Mad About Herbs

How To Make Rose Water

Is it just me or is it a good year for the roses? Wherever I walk there seems to be an abundance of them.  My apothecary's rose (rosa gallica officinalis) which is in the central bed of my herb garden is flowering like mad this year - it's a very vivid pink and I'm not quite sure if I like that shade but it has many uses so it's staying! (That's it in the photo).

Rose Water for skincare uses

There are many variations on this recipe, the more complicated versions involve using a still to extract the distilled rose water vapour.

The recipe below is a much simpler version that I feel able to do!

rose petals

boiling water to cover with 1 to 2 inches above petals

Pour boiling water onto the rose petals in a saucepan and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Strain petals out and bottle the liquid. This should keep in the refrigerator for about 1 week.

If you would like it to last longer, add 1 tbs of alcohol (eg vodka) to the mixture. This acts as a preservative and helps the scent last longer.

If you wanted to make this for culinary use, make sure you remove the bitter white heel before making the recipe.

Another simpler recipe is to have equal quantities (in cups) of purified water and rose petals. Pour the boiled water over the petals, allow to infuse for 2 days, stirring regularly. Strain and bottle. Keeps in refrigerator for about 1 week.

My daughters like to make rose 'perfume' by filling an old container with water then trying to squash as many rose petals into it as they can!  It smells okay for a while.....

If you want to listen to some more tips about roses, you can listen to my contribution to the Alternative Kitchen Garden Podcast from last June.

Elderflowers

Elderflowers come from the Elder tree (Sambucus nigra).  The Elder has been called the 'medicine chest of the people' due to the remedies that can be made with either its leaves, bark, flowers or fruit to treat many common complaints.  It is a native tree/shrub which is found growing wild in most of Britain.  The creamy white flat topped flowers appear in May and June.  The elderberries ripen ready to pick from September.

The most popular part used now is the elderflowers which are said to contain a plant acid that is anti-inflammatory.  Some people don't like the smell of the flowers but I can assure you that the elderflower cordial or champagne made from them tastes delicious (in my opinion!).

Harvesting
When picking the elderflowers, make sure they are from trees that are not close to busy roads or other sources of pollution; apparently they are very good at absorbing pollutants from the air.  You can just cut the whole flowerhead from the main stem, so you have the complete 'umbrella' (the proper name is 'umbel') of tiny flowers.

Use in skincare products
The flowers are used in skin lotions, oils or ointments.  eg elderflower water.  A soothing eye wash can be made from it and it can be used to soothe skin rashes or eruptions.

Household/Garden uses
The leaves can be used as an insect repellent; just boil and strain to make a natural insect repelling spray.

Culinary uses
The flowers can be used to make elderflower cordial, 'champagne', wine or vinegar.  A salad dressing made with elderflower vinegar is lovely.

Other recipes include elderflower and gooseberry jelly, elderflower and polenta cake, elderflower fritters and elderflower and gooseberry fool.

Medicinal uses
It is reported by medical herbalists that dried elderflowers when combined with dried yarrow and peppermint to make a tea is effective to use when you have a cold or influenza.  The elderflower lowers fever, reduces inflammation, soothes irritation and has anti-catarrhal effects.

The leaves can also be used in the making of an ointment for use on bruises, wounds or chilblains.

You can also listen to some more detailed information on my podcast about elderflowers which was included in the Alternative Kitchen Garden podcast last June.

If you have any favourite recipes using elderflowers, please feel free to send them to me or add them in a comment below.

Free Seeds

To celebrate their garden at The Chelsea Flower Show, The Children s Society and Royal Horticultural Society are offering families a free pack of flower seeds to brighten up their garden or window box. You can find out more here.

Thanks to Shirl at IndigoShirl, I found a great website that has an opportunity for 7 to 14 year olds to win money for their school in either Amazon or Garden Vouchers.  The idea is to grow your mint from the free seeds that they provide, then add as much value to it as possible, sell it and record the process.   You can see lots of imaginative uses that school children came up with on their website.  To get your free mint seeds, visit Planet Science.

Unfortunately I've only just found this site so it may be a bit late to get your mint plants to a usable size; the deadline for sending in your results is Sunday 6th July and the seeds can take anything between 2 to 6 weeks to germinate.  Mint doesn't actually come true from seed which is why you should take cuttings if you are after a particular variety of mint so I'm not sure what type of mint plant the seeds provided will create!  You could however try doing the challenge for yourself and see what you can create from a mint plant.  Feel free to leave me a comment if you give this a go. 

Herby birthday books

It was my birthday last Sunday and for some reason I got lots of herby books! Now why would anyone think I was interested in herbs?

Seriously though, there's some great books there, I can't wait to give them a read and try out some recipes.

You can find more information and reviews about most of them in my Amazon bookstore.

The Edible Wild Plants & Herbs book is a lovely book and  great if you want to get into wild foods, it has plenty of recipes, 400 to be precise! 

Culpeper's Herbal has been on my wish list for a long time so I'm looking forward to reading that one.

I've been told that I have too many herb books, is that possible?  I don't think I'll ever stop learning new things about herbs!  If you have any favourite herb books, feel free to let me know by leaving a comment below.

Spring Tonics and the Herb Society on TV!

The Herb Society have a great article on their website about using dandelions and nettles as spring tonics and if you watch BBC1's Countryfile this Sunday (27th April) you will see Jenny Jones Dip Phyt, FNIMH and Debs Cook making some of the recipes from this page. Can't wait!

I've only made Nettle Soup and Dandelion Syrup so far so I may give these other recipes a go. 

Herbalism and Walking in the Alpujarra, Spain

I've received details of the above course which may be of interest to some of you.  The course is limited to 12 participants and is suitable for beginners and experienced herbalists alike.  It takes place every year in the Alpujarra region of the Sierra Nevada, Spain with expert herbalist Julio Donat.

Julio will introduce you to the vast and intriguing  world of plants, teaching you to identify the varied flora of the Sierra Nevada  (including medicinal, edible, and dangerous plants).  You will learn about the  qualities of different plants, collecting methods, drying, conserving and cultivating. 

You will also learn about simple traditional preparation of plants, making infusions, decoctions, macerations, tinctures, unguents, creams, soaps, toothpaste and perfume.

So if you fancy a week away you can find out more at the Bootlace website or for more details of the week you can contact Fiona Primarolo by email.

How to make a Herbal bath bag

I'm excited to tell you that my third children's activity 'Lavender/Rose petal bath bag'  has been published on the ichild website as a Mother's Day gift idea. My 10 year old daughter made the one shown in the photo.

If you want to take a peek, visit this page and let me know what you think.

(In case you missed them, the other activities were: How to make an orange Pomander and Spiced Biscuits).

New Herb Forum

I'm pleased to say that the Mad About Herbs Forum has now been set up, ready for you to join in, make friends, ask for or share information and have fun.  Most herb forums are mixed in with fruit and vegetable topics or mix all the different aspects of herbs, so this forum has been created to focus solely on herbs but split between the different areas so that it is easier for you to find the information you are looking for.

On this forum you can:

• ask your herb related questions on the appropriate forums
• share your knowledge of herb gardening, cooking, crafts, making skincare products, using herbs for health
• arrange herb seed swaps
• share recipes
• let us know your favourite herb related books, products, suppliers
• let me know what information you are looking for, what you like and don't like about the website/blog/newsletter
• just drop in for a chat off topic in the 'Fancy a chat?' forum
• and lots more....

You are welcome to view the forums but will need to register to post on them and to view member profiles.  The forum provider has  a security feature that can block bots from capturing member's email addresses, so you can use the board without having to worry about getting more email spam.

Almost forgot to include the link!  Click here to access the forum.

I hope you find it useful.

Herb of the Year 2008

The herb of the year 2008 is Calendula officinalis which is a pretty and very precious plant otherwise known as Pot Marigold, Common Marigold, Marybud, Bulls Eye, Garden Marigold, Holligold or Souci!  The botanical name comes from the Latin 'calendae', meaning the first day of the month.

Calendula flowers are a lovely cheerful colour which brighten any area in which they grow.  They also have fantastic skin healing properties when added to skincare products.  It has the following properties: antiseptic, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory.

A poultice of the flowers can be used to help relieve stings, eczema, impetigo, burns, scalds, varicose veins, bruises, sores, boils, pulled muscles and more. If you look at some of the skin healing creams or balms in the shops, you will see that many of them contain an extract of calendula.

Plant Description

A hardy annual with daisy-like, single or double yellow or orange flowers from June to October.  Leaves are light green and aromatic.

Site:  Any free draining soil, prefers a sunny position

Height and Spread: 50cm to 70cm

How to grow, harvest and use calendula

Sow seeds either in pots under cover in the autumn then plant out in late spring after the risk of frost has gone, spacing them out approximately 30 cm apart.  Alternatively, sow seeds outside in late spring, but protect from slugs - they love the tender leaves!

Parts used

Flower petals with white 'heel' removed, young tender leaves.

Harvesting

Pick flowers as soon as they open during the summer.  Pick leaves when young and tender for use in salads.

Household and skincare uses

Dry flowers at a low temperature for use in

Winter colds: How to prevent and treat them

As many of you may know I am concentrating on herb gardening, cooking and craft information because I am not qualified to say too much about the medicinal use of herbs, although I am learning more every day.

I am therefore very pleased to say that Dr Joshi who is an award winning pediatrician in India who has 28 years of experience and offers online consultations regardless of your ability to pay; you decide how much you can afford (Her website is: www.farawaysister.com) has offered to write a regular article for my monthly newsletter.  Below is the first of these articles, I'd appreciate your comments about it.

Winter Colds: How to prevent and treat them
by Dr Joshi

Winter has arrived and has ushered in the season of coughs and colds and runny noses. A sudden dip in ambient temperature allows the population of winter viruses and bacteria to shoot up in the surrounding air. Not only that, the low temperature coupled with an early morning fog actually makes them more invasive. Respiratory syncytial virus, rhinoviruses, influenza and some adenoviruses abound, as do a few varieties of Streptococci.
Small babies and young children who haven't been exposed to the current strains of viruses and bacteria are the ones most susceptible to catching an infection, as are the old, whose natural immunity has declined with time.

Apart from taking routine precautions such as avoiding a prolonged exposure to cold air ( whenever possible ) and being suitably clothed to protect oneself, one can add herbal teas made from your garden herbs like:

Ginger root

Elderflower

Fennel seeds

Mint

Chamomile

Thyme

You may add any of the following spices to enhance the effect of the herbs:

Dried ginger root

Cloves

Nutmeg

Cardamom

Cinnamon

Saffron

Honey may be added as a sweetener, or unrefined ( brown ) sugar. This tea needs to be taken for as long as there is a chance of catching an infection, or until an infection that has set in passes over.

Apart from these garden herbs, however, there are more specific ones that prevent and treat respiratory infections more effectively.

But these do not usually grow in gardens, so they need to be purchased in the form of herbal remedies from Homeopathic or Ayurvedic pharmacies in your vicinity.

A judicious combination of herbs very often dispense with the need for antibiotics and other prescription medicines, and even over the counter medicines.

For more information visit Dr Joshi's website where she offers online consultations. There is a lot of information on the website as well: www.farawaysister.com



Please note that all the advice and opinions in the article are that of the author. Please note that some herbs which are beneficial in small doses can be harmful if taken to excess or for a long period. You are advised that self-treatment for serious or long-term problems without consulting a qualified medicinal practitioner should not be attempted. If you are pregnant or already taking any medication, you should obtain medical advice on whether any herbs or spices should be consumed and whether there are any contra-indications with the proposed herbs to be taken. Taking this into account, before trying any herbal remedies, I recommend that you sample a small quantity first to establish whether you experience any adverse or allergic reaction. I can not be held responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes, recommendations and instructions contained in the article, and the use of any herbs or spices mentioned is entirely at the reader's own risk.