I am so excited to share my bountiful FIRST EVER harvest of pumpkins from my new melon garden/pumpkin patch! I have never grown pumpkins before, and it was a real learning experience this year. We mapped out a decent 20×12 patch along the border of our fence and sectioned it off for strawberries, melons, cucumbers,…
Category: Herbs and Garden
Burn Salve
Isn’t it always said that necessity is the mother of invention? While I have made many a salve in my day, and regularly keep a stock of my Boo Boo Balm on the shelf for minor scrapes, cuts, burns and bites, we ran dangerously low of it recently and I have been meaning to make…
Summer in a Jar: Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce
Oven roasted tomato sauce could not be easier! Everything goes into a roasting pan and the ingredients can vary to your specific tastes. One pan, minimal chopping, no simmering, no straining, and your house will smell amazing. Best of all, if you can or freeze this sauce you will have shelf-stable use during the cold Autumn and Winter…
Lemon Balm/Melissa
Lemon Balm or Melissa Officinalis – (Also known as Melissa, balm, Bee balm) is of the mint family and has oval leaves with slightly scalloped edges and crinkly surface that, when rubbed, have a strong citronella or lemony mint fragrance. Used since ancient Rome, Melissa has a long and successful history as an herb of “good…
Elecampane
Elecampane, Inula helenium (also called Elfdock, Elfwort, Horseheal and Scabwort) is a pretty sunflower-like perennial found in wet pastures or easily grown in a sunny garden spot. It is named after Helen of Troy, who is said to have carried the flowers with her when Paris abducted her from Sparta. The 6- to 8-foot tall plant has large,…
Pretty Yummy Purslane
Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea) — also known as pigweed, fatweed, pursley, pussley, verdolagas and wild portulaca — is the most frequently reported “weed” species in the world. It can grow anywhere that has at least a two-month growing season and is generally found in meadows, sidewalks and lawns. You won’t find it in the grocery…
Squash is out of control!
Squash blossoms are happening, and my squash portion of the garden is out of control crazy! This year, we pulled up a very long section of unused backyard space on the side of the house to plant a melon garden. We sowed by seed, carefully into each little row, pumpkins, melons, cantaloupe, cucumbers, zucchini, crooknecks,…
Lemon-Thyme Soap
Last planting year, I grew a wonderful batch of lemon thyme in the garden. It was fruitful and we used it all season in various, tasty dishes. When I harvested and dried what remained for fall, I decided to make a fragrant, yummy soap out of it. It’s been a fantastic success with creamy lather…
Catmint Crazy
cat mint crazy in the faerie garden 😃#catmint #faeriegarden #garden #dragonfly #kittycairn #cairn I planted this catmint last year when I created this Faerie garden around the cairn I buried my beloved Pepper in. Despite the frigid snow this winter and spring, here it is coming up like mad! A tea prepared with Cat mint can…
Mindful Hearth 