I don’t know about you, but when I’m smack in the middle of blah winter months, I miss working in my herb garden and being surrounded by the aromas and visions of blooming herbs, flowers, and veggies. Winter days can be a bit dreary after the excitement and busyness of the holidays. Especially this year. We’ve had days and days of sub-zero temperatures and snow. It’s a real winter.

This morning I woke up and decided I couldn’t wait a minute longer for some greenery. I called around and found a nursery that had a few herb plants in stock. Perfect! I could see a little indoor herb garden springing to life in my mind already. I love herbs because they’re instant aromatherapy. I can’t help but smile when every time I walk by I catch a whiff of their sweet or spicy fragrance.

Growing Herbs Indoors

First of all, I need a planter for growing herbs indoors. For a while I’ve had my eye on a self-watering planter that I saw at the IKEA store that recently opened up near my home. I love the design of this. It’s in two pieces. The bottom is a separate reservoir with a wick that threads through two holes in the top part of the planter. The wick then dangles down into the reservoir and Voila! No worries about my plants drying up if we’re going to be gone for a week or so.

The planter looked big enough for two herb plants, so the next stop was to the local nursery to find my plants.

Choosing My Herbs

I walked in and wandered around taking my time soaking in the bursts of color and scent, enjoying the display of fairy gardens, succulent gardens, air plants, houseplants, and a small selection of herbs. I had been hoping (unrealistically) to find a lavender plant, but the herbs in stock were of the more culinary variety: basil, sage, oregano, parsley, and mint. I decided on basil and parsley.

Of course I couldn’t stop there. I also chose a pot of baby tears and a tiny purple blooming plant called campanula, because I really wanted a pop of color too. I could just picture them inside two bird cages I found last summer at a garage sale. One has been sitting empty on the shelf, and the other is filled with a few tired twine balls. Time to breathe some life into them.

I gathered my plants and materials, paid for them, and headed home.

Wow. The planter, which looked so big in the store, looks small next to the two healthy herbs. I really need a bigger planter, but I decide to use it anyway. I can replant them outside this spring. I pot up my herbs and water them and add just a bit of water to the reservoir. For now I’ll set this on the windowsill in my office. I love the life and aroma it adds while I’m working.

Indoor House Plants

Here’s pictures of the other plants too. The baby tears and campanula are happily perched in their bird cages in front of the large picture window in my living room. And a mini succulent plant I bought a few weeks ago at the botanical garden in St. Louis is on my desk in its happy green pot.

I think I have enough greenery now to get me through to planting season. How about you? Do you have any indoor plants or gardens? Share what you do to get your garden fix during the winter months.

Botanically Me,

 

 

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One day I was in Goodwill looking through the kitchen supplies area when I saw a kitchen gadget I’d been wanting to buy for a long time—a tea press! I couldn’t believe it. I breathed a prayer of thanks to God and picked it up. It was a Bodum, a great brand. I had already purchased two glass Bodum teacups several years ago and loved them. I knew the quality of this would match the teacups.

Is a Tea Press and a French Coffee Press the Same Thing?

It may be that you are wondering how to use a tea press too. I recorded this short video to show you how simple it is. Incidentally, a tea press and a French coffee press do the same thing with one difference, so if you have a coffee press, you can use it to make your herb tea. The difference is that when you push the plunger down on the tea press, it stops the tea from steeping any longer. From what I understand, a French coffee press will allow the tea leaves to continue steeping, so you need to pour all of your tea out of the press at that point if you don’t want it any stronger. Also if you have already used your French press for coffee, be sure you wash it thoroughly so that the tea doesn’t taste like coffee.

In the video I mention nettles tea. Yes, this is the same plant that is known as stinging nettle (Urtica spp.). It is a nutritive herb and contains calcium, magnesium, and chlorophyll. It has a green, veggie flavor, but it’s an excellent base tea. You can blend it with other nutritive teas like oat straw, the mints, chamomile, rose, hibiscus, ginger, cinnamon, and so on. In the video, I also mention that it is excellent to add to soup bases. You can either make the tea ahead of time like I do in the video and use that as part of your broth base, or put a few teaspoons of dried nettle in a tea bag and let it steep in the soup while it’s cooking. Just remember to remove it when it’s done.

Let me know if you use a tea press and what type of tea you like to make in it. Have fun experimenting!

Enjoy!

Botanically me,

How To Use a Tea Press from Jane VanOsdol on Vimeo.

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Have you looked out the window at your garden lately? The beginning of August is prime garden season in Indiana where I am. Most of the plants that l planted back in April and May are growing like mad. It’s time to start reaping the benefits of these beautiful blooms. Where to start?

For me, I’m starting with my nasturtiums.

From just three or four plants I planted this spring, I’ve got a bumper crop of nasturtiums. If you’ve not planted them before, they spread like crazy and happily fill in the blank places in your garden. They’re a low-maintenance, high-enjoyment type of plant. Let’s look at some ways I like to use them at my house.

Arrange them in a Vase

I love to snip several stems of nasturtiums, tie them together, add water, and put them in a pretty little vase. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. But simple doesn’t mean boring. They certainly pack a punch of color and scent. I adore the smell of nasturtiums. They’re a close second to the scent of roses. When you walk by a patch basking in the summer sun, you can’t help but be enveloped in their warm, sweet aroma. And even a small display in your home will infuse your room with their lovely scent for a few days.

 

Add them to your Salad

Both the flowers and the leaves of nasturtiums are edible and high in Vitamin C. Snip the mild-peppery flavored leaves into smaller pieces and toss them in with other salad greens. The flowers are tasty too and make a beautiful display in your salad. I purchased a bottle of violet balsamic vinegar from a specialty shop, and I splash that over the top of the salad along with EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). Use about twice as much EVOO as vinegar. It tastes divine!

 

Make a Roll-up with the Leaves

Nasturtium leaves can grow as large as the palm of your hand, so they make an excellent roll-up for cheese spreads, tuna, egg, or chicken salad, and the like. Simply spread the leaf with the

filling of your choice (I love dill-flavored cream cheese), add any other filling you desire such as shaved turkey or ham, roll up, and secure with a toothpick. Arrange on a plate and drizzle your favorite type of dressing over the top. To really make it shine, add a few nasturtium flowers to the plate.

 

Recipe from Phyllis Shaudys The Pleasure of Herbs

My very first herb book that I ever purchased was The Pleasure of Herbs by Phyllis Shaudys, and it is still my favorite. I bought my copy in the 1980s and it is packed with recipes and projects. I found this recipe for Nasturtium Salad, which she adapted from the Herb Society of Greater Cincinnati in the August chapter, and I’ve adapted by adding lettuce and other vegetables.

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Over the last week, I’ve seen them peeping from behind their heart-shaped leaves. Little flower faces shyly stretching up to the sky. Could there be a sweeter flower than violets?

Certainly one of my favorites, violets are a joy to behold when spring arrives. Their aroma fills the air when warmed by the spring sunshine. They’re so lovely I can’t help but think of this quote from L.M. Montgomery in Anne of Green Gables,

 “Do you think amethysts can be the souls of good violets?”

Beauty and All That?

Besides being beautiful, violets can add variety to life as we candy, infuse, tincture, press, and otherwise use them in ways that are a delight. To be clear, I am talking about Viola odorata, not African violets, which are not edible and a different plant entirely.

This spring I’ve decided to gather violets from my yard to make my own infused oil. They are anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and antifungal, which make a potent healing oil suitable for use right out of the bottle or in creams, lotions, and salves.

Their leaves also contain Vitamin C and can be infused along with the flowers for a hot or cool tisane. But today I’d like to focus on making an herbal oil with violet flowers and leaves. For your oil, you can use either fresh or dried material. (Note: garlic, cottonwood, St. John’s Wort, and mullein flowers should always be infused fresh).

Preparing the Violets

If you’re using fresh, we need to address the topic of how to prepare them for infusion. Herbalists handle this differently. Some herbalists wash fresh herbs before using, some don’t. I think it depends upon several factors:

1. Where have the herbs come from? If they’re from your own yard and you know you didn’t use any chemicals on them, you may feel ok not washing them. Do you have pets (or neighbors’ pets) that may have contaminated them? That also plays into the equation.
2. Will you be selling your products or giving them away? Then for your own protection and peace of mind, I would wash them.
3. If you’ve purchased them elsewhere and don’t know how they were grown/handled, wash them.

To wash them, gently spray off if they are not too dirty, or you can immerse in a cool water bath with a drop or two of organic veggie/fruit cleaner added, swish them around or soak for a few minutes if very dirty, rinse off, and pat dry. Once you have done this, you now need to let them fresh wilt for 24-48 hours so that the moisture evaporates; if you don’t do this, you could likely end up growing mold in your oil. They will become limp but not totally dry when fresh wilted. Thinner plants will dry wilt faster than thicker, so keep an eye on them. Some plants may wilt in just 6-8 hours.

Choose Your Oil

Next, choose your oil. If you’re using the oil for medicinal or culinary purposes, organic olive oil is your best choice. If you will be using the oil for beauty products, you may want to try organic sweet almond oil, organic coconut oil (warm infusions only), jojoba, sesame, or sunflower.

Add your fresh-wilted or dried violet flowers and leaves to a dry, sanitized glass jar and cover with oil so that the plants are completely submerged with one to two inches of oil over the top. Cap. If you are using fresh wilted and are still concerned about moisture, cover the jar with a thick layer of cheesecloth instead of the cap and rubber band it to let any moisture evaporate. Let sit out for about 2 weeks in a warm spot. You can let it sit in the sunshine for a solar oil, as herbalist Rosemary Gladstar calls it.

Alternative: Use Your Slow Cooker

You can also use a small slow cooker to infuse the violets. I’ve found that my little crockpot turned to the “warm” setting (not low or high) is about the right temperature-between 110-120F. Infuse in a crockpot one week for fresh wilted (two weeks for St. John’s wort) and two weeks for dried.

After infusing, strain the mixture through cheesecloth, and use a rice press on the dried herbs. Dried herbs absorb the oil much more readily that fresh wilted plant material does, so a rice press helps to get out every last drop. Also, don’t use the press on fresh wilt because you don’t want to press out any possible moisture that may still be inside the plant cells.  After straining if you prefer, let it sit overnight undisturbed and strain it one more time the next morning. Put the finished oil in a dark, glass jar and store in a cool, dark place. The oil should last for one to three years (dried plant material will yield the longer shelf life). It’s always a good idea to label and date your product.

Use your oil  directly on your skin or to make tinctures, salves, and beauty products.

What do you like to make with violets? Share below. I’d love to hear your ideas!

eScentually yours,

Warm, spicy, exotic. Three words that come to mind when I think of a favorite herb and oil of mine: ginger, or Zingiber officinale by its nomenclature. A perfect choice for winter wellness, ginger has a rich history as a medicinal, healing botanical.

I first became familiar with it years ago when I was juicing and would add a thumb-size piece of the root to my current juicing recipe. You can’t miss its spicy flavor and aroma. Ginger tisane (tea) became my go-to favorite, and it’s especially comforting in the fall and winter. If I feel the chills or flu symptoms setting in, it is the first thing I reach for to help me fight off any nasty bug. It’s also know for being soothing to the stomach.

Besides all of these properties, when it’s used topically, ginger is a pain reliever. Last year I developed a blend for my weight-lifting son to use, and ginger is one of the main ingredients in it to help increase circulation and relieve aches, pains, and strains.

Let’s explore a bit of the science behind this herb.

Therapeutic Actions of Ginger

While there are several others, here are the main therapeutic actions of ginger.

• Analgesic (pain relieving)
• Anti-emetic (reduces nausea and vomiting)
• Antispasmodic
• Aphrodisiac
• Carminative (soothes and settles the gut wall, relieves gas)
• Digestive
• Stomachic (tone and stimulate the action of the stomach)

Core Applications

While this list is not comprehensive, I’ve highlighted a few of the main systems of the body that ginger can affect.

1. Digestive System. Historically ginger is know to help ease and prevent nausea, vomiting, , gas, stomachaches, and loss of appetite.
2. Musculoskeletal System. When added to a cream or oil blend, ginger can help relieve muscular aches and pains from arthritis, sprains, rheumatism, joint pain, and stiffness.
3. Respiratory System. Historically, ginger is indicated for colds, fevers, sore throats, sinusitis, bronchitis, congestion, and catarrh (excessive mucus in the nose or throat).
4. Reproductive/Endocrine System. May be helpful for reduced sex drive, menstrual cramps and pain, amenorrhea, and dysmenorrhea.

Two Ways to Use Ginger for Winter Wellness

Whether you’re using the essential oil or the actual root, ginger is a delightful botanical to try. Here are two of my favorite ways to use it:

Ginger Tea

Even thought it is a rhizome, ginger is so juicy that we can infuse it in water.

Directions

1. Thinly slice or chop about one inch of fresh ginger root .
2. Add to a Fresh press or put the ginger into an infuser and set in your teacup. Add 8 ounces of just-off-the-boil water.
3. Steep for 10 minutes.
4. Strain and drink.

Variation: To add a lovely note of lemon plus get all the health benefits, add dried or fresh lemon balm or lemon verbena leaves. It also complements ginger nicely, as it is known to help digestive and respiratory complaints too. Honey and fresh lemon juice are two other wonderful additions if you want a sweeter version with additional lemon flavor. Add these directly before drinking.

Ginger Salt Glow

With it’s warming qualities, ginger makes a lovely salt scrub, especially for the winter months. You can also sub sugar for the salt. I like to use brown sugar.

• 1 cup fine-grain sea salt
• ¼ cup vegetable oil (for example: almond, apricot, or sunflower)
• 12 drops Ginger Essential Oil

Directions: 

1. Pour salt into a bowl and add the vegetable oil. Stir well.
2. Add the essential oils. Stir until evenly dispersed. Add more oil to adjust to your liking.
3. Store in a glass or PET plastic container.

To Use: Apply 2-3 times per week. Wet skin. Rub salt mixture in a continuous motion over body, avoiding cuts and the face, as salt is too rough for this delicate skin. Rinse off. Follow with a body lotion, cream, or oil.

Once you’ve experienced this exotic herb, you’ll want to find more ways to use it.

What’s your favorite way to use ginger for winter wellness? Be sure to share in the comments below!

Cautions:

The information here is provided for adults, not children. Pregnant women should also consult their doctors before using any essential oils. According to the Gale Health and Wellness, “dosages over 6 g could cause gastric problems and possibly ulcers. Ginger may slow down blood clotting time. Before taking ginger, consumers should check dosages with a healthcare provider. Additionally, consumers should not ingest the whole ginger plant; it has been found to damage the liver in animals. Ginger root is not recommended for people with gallstones.”

Resources:

Gale Group Health and Wellness Resource Center