herbal infusions

In my flower bed something grows..but what I don't really know!

2011-03-12T16:48:00.000-08:00

I am not sure what this is but I shall see. Leftovers from the last renters maybe? I know the yellow ones are dandelions that son decided he was going to happily stomp on. Lovely.

I got my seeds... Yay! Can't wait to grow :)

2011-03-11T13:41:00.000-08:00

Mountain Rose has delivered to me my kidzpack seeds. All 500 of them. I hope I can keep up with all the varieties. It was actually 12 of them.. I am going to get my organic dirt tomorrow so I can start them off right. I plan to use them when needed for personal use. The packets contain 100 seeds each and it came with a dummy guide on how to grow them. This should be interesting!

So complex...

2011-03-09T21:22:00.000-08:00

I am working hard to finish my first lesson up this month. Taking notes, reading , and taking more notes. This is my life. I think I might do a little more reading because the note taking while reading is really using up all my energy. I can always go back and do that but I just need to really jump in and get some things down. Going over the notes I have already written should be the next thing on my list to do and I am dreading it. Should have reread them the day after taking them. Oh well, you live and learn. GN!

Depressing weather....

2011-03-09T13:55:00.000-08:00

Today has been a very depressing kind of day... I woke up at the crack of dawn only to have the sun not come out at all today and the high is only 50 :( . Can anyone say depressing. Today has also been a lazy day. Funny how those two go together so often. The good thing is it rained. I love rain. Especially at night when the window is open. It puts me to sleep in 10 mins. I have been meditating at night before bed for the past couple of days and I actually jumped out of bed this morning at the crack of dawn. It was so strange like it clears my head enough to sleep soundly. I definitely need to keep this up.

Japanese Flowering Quince...found!

2011-03-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

I found out what the beautiful pink flower was growing in my backyard.Its a flowering Japanese Quince. Good thing to know. Now I have to figure out how to care for it and possibly it needs some pruning. This should be easy enough I hope. I have read up on it so far and it seems like it should have more flowers on it but I think its in a too shaded area to grow to its full extent. Im going to see if I can take some cuttings and grow one in a sunnier place myself. :)

2011-03-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

I am anxiously waiting on my shipment still...the countdown has begun. It should be here by Friday. I found a flower / tree in my backyard today. Not sure what it is but they are really beautiful flowers. Pink and with yellow on the inside. Not sure what piece the inside is called (maybe I will look that up).

My Order has shipped from Mountain Rose!!

2011-03-03T21:42:00.000-08:00

I am so excited it is all coming together. I ordered the kidzherbs gift seed pack for $20.It has in it, Basil, Borage, Calendula, California Poppy, Catnip, Chamomile, Fennel, Feverfew, Flax, Johnny Jump-Up, Lemon Balm and Love-in-a-Mist. It comes with a book for kids as well so I thought it was a good deal. I can read it to the babies (they are 3 and 1 1/2) :). I am so excited to start planting and see what happens. I hope I don't kill them before they have a chance to grow. LOL. I have some studying to catch up on though. Will start writing some very interesting articles soon. Its very interesting so far. I didn't realize the history behind herbs and also how many there really are.

Something interesting I learned: Yin and Yang have more meaning than just the little circle of half black and half white. Yin means (in chinese beliefs) cooling and Yang means warming when speaking of energies. Its sort of like positive and negative energies, light and dark. There are certain herbs that have a cooling effect on the body for healing and a warming effect on the body. If you give a naturally cool person a Yin herb or cooling herb it will make them more cool and defeat the purpose of treating them. I just thought this was interesting and wanted to share. :)

I am officially starting SCHOOL..

2011-02-10T20:21:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to be starting my studies at the East West School Of Herbology. My books, and lessons should be in the mail in the next week or so. I looked around and of course there are not many schools that offer this alternative type of study online. I was going between Everglades University and EWH. I just liked this school more it seems to be better suited to what I want when I finish. Its going to take me about 3 years years to finish it completely but it looks to be well worth the time. I will start writing more as I begin studying and learning more about the topic. Until next time..

Seeds , seeds, and more SEEDS!

2011-01-27T19:32:00.000-08:00

Im getting ready for the spring and I am more than ready to start my first mini flower garden. Im excited and nervous at the same time but only time will tell if I have a true "green thumb." I have been thinking about where to buy my seeds or seedlings from. Or do I buy cuttings or clippings or just cheat and buy the plant? I guess its not really cheating but I want to grow the flowers and plants as much as I want to use them. I have been reading , and reading , and reading. On what to do for each individual plant/ flower. I know I have read that its a good idea to buy rosemary as its a little bit harder to grow from seed but is it really that difficult . I also don't want to invest money into seeds that aren't going to work out in the end for me either. I was looking at Mountain Rose Herbs to buy from. They seem to be the most popular suppliers for herbs and seeds so I am going to go check them out. Who knows what I will find.

I really need to take some pictures of my backyard to see how much I can plant as well.

rosewater face wash

2011-01-24T21:41:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't exactly call this a "recipe". It is very simple and easy to do. Now the hard part is getting organically grown roses to use. If this is not possible you can always buy rosewater face wash online or elsewhere.

Rosewater is a known tonic and great for acne. It is also very gentle on sensitive skin. Which is a plus :) I myself have extremely sensitive skin and need the gentlest cleansers I can find.

This process is so simple your going to laugh. You can either fill up your sink with hot water and throw the petals from the rose in and wait 5-10 mins. Splash your face a few times with it. Or boil some water and pour over the rose petals preferably in a glass jar and then later transfer to a spritzer after it cools down some. Mist over your face and go.

So quick and simple like I said. I am hoping to try this soon. I hear it works very well and is not overdrying for your skin either which some store bought tonics can sometimes be.

Enjoy!

an herbal infusion

2011-01-24T21:14:00.000-08:00

An herbal infusion is simply a process of using fresh or dried herbs to make a nice refreshing drink , something to add to a cream or lotion for medicinal purpose , a skin wash (used in a bathtub) or for your face. There are many other ises as well but it is simply a process of boiling hot water and pouring over herbs to create a a tea like liquid (strain the herbs before using) and there you are, an herbal infusion is born. I will tell you a more detailed description below in case that was not exactly the explanation you were looking for.

Okay so you start by getting your herbs (fresh or dried). Fresh is always better as most know simply because fresh is best. :)

Next, boil some water in your nearest pot.

Pour over herbs and let steep for about 10 minutes or longer if you want it to be of stronger substance.
(which is actually then called a decoction but I will go over that in another post) You will of course need a glass jar that you have put your herbs into and THEN pour over the boiling water. (guess I should have mentioned that before. sorry.)

That is pretty much it. Its fairly simple to do but can be used in so many awesome ways.

Recipes coming soon,.. (like in my next post)