A HOUSE FULL OF HERBS

September 19, 2020September 22, 2020 | gaiainaction

Just lately it’s all been about herbs, harvesting them from the garden, drying them, putting them in oil, making powder and so fort. It has been a busy but rewarding time. I’ve learnt a lot more about Dandelion plants and this means that the Dandelion is now been promoted to a primary plant in our garden. Luckily we have a lot of them as I’ve always been reluctant to pull them up from among the other vegetables. Now they have gained a firm status of valuable nutritional source. So far I have dried roots and leaves. The roots are for tea and the leaves are for either a soak in water overnight making a cool drink, or to be grinded into powder to add a touch to soups. I am looking forward to spring when I will use some of the flowers when baking biscuits, only some though as they are earmarked mainly as food for the bees. Nettles are another good source of minerals and they have been growing so well this past summer in our garden. I’ve harvested many and again grinded some into powder for the soups and will use the leaves for a green drink.

Sometimes I hang my herbs, but mostly now I dry them in the oven with the pilot light on and the oven door a little ajar.

Just recently I had bought the long desired book by Rosalee De La Foret: ‘Alchemy of Herbs’, and I am finding it a brilliant work. So much information, and beautiful photography too. As well as this book I have once again signed on to Herb mentor from Learning Herbs, it’s an amazing informative website and course, a hands on type of learning which is great fun as well as being very interesting. (It’s online; https://learningherbs.com/herbmentor/)

A start in making use of Dandelions in different ways.

I’ve got two different types of Oregano and they grow so very well. There is the variegated Mediterranean type with white flowers, so loved by the bees, and the all green regular one with the pink flowers, which this one is. A lovely herb.

All these herbs are humble plants, many of them are even considered to be weeds by some people. I’m so very grateful that they come growing in my garden. Some, like the Yarrow, plantain and violets grow in the boreen close to where we live. On my walks I always keep an eye out for useful wild plants in case I should ever need them, then I know where to find them.

We may be very thankful for the wealth of wild plants and herbs in our gardens.

DISCOVERIES IN A NEGLECTED GARDEN

April 6, 2017April 6, 2017 | gaiainaction

A longwinded journey brought us from Gozo back to Ireland, via visits to family in Henham, Hertford, and Cambridge which was, of course, much enjoyed as was the mild spring weather and all the beauty of the English countryside this time of the year, but more about that in another blog.
So we arrived home here in West Cork greeted by my daughter and lovely grandchildren, that was a beautiful moment. Next day and after unpacking all our suitcases I went for a leisurely walk around our garden. Neglected as it was, it has not become totally overgrown yet and I was able to find many treasured wild plants and even vegetables among the grasses and on the beds. So I enjoyed myself with these discoveries, taking note of what I will be cooking in the next few days, and which wild plants I’ll be using, and also taking photos.

I found a little plant that is new to my garden, it grows wild around here in West Cork on walls, but here it came to grow in an old flowerpot, maybe birds dropped its seeds. It is the little Ivy-leaved Toadflax.

Cymbalaria muralis - Ivy-leaved toadflax — Cymbalaria muralis – ivy-leaved toadflax

Forget-me-nots in flower — *Myosotis arvensis –* Forget-me-not

And a left over from last year, the lovely blue Forget-me-not I found blooming.

Melissa – Lemon Balm

Salvia officinalis – Sage

Origanum vulgare – Oregano varigated

Lavandula – Lavender

Rosmarinus officinalis – Rosemary

As far as herbs go, West Cork, because of its mild climate is good for growing these. I found the Melissa doing just fine, the Oregano coming up, the Rosemary and Lavender doing really well. So maybe it is time to add a few more herbs during this summer.

Littel Borage plants coming up all over the place

Some good nettle plants for the soup

Chives looking great and ready to use

I was pleasantly surprised by the numerous Borage plants coming up all over the garden, even in the cracks of the concrete path. The bees will be very happy about this. The Chives are ready for cutting, and Nettles ready for the soup! And I nearly forgot all the three corned wild Garlic which are just everywhere, so delicious in salads and mixed in an omelet.

Three cornered wild leeks — Three cornered wild Garlic

And lovely Muscari – grape Hyacinth

This Verbascum – Mullein plant makes me very happy.

A young silver Birch tree came to grow in the garden

Everything is sprouting and budding

Winter storm damage

Seedpods of Evening Primsore flowers

Delighted to have found a Mullein plant, this is also a medicinal plant of which I sowed a few last year. And of all things I found a young silver Birch, well I know it was there as I put it in a pot to share with someone after it came growing in the garden, a baby of our large Birch. The only damage during the winter was to our small greenhouses, wear and tear you could say. I also found that the massive seedpods of my Evening Primrose plants had survived all the storms, these plants should be coming up soon by themselves I think.

A type of salad

Plenty evidence of lots of rain

Our Bayleaf tree doing well

The broadbeans in flower

Berries full of buds

Salad leaves are ready to eat. Bay leaf tree is growing well and full of very green leaves which will be uses in soups nice and fresh. I also found several broad bean plants in flower and all, Ian will be very happy about that, his favourite vegetable. Leek plants which I planted out toward the end of last summer and just before we left are growing. And finally, but not really finally as there is no saying what else I might find, the bed with the berries is absolutely full of flower buds, it promises to be a good summer for soft fruits. The water barrel shows that here has been no shortage of rain!

I am totally happy with what I found, it is lovely to come back to my garden, and looking at the evidence, the garden has benefited from being left to itself for a while, there might be something in Permaculture after all. It feels like nature is now growing what it likes to grow, and the soil in my garden is showing me what will thrive best.

I am taking note!

MIDSUMMER IN OUR IRISH GARDEN

June 25, 2016 | gaiainaction

Well it is midsummer now, there has been a stillness in the air all day, now as the sun slowly disappears behind Mount Gabriel, the swifts are making merry above the houses here, probably the coolness of the evening has allowed the insects to dans around making easy prey for those happily swooping birds.
It is wind still.

How nice after the emotional and exciting last two days after voting results came out, Brexit is out….. will chaos follow, or not!

I was out in the garden today, looking at what is growing, and was pleasantly surprised with the flowers and the herbs, there is not much else growing as I did not plant any vegetables, but there are quite a few wild edible plants which I am using. I did not sow nor did I plant this year because this coming autumn we are going away again, but more about that another time. There are some berries growing and producing, strawberries, red currants, raspberries, are all doing really well. The herbs too have never grown better, makes me very happy.

Though I am leaving every single flower wild or not, I am disappointed with the lack of bees and other insects, despite there being a beehive just in next door’s garden! I still have to see my first butterfly too this summer, even though I spent days in the midst of nature last week. I hope that will change soon.

Evening Primrose

DISTRACTED BY LIFE

June 6, 2016 | gaiainaction

As it was an overcast but still very nice day, I decided to do some work in our own garden. I cleared one raised bed ready for growing some plants, but I am delighted with what is growing there already, there are plenty of herbs, such as rosemary, lemon balm, lavender, evening primrose, oca, oregano (two types), and of all things some Jerusalem artichokes have come up too. So I just took out some grass and some other stuff that was smothering those plants. Ian decided to come and work with me, so he cleared the path on his knees with a small little knife, no easy task to be sure. Now and then we took a rest, either for tea or chat, or to admire the creatures flying or crawling around. Meanwhile I took a few shots of them.

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These are three wild plants that I am keeping my eye on very closely, number one is a huge thistle, it is almost in flower, I know that the seeds are what the gold finch feed on and that is why I want to keep it, to attract these birds and see how it goes. The second one is our comfrey plant, it’s flourishing and what I am watching is the amount of insects that are using it, most of what I see are the bumblebees and I would love to see some honey bees on the comfrey too, of course. The third plant is two years old, I grew it as a salad plant but it was so beautiful that I did not want to eat it, so I let it grow, and when we returned from Gozo it was so large and I recognised it as a plant you see a lot around here in the wild, a type of sorrel perhaps. These three are on my watch list.

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And this is a view of our garden, we have had the pleasure to sit under the hawthorn tree all week for our meals, in the dappled sunlight with the garden scents all around us and the birds singing, what a perfect summer weather, aware that for people in other lands, not as lucky just then because of rains and floods.

Always nice to appreciate what we have in the moment.

THE GIFTS OF MOTHER EARTH

May 12, 2016 | gaiainaction

Just when I thought that it could not get any better, and this while I was taking delight in the garden the day after we arrived home again in Ireland, mother nature has given me another two beautiful surprises, first I discovered that there were several patches of forget-me-nots flowering, their blue a delight to the eye, then I discovered that there are several lilies of the valley flowers almost opening, how truly magical! I had not known what to expect of the garden on our return, no sooner were we home than I went to inspect, and that’s when I found lots of surprises, vegetables wild and not so wild, and waiting for me to make soup of them, kale and leeks and other goodies, they were not ready when we left in March, but now they are just waiting to be made into delicious dishes. Herbs too are doing well and looking very lush, the lemon balm has never looked so good, rosemary, lavender, comfrey and others are all ready to be used. Then I saw that the cold frames looked a bit bulky, and checked it out, to my amazement there was one plant of lettuce which had grown to become a monstrosity, the leaves so huge that one leaf would do a whole meal 🙂 Not sure what happened there! Some grass had also grown large inside. Lots of work to be done that is for sure, but I already have helpers lined up, my grandchildren, one of them had a birthday today, she is now four, and she wants a wheelbarrow, she wants to do gardening, and no fear of that, because she is small she can fit into the cold frames easily so she can do the weeding in there if she likes, looking forward to that. Anyway we are back in West Cork, and we are now already fully occupied with our work here in garden and house. Plans have been made for later in the year when we will be returning to the island of Gozo where we spent a wonderful two months, a time that will stay with us for very long.

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On the last lot of photos, some onions which I had left in the kitchen sprouted, and are now ready to plant out. Also I had some oca tubers in a pot and I found the shoots creeping through a hole in the lid and the whole pot filled with sprouts, how funny!

HERBAL MEDICINE WORKSHOP

October 18, 2015October 19, 2015 | gaiainaction

Today at the Hollies I attended a workshop which taught me more about how to make some medicinal herbal teas, tinctures, syrups, creams, and ointments for regular use, for small ailments. We learnt to identify the plants first on a walk through the land, as I have an interest in herbs for a long time, I had no difficulty recognising them all. What I was hoping to get out of the workshop was a bit more knowledge on how to make a cream or an ointment from infused oils, compresses, poultices, and I found it not only interesting, I also found it inspiring. We went through so much information, took notes, took photos, chatted, and listened, and of course we tasted and tried stuff we made, and we smelled every plant we used, and what a variety; Mullein, echinacea, hypericum, fennel, plantain, hawthorn, periwinkle, rosehip, sage, marsh mallow, calendula, rosemary, comfrey, yarrow, and elderberry. After a few hours of identifying and picking plants, we went inside and enjoyed a nice lunch of nettle soup, homemade bread and hummus, after that we got stuck into brewing up our stuff, first we chopped up some rosemary and also some comfrey root, we made a tea of the rosemary leaves, and cooked up the comfrey root in hot oil (au bain marie), we strained it, and added it to the beeswax which we had cut up and melted (au bain marie) also. Finally we mixed all the ingredients together and poured into little jars. This ointment is said to be good for sprains.

For the cream we made we used calendula flowers, and rosemary leaves, the method was straight forward enough, as was the method to make a tincture, or a syrup.

I think that I finally have found the motivation to use more of the herbs I am growing, and some of the oils that have been waiting to be turned into creams and ointments.

So much to look forward to.

A great group of interested people gathered around so many herbs.

Making the cream was of even more interest to me, we made it of calendula flowers and rosemary, the result was great.

Stirring the cream before pouring it into the little jars, labelling is also very important. Creams would usually last for about a year. And of course we got good recommendation of books, some of which I might look out for.

Digging up the comfrey root, and washing it before taking the peel off and cutting it up for use.

Cutting the comfrey root, and pouring the finished product into little jars.

Comfrey used in a poultice, and students listening and taking notes in the gardens.

Picking off the elderberries to make a syrup, and getting the hawthorn berries ready to make a tincture.

GOATS CHEESE TARTLETS AND MORE HERBAL HARVESTING

September 24, 2015September 24, 2015 | gaiainaction

Almost coming to the end of September now, and there is already a colourful display of autumn shades to be seen in trees and shrubbery. My grandchildren were collecting some of these bright red and yellow leaves from the front garden yesterday.
And the harvesting in the garden is never ending, it is just amazing what keeps turning up. The leek and scallion seed heads were finally ready for picking and drying, as was the coriander. Also the seeds of the sweet pea, and poppy, all of them are hanging around the place, what an abundance it is.
This morning, after some years of inactivity, I attended my new yoga class, we did a chakra balancing, lovely stretches and relaxation, as well as some meditation, afterward we met up for soups or coffee, I met new people, was warmly welcomed by a group of nice women. Already looking forward to next weeks session. And I felt energised enough to cook up some goats cheese tartlets this evening which is a bit of a miracle in my kitchen! 🙂