3 cups
Honey- 1 cup

Place elderberries and water in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook slowly for 30-45 minutes. Strain warm juice into a quart jar. Pour in honey and stir well. Done!

Store the Elderberry Honey in the refrigerator where it should stay fresh for 2-3 months.

I take one tablespoonful daily as a tonic to help build immunity and keep colds at bay before and during cold and flu season.
When a cold or flu does sneak up on me, I take 1 tablespoon 3 times a day.

As a bonus, Elderberry Honey tastes great! I sometimes add a spoonful to my cup of tea in place of plain honey just because I enjoy it.

* I'm not a doctor, please use your own common sense when using herbs or other home remedies, etc., etc.!!!

I buy my elderberries from Amazon, my favorite place for buying all things herbal. They also sell Elder Berry Syrup if you'd rather not make it yourself.

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Rose ~ Herb of the Year 2012

The rose, favorite flower of many, is the Herb of the Year for 2012. 

Each year the International Herb Association chooses one herb to be featured for the year.  Last year it was horseradish, and you will note that my blog was largely silent on that one other than perhaps a post announcing it being the Herb of the Year.  Horseradish isn't something I use often or grow (though I did consider planting it just for fun ... it never happened, and it's probably just as well).  Roses, however, are just up my herbal alley so to speak.  I love roses- growing them, creating with them, even cooking with them to some extent.  This year you will likely find quite a few rosey posts here at Still Room Herbs.  

I only have one rose bush growing at our home at present, but plan to remedy that in just a few short weeks.  My family moved in October and the yard here is sadly devoid of roses or most any other useful herbs. It is a blessing in some ways since I have a blank canvas for designing and planting to my heart's content.
The rose pictured above is called Nearly Wild and is the one I planted here this fall.  It grew in a large terracotta pot for several years before I put it into the ground this October, and seemed to be quite content being container grown.  It blooms off and on throughout the year, even sometimes in the midst of winter (of course, that would be a heart of Texas winter).  I'll be sharing more about growing roses in a few weeks, but in the meantime here is a link to some great rose info. at the International Herb Association site. Lots of helpful advice on herbs can be found on their webpage.

Since it isn't planting season for most of us, I thought I'd repost a simple recipe that features roses, in the form of rosewater today.  The ingredients are fairly easy to come by, either from visiting a local herb shop or natural foods store or by mail order.  This is one of the first things I made when I started learning about creating my own herbal bath and body products, and something I still make and use today.  It smells lovely, soothes and softens the skin, and only takes minutes to mix up.

Rosewater Moisturizer

Mix together:

4 oz. rosewater
1 tsp. glycerin
1/2 tsp. grapeseed oil (you could add a bit more if you have dry skin)
a few drops of rose and/or lavender essential oil (optional)

I mix this in a small plastic bottle with a squirt type lid.  

Shake well before using.

Note: this doesn't make a thick, creamy lotion .. but it's very soothing to the skin and smells lovely. 

If you have a favorite variety of rose growing in your garden, please share it with me.  I am spending cold winter evenings with cups of tea and my garden catalogs making my yearly wish list!  

Winter Blessings,

Catherine 

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New Year's Blessings

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


I pray that 2012 is filled with bountiful blessings for you and yours!




We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. 
 ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

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