Hosta & Astilbe love shade
A garden is the perfect companion for us, just as certain plants are for each other. 🙂
Some of my favourites include:
Wormwood & Sedum
What are some of your favourite flower, vegetable, or herbal combinations?
Happy Friday, everyone!
Some lavender from my garden in 2019
This post is (a typed version of) a Power Point Presentation I’d written several years ago. I created it as an introduction to Essential Oils, at a workshop I’d offered to a group here in Haliburton, Ontario.
Much of this presentation concerns the proper use of these chemicals, (because that’s what they are). They can have serious adverse affects on your health if used improperly.
The best practices of aromatherapy, with respect to essential oils should include knowledge and common sense.
Though not the ‘miracle cure-all’ some might want us to believe, and actually classified as a pseudoscience, aromatherapy may be useful to induce relaxation, but there is not sufficient evidence to state essential oils effectively treat any condition! However, I feel aromatherapy can be a wonderful addition to in our feelings of well-being when you take into consideration the science behind the sense of smell.
Unfortunately, there’s much misinformation on the internet about essential oils, and claims by individual users and cosmetic manufacturers in general who make blatantly outrageous statements about what their products can do.
The fact is, there are no facts on any healing properties with essential oils.
There is no scientific or fact-based evidence to conclude that they reduce inflammation, fight infections, reduce wrinkles, or any other claim out there.
The information below is an attempt to help people stay safe. It’s to filter through some of the misrepresentations & unethical claims in a world that’s inundated with advertising and consumerism.
Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine.The smell from a flower stimulates the olfactory bulb. Olfaction is a part of the nose and brain associated with this, and it forms our sense of smell.
There’s a whole science behind it. Just think of the feeling you get from smelling an old-fashioned rose, a bunch of lavender, or fresh baked cookies!
Our sense of smell is closely linked with memory, more so than any of our other senses.
Cream scones
As I wrote previously a post about baking my mom’s scone recipe, and how their aroma took me back to her kitchen, scent can evoke particular memories; for example the scent of a flower in bloom can conjure vivid recollections of a positive childhood memory.
To be sure, the perfume and cosmetics industry have built themselves around this information!
On a personal level, smell is extremely important when it comes to an attraction between two people.
Take a gander at your partner! Looks may have been part of that initial attraction, but research has shown that our body odor, produced by the genes which make up our immune system, is a big part of the reason why we subconsciously choose our better half!
Egyptians preparing lily perfume, 4th century BC – Public Domain
Essential oils have been used for therapeutic, spiritual, hygienic & ritualistic purposes for at least six thousand years. Ancient civilizations, including India, China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome used them in their cosmetics, perfumes and drugs.
These oils are “Essential” in the sense that they contain the “essence of” a particular plant’s fragrance, and any of that plant’s characteristics from which it is derived.
These are three of the most popular methods.
Steam Distillation: Plants are steamed under pressure. Oil is extracted and the remaining steam forms a hydrosol = floral waters
Know your source!
Safe handling of oils
Always read & follow all label cautions and warningsSafe storage
sunlight. When they’re are applied to the skin they can cause a rash or burn when it’s exposed to sunlight.Examples: Citrus e.o. especially -> Ginger, Grapefruit, Lemon, Mandarin, Orange, Bergamot, Lime, Cumin & more…
People with sensitive skin, epilepsy, heart or kidney problems.Hype, Marketing, and Misleading information
Pleasant odors can be enjoyable and may enhance people’s efforts to relax. However I say again, there is no factual evidence that aromatherapy products provide any of the (sometimes extreme) health benefits sometimes claimed by some proponents and manufacturers.
False claims abound! Somethings in life never change, and the essential oil industry is no different. Remember that old adages: -> If something sounds too good to be true, it likely is.
For example:
Claims have been made by companies who have in the past promoted their e.o. products as a cure for these:
This is completely unethical, and in some cases illegal, which led to the FDA sending them all warning letters.
These companies include some of the biggest names in the essential oil business. If you’d like to search for some of them, here is a great place to start. A link to very public information on the FDA’s website
My point is, be a skeptic, (Caveat Emptor) because:
Recommended vegetable oils for dillution include:
Oils are diluted in a carrier oil for use in massage oils, along with diffusers, atomizers, & humidifiers for aromatherapy. (Along with using them in my products for scent, I like to heat oil in a diffuser over a candle, or smudge with them and burn them as incense).
Follow your nose! There are other ways to experience aromatherapy:
Fresh cut flowers from your garden or local florist
Did you know?
Vanilla still ranks as the most beloved scent & flavour in the world, according to statistics.
Orange, clove & cardamomMy Blending Categories
I hope this helps anyone who is interested in practicing aromatherapy and the use of essential oils.
Have fun, stay safe, and stop to smell the roses once in a while! ~ Karen
Many gardening enthusiasts may not have big yards, but they’re still keen to play in the dirt! Happily, flexing one’s green thumb is not out of reach for anyone!
Small spaces like balconies, decks, and windowsills are itching for a pretty pot of flowers.
Great gardening pleasures can be had by any gardener, even in the smallest spaces. As a former apartment dweller, I can say for the record that anyone who is keen to grow something, can have their own little piece of paradise, too.
Choice of container and design is limited only by the imagination, and of course the amount one is willing to shell out for it!
Containers range in size, shape, and substance. Clay pots, wooden barrels, wire wall/hanging baskets, and plastic urns, are just some examples. However, with limited space, one might want to keep in mind that some containers need to be stored in a sheltered site over the winter, especially clay pots which may crack in really cold climates like mine.
Not unlike a ‘conventional’ garden plot, container plantings require suitable preparation.
Space, light, soil, water access, plant food, and of course weather, should all be taken into account. By seeking suitable plant material for these conditions, one can ensure a bountiful show, so all that effort and investment going into those planters doesn’t go to waste.
Restricted root space may add constraints to plant preferences, too. Over the course of a growing season some varieties (like asparagus fern) are more prolific with their root multiplication than others.
Good drainage is key for successful container gardening. Nobody wants soggy plant roots that inevitably drown. Nothing kills a plant like kindness! (Take it from me, I know, lol.) This is easily avoided by making sure the container has holes in the bottom. With the addition of broken clay pot shards, pebbles, or even Styrofoam chips lining the bottom of the pot, excess water has somewhere else to go.
Along with begonias, geraniums, herbs, or flowing foliage plant bulbs, seeds, and yes, even veggies will thrive in a container!
Just think of the fabulous fresh basil, (plus other herbs), and even cherry tomatoes, all of which can be grown in a very small space. In fact, one year I grew a container full of ornamental corn!
Succulents are perfect for patios, and for on the wall, too! Most of all they’re drought tolerant and as a vertical garden, take up no floor or table space at all.
I like to use unusual containers, for example a bunt pan, which can go on the patio table with the big umbrella right through the hole in the middle. It’s a great way to save space! These can be picked up cheap at most second hand stores! Violets in spring would look nice in them, too.
Tropical plants love the heat and humidity. All of my houseplants go outside for the summer, with the added benefit of making my house seem a lot more spacious during the growing season! Some don’t like too much sun, and there is a downside… when I bring them back in, once again I have to determine who gets the best sunny spots for the winter, (as there’s only so much window space), make sure there are no pests clinging about, (yuck), and our house seems once again, a little less spacious! But that’s okay!
In the past, I’ve layered the two big whiskey barrel containers, (since replaced with cement pots) from our porch with flowering bulbs. Simply plant them beneath the roots of any other plants that are dug in for the rest of the growing season. Tulips, daffodils, or crocus will shoot up and offer a lovely, early spring display! I let bulb foliage die back naturally. Other plants growing around them cover that up, and the bulbs can be planted in the ground, if you have a space, for the next year. It’s a great way to offer seasonal interest!
It’s also fun to experiment with different plant combinations, colours, textures, and foliage every year. Or not, because if you find a planting package that works for you, by all means, go for it!
Do keep in mind that many tender plants may not over-winter in containers, which are exposed to really cold temperatures that gets at their roots, unlike perennials that are insulated from frost by growing directly in the ground.
Unfortunately, most annuals aren’t hardy enough to get through a Haliburton Highlands winter. (However, I’ve had good luck overwintering parsley and kale in our raised beds). But, most annual plants grown in containers are cultivated for one season only and composted.
Geraniums might be the exception to this for me. I do over-winter a few of my favourites by bringing them in the house. Out they go again in late spring once any chance of frost damage is long gone.
In any case, there’s something to be said about gardening in containers!
Imagine a beautiful show without the aggravation of maintaining a big lawn or weeding flowerbeds!
Personally, I’m quite happy to mow a bit of lawn, and weed the garden too, which I find relaxing, though the size of our lawn shrinks every year because my garden keeps expanding, lol, (funny how that happens!) but in this, I may be an exception to the rule.
Happy Gardening!
Did you know? Edible flowers contain many vitamins and minerals. They’re rich in nectar and pollen, too.When I was a little girl, I remember quite clearly a time when my Mom grabbed a daffodil away from my hand (that I’d just picked from her garden), and was about to shove in my mouth to eat. I have two points to make about this little flashback.
1) NEVER eat anything from the garden unless you know it’s okay! (Daffodils are NOT okay, and your Mom will agree).
2) For some reason, I’ve always looked at flowers in a way that some people look at a big juicy steak!
Years later, now with a garden of my own, (and a bit of knowledge thankfully), I grow flowers that not only attract pollinators, but some I can eat, and so can you!
Rose hips & Lavender
For the rose connoisseur, rose hips are particularly high in vitamin C and may contain up to 50 times more of this vitamin than you’d find in an orange. In this post however, I’d like to talk about Nasturtiums.
I’ve grown these pretty, eye-catching flowers for many years so they’ll trail along the front of my garden border. But the best part is that this plant is edible.
It’s fairly well known that the flower can be used in salads and stir fry’s. With a slight peppery flavour, it reminds me of watercress. More than just tasty, nasturtium flowers are high in vitamin C., (about the same amount you’d find in parsley), and in addition, they contain the highest amount of lutein found in any edible plant.
Lutein is a natural carotenoid found in orange-yellow fruits/flowers, leafy vegetables like kale, (carrots of course), and egg yolk. (A flamingo’s diet is rich in carotenoids which gives them the pink plumage that makes them so beautiful!)
In our eyes, carotenoids are present in macular pigments, where their importance in aiding against ocular disease is currently under clinical research. So eat your plants. 🙂
Saving Nasturtium seeds
I save nasturtium seeds to plant more next year, but I also harvest some unripe pods to create condiments, especially spiced herbal vinegars.
For this recipe, simply steep them in a jar of vinegar for a week or two, along with any other herbs you like for additional flavour, (shake daily), then strain and bottle. It’s really that easy!
The leaves are also rich in vitamin C, and in addition, they contain a sulphur compound that apparently offers an excellent anti-fungal, antiseptic, and antibiotic source when eaten.
Nasturtiums, Hollyhocks, Scarlet Runner beans
Edible flowers should be picked in late morning after the dew has gone, but before the sun is high in the sky. Pick the fully open flowers.
Never eat any flower that’s been in contact with chemicals or other poisons such as pesticides or herbicides. Organic is always the way to go! If you grow it yourself, you know it’s safe for your family. Otherwise, the local farmers’ market is another great source to find healthy food.
Much like growing grapes for making wine, flowers of the same variety, but grown in different locations, will have a slightly different taste.
This ‘terroir‘ as it’s called, (and I just love this word!) 🙂 is pronounced tĕr-wär′. It offers the complete set of local conditions where a particular fruit, vegetable, or herb, (cheese & other hand crafted food), is produced, including the soil-type, weather conditions, topography, obtains its individual character.
Flowers and foliage may taste a little different at the end of the growing season too, and can vary from year to year. Think of dandelion leaves which for me, always taste best in spring.
And, the best part you ask? Flowers are mostly free of calories!
Once more
Do NOT eat ANYTHING from the garden if you aren’t absolutely sure you know what it is first! – Thank you!
Bee balm
Borage
Calendula
Chamomile
Chive flowers
Dandelion
Daylily
Lavender
Lilac
Marigold
Mint
Nasturtium
Pansy
Rose hips
Sage
Squash blossom
Violet
Have fun experimenting, and happy gardening! ~ Karen
If you grow lemon balm in the garden, also known simply as balm or sweet balm, you’re likely aware of this Mint family member’s many virtues.
Introduced from Europe, this perennial herb has erect square stems and stands about two feet tall. The whole plant is covered with a soft down, and if the foliage is touched, even as soon as it’s just emerging from the earth in spring, it offers an abundance of that sweet lemon fragrance it’s famous for.
The flowers, insignificant looking really to us humans, are a magnet for bees, so in that respect, not insignificant at all! The Latin name, ‘Melissa officinalis’ comes from the Greek word ‘Melissa‘, which translated literally means ‘bee‘.
According to folklore, apiarists of old would rub the leaves of lemon balm inside older hives, inducing new swarms to remain and take them over.
Lemon balm thrives in poor soil, (I can account for that), and thrives in both sun or shade.
In fact, thrive is an understatement. Like any mint, it is an aggressive and prolific plant. It will take over the whole garden and your lawn if you let it. I suggest planting any in a big pot, then sinking it in to the ground if you don’t want its thick runner roots to escape.
I can’t lecture anyone about that because it did escape in my garden. Now I have to keep it (somewhat) contained by mowing parts of it down, (which likely helps it spread), but that lemon scent wafting through the air as I cut the lawn smells divine!
This herb makes a lovely tea. Hot or cold, it can be used to flavour lemonade. Mixed with Chamomile, lemon thyme, and lemon balm, this soothing tea tastes wonderful. It can be very relaxing if one is feeling stressed. Adding a little honey will sweeten the mix, too.
It must be said however, if one is on any thyroid medication, lemon balm may interfere with thyroid hormone-replacement therapy. It’s best avoided in this case, and I hasten to add, always check with a doctor, pharmacist, or certified herbalist first.
According to Mrs. Grieve, lemon balm as a drink induces a mild persperation, makes a pleasant, cooling tea for feverish patients, and, if used with salt, can be used to ease gout.
As most lemon flavours go, it’s especially nice with fish and pork. It also adds a light flavour to stews and soups. I’ve been drying this and many herbs, for a long time. Mixing them together with sea salt is an easy way to create a rub for meat, poultry, or in a salad. Steeping mints and lemon balm in vinegar, then straining is an easy way to create an herbal flavour to be used on salads, or in other culinary recipes. If you don’t like the flavour, it makes a nice hair rinse, leaving your locks shiny and healthy looking! Just don’t get any in your eyes. It will sting!
I harvest my lemon balm in the morning after the dew has evaporated, but before the high sun of the day. Use it fresh if you can, because that’s when most herbs are most potent in flavour, aroma, and qualities. Otherwise, it’s easily dried and if you harvest it before it flowers, but do leave some behind to encourage bees in the garden. Hung upside in small bunches to dry, it only takes a few days to do this, and when it’s crispy, break it all up and keep it in a jar for future use.
With regards to folklore, and in addition to Lavender, Mandrake, Deadly Nightshade, Cardamom, Plantain, Juniper, Saffron, and a host of other plants, the mint family members, including lemon balm, are considered Witches plants.
The sacred knowledge of these plants in particular were given by the Greek goddess Hecate to her daughters, Circe and Medea, and were considered consecrated herbs by this mythical trio.
According to Culpeper, ‘It is an herb of Jupiter, and under Cancer, and strengthens nature much in all its actions. Let a syrup made of the juice of it and sugar be kept in every gentlewoman’s house, to relieve the weak stomachs and sick bodies of their poor sickly neighbours: as also the herb kept dry in the house, that so with other convenient simples, you may make it into an electuary with honey.’
Flower language in folklore tells us that Lemon balm and the mint family equates with wisdom, virtue, and abundance. Customary in medieval times, peasants would ‘strew the churches with Mint or other herbs and flowers’ at funerals as a devotion to the Virgin Mary, where a poem from this custom illustrates it well
“Thou knave, but for thee ere this time of day
My lady’s fair pew had be streed full gay
With Primroses, Cowslips, and Violets sweet,
With Mints, and Marygold and Marjoram meet,
Which now lyeth uncleanly, and all among of thee.”
In the Abruzzi region of Italy, women who chanced upon sweet balm or mint would pick and bruise a leaf between their fingers as insurance for the day of their death, and that ‘Jesus Christ would assist them into Heaven.’
Gerarde stated about all mints, “It poured into the eares, taken inwardly against sea scorpions, serpents, and applied with salt, to the bitings of mad dogs.”
All very interesting! But, here’s hoping nobody’s path crosses with mad dogs, serpents or sea scopions.
Another suggestion, if like me, you grow way more herbs than you can possible use, and don’t like to see them 
go to waste, make some kindling bundles. These take no time to put together and are nothing more than dried herbs rolled into bundles and tied with raffia, used as kindling or fire starters. – Perfect for that cottage camp fire in summer, all you have to do is harvest some herbs, including mint, lavender, thyme, marjoram, etc., tie them together and use when you need them. They offer a lovely scent with which to light a fire, or, as an offering to the gods if you’re feeling particulary Witchy under a full moon.
With all of the information above, I may have either encouraged people to grow lemon balm and other mints, or totally scared them off! However, they are such useful herbs and I recommend anyone growing them in the garden.
As I sit here looking wistfully out the window, observing the three feet of snow still covering my yard, I’m actually looking forward to cutting the grass this year, and inhaling that lovely lemon scent.
References
Wall Flower Studio 