A few months ago the children helped me plant out some more herbs from seed. We have plenty of thyme, lemon verbena, rosemary and oregano. The basil is struggling with the cooler weather, even with seaweed tonic, but I'm hoping it will hold in there and we can harvest some in late spring. We also have a large bay tree in the front yard and several bushes of rose geranium and English lavender. Parsley is missing from our supplies, so we'll have to get on and plant some of that soon, too.
I'm trying to be mindful of teaching the children as much about the natural benefits of plants as I'm able. This is a huge job, especially since my own knowledge is quite limited. I recently added a copy of Walking the World in Wonder by Ellen Evert Hopman to our book collection. It's set out in seasonal sections, and a double page opens to show a photograph and description per plant. So, before unleashing this on the children, I'm going to do some more studying and see if we can find a few new herbs to discuss, or even look for in the nursery.
Around a year ago, my friend Louise told me about this great site: Herbmentor. Now, I really need to get into gear and research more of their back newsletters, especially as our seasons are reversed, and see what I can apply there on a regular basis. You can sign up for regular free newletters here. The latest newsletter has a wonderful looking Rose Elixer recipe (instructional video included) which I know the children will enjoy making. We'll just have to wait a couple months until our roses are blooming again. :)
5 comments:
My herb knowledge is limited but we've always kept aloe vera on hand for sunburn & comfrey for healing as well as the usual edible sorts ~ oh & naturally I know about things like nightshade. ☺ Useful in fantasy plots. lol
Hi Alecat,
Thanks for this post. I am embarking on a kitchen garden this year, and in desperate need of borrowing some other green thumbs! Thanks for the inspiration :)
Blessings,
Christine
That book looks great. I have been trying to do more herbal remedies and things for a few years now, but I am still learning. The herbs I manage to grow myself (on our balcony) are mostly for eating, though. I have basil and rosemary at the moment. Those are my two favorite, and I use them in cooking a lot. I'm going to go check out that website now!
Nightshade! I remember when I first saw this plant, full of it's berries, and thinking I was in for a treat ... we'd bought a house with established blueberries. Oh dear, didn't I have a lot to learn then!! No, I didn't eat any, but felt embarrased getting excited and then shocked after looking up my gardening book. Lol!!
Aloe vera would definitely be a good find, too. Thanks for mentioning it!
lol I must remember to double check before I eat at your house! ☺
Aloe Vera at least grows easily.
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