Herban Living

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had taken on the role of "herb steward", which means I'm partially responsible for gathering, drying, and storing the plants that are used for making Pfeiffer Center salt blends, salves, and other cool things.  In addition to the familiar herbs like parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, we also dry mint, fennel, lemon verbena, lavender, catnip, comfrey, and calendula flowers.  The calendula has been blooming over the past couple of weeks and I've been trying to stay on top of gathering the blossoms...

...and getting them into the dehydrator located in the greenhouse.

The Threefold Educational Center hosts a 6-week nature-focused day camp program on the campus each summer and this year's session started last week.  Visiting the garden is part of the daily schedule for the campers, who range in age from 5 to 15.  The interns are tasked with finding various ways to engage the children in the garden.  We have them taste and smell different plants, weed beds and then plant seeds, tear out things that are past season like sweet pea vines, and also pick herbs.  The lower trays in the dehydrator are very full in this photo because the campers harvested mint and lemon verbena and then went the extra step of picking the leaves off the stems.

Once those calendula blossoms are dry, we'll remove the petals and soak them in a jar of olive oil for a few weeks.   The resulting infusion will be an ingredient in the salve we'll make in the late fall/early winter.  Calendula is known for its soothing and healing properties, which is why you find it in lotions and creams.  The Pfeiffer Center salve is a favorite among the locals and a bestseller during the Christmas shopping season.  Here's some additional information on calendula, including a recipe for the infusion and a salve:
http://culture.wnyc.org/articles/last-chance-foods/2011/jun/10/calendula-anise-hyssop-flower-power/

Another flowering plant mentioned in the article is anise hyssop, which is a favorite of the bees in the garden here.  I washed out an almond butter jar today in preparation for anise hyssop leaf sun tea.  I'll let you know how that works out for me.

Best wishes for the 4th of July!