Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin)

 

 

     There are some extraordinary fragrances in this world.  Just imagine some of them for a moment.  Sit back, close your eyes and breathe in, imagining these scents:  Rose, Hyacinth, Lilac, All Spice, Anise, Frankincense, Patchouli.

     If you're not familiar with the scent of patchouli, it's usually described as being earthy, but there is a bit more to this amazing plant than smelling like dirt or earth. 

     Patchouli is one of those fragrances that improves over time, and it has more than a single variation.  The essential oil can be distilled or CO2 extracted and will also come available in light or dark.  Not everyone really enjoys their very first whiff of straight patchouli oil under their nose, but given time, or adding it to just the right blend, seems to make most people come around.  Many eventually learn to love it.

     Patchouli's scent is best used as a base note, since it is heavy and a bit musky.  It'll help to ground your fragrances and give them a sexy earthy note that in many cases, sets off the rest of perfume perfectly.  Patchouli is a wonderful base for florals and citrus scents alike. 

 

     The patchouli plant is perennial in zones 9-11, anything under, it can be grown as an annual or brought indoors.  It does best in partial sun and is easy to grow.  To the right is dried patchouli with roses and lavender. 

    

     Patchouli is not all about fragrance, however, as it holds amazing properties for skin and health.  It has been used to help with conditions such as acne, eczema, inflammations, fungal infections, chapping, dandruff, and irritated skin conditions.

    

     In aromatherapy, the essential oil is burned for stress relief, tension, insomnia, and also as an aphrodisiac, one of it's more popular roles, so it is used often in sensual massage blends.  It can also be added to insect repellant sprays.

 

     Patchouli is an essential ingredient for many product makers.  With its many benefits and amazing fragrance, it rates highly among soap makers.  The dried leaf is an excellent addition for homemade potpourri, incense and as few people realize, steeped into teas.  (Do not ingest patchouli in its essential oil form)   

 

     Patchouli can be infused into oils and made to make creams, salves, ointments and soaps.  Blended into a foot soak, it can be used to treat athlete's foot.  Infused in alcohol it can be added to homemade perfumes or spritzed directly onto skin.  The essential oil can be diffused, steamed, blended into soaps and creams for fragrance, added to baths and dropped into potpourri.  The ideas for such a wonderful aromatic herb are endless. 

 

     Patchouli may be best known as the scent for hippies.  That's because it became so popular in the 60's as a natural, down to earth scent, that it was worn often, and many times, too strongly.  Patchouli is heavy, to make the best use of it's wonderful fragrance, use it lightly and delicately, as it always smells much better when it drifts along unexpectedly, as if on the wind. 

 

     Here are some beautiful patchouli soaps made by some soaping friends of mine.  In order:  Suzanne Finley, Jenny Duncan, Heather Mayberry Melton, Sally Munroe McIntyre, Beth Cole Byrne, Kim Yeany, and my own.   

 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 

 

As you can see, this awesome fragrance can spark a wonderful variety of ideas and beauty! 

 

Here is a recipe for some wonderful Patchouli Rose Potpourri!

1 C. dried Rose buds

1 C. Dried Patchouli Leaf

1/2 C. Lavender buds

1/4 C. Oak Moss

3 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon

3 Tbsp Whole cloves

3 Tbsp Oris Root Powder or Benzoin Gum Powder (fixative)

1/4 C Sea Salt

30 drops Patchouli Essential Oil (into the salt 3 days before blending)

20 Drops Rose Absolute (into salt 3 days before blending)

 

Mix everything together, store in a large plastic zip bag or closable container.  Put away in a dry dark place for 1 month.  Set out in pretty glass dishes, fill sachets, etc. 

 

Miraculous Mullein

Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus) is one of the best known wonder herbs.  It's an incredibly effective, yet gentle medicinal that can be used on a large variety of health issues including earache, wounds, and colds. 
Mullein grows readily throughout the United States and is considered a common weed, pulled and tossed to the side by many.  You'll find it growing tall near roadsides, empty lots, and in fields.  Easily spotted by it's tall flower spikes in summer. 
The leaves of Mullein are a soft mint green and covered with a soft velvet.  The plant grows in a small rosette on the ground it's first season and then the following spring, shoots up a strong thick stalk which can grow as tall as 10 feet and flowers at it's top.  The flowers are yellow and only a few open at  time, making it unattractive for decorating purposes.
The leaves are large at the bottom of the plant, growing 8 inches long and 2-3 inches wide, they gradually grow smaller up the stem and alternate sides.  Since the plant grows in dry soils, this leaf arrangement helps to direct raindrops to the leaves below, ultimately guiding the water droplets to the roots of the plant.  The velvet acts as a moisture barrier and also an irritant to grazing animals.  Thus, when making a mullein tea, you need to strain it well. 

Harvest the plant it's second season when the stalk is in flower.  Dry the leaves and flower stalks separately.  You can lay them out flat, hang them, or dry in a warm oven. 

Medicinal Use:  The leaves and flowers are used in medicine. The leaves carry a large amount of mucilage and can be bitter, the flowers are more sweet.  The main constituent is a resinous gum, a bit of tannin and some volatile oil.

Mullein offers natural pain relieving properties, and offers demulcent (anti-inflammatory), emollient (softening of skin) and astringent (shrink or constrict skin tissue) properties. 

Often used for coughs and colds, the leaves are brewed into tea and drank or smoked as a tobacco to open airways.  It is used in the treatments of asthma.  Teas offer bowel aid and are soothing for bouts of diarrhea and/or constipation and bleeding bowels are helped when decoctions are made in warm milk. Mullein also offers sedative properties and the teas can be sipped at night to help with insomnia.

Poultices are made for treating hemorrhoids, burns and scars, salves are made for skin irritations, bruises and pains. 

Oil infusions are used for ear aches, inflammations, joint problems, frost bite, bruising, eczema, psoriasis, and more.  Flowers steeped in oils are known to be a strong bactericide and tinctures are made to battle headaches, earaches, and migraines.  The tinctures are made in a 1:5 ratio of 40-50% alcohol. 

Root decoctions are used for tooth aches, cramps, and convulsions. 

Seeds are the only parts not used and should be avoided.

As you can see, mullein is an incredible plant, offering so much.  As an herbalist, I gather my information and value these natural medicines offered by the plants around us.  It's hard for me to understand why we, as a culture, don't embrace these natural healing properties more than we do.  We have a realm of healing herbs growing within our cities, forests, fields and towns.  I encourage you to learn more, look around, and get to know what that weed is before you pull it out and toss it aside.  It could very well hold the medicine you may long for to relieve tomorrow's headache, tension, or sleeplessness.  :)



There are no recorded side effects or health warnings associated with the use of mullein and is considered safe to give to children. This article is not intended to cure any diseases and is not to be used as a substitute for medical care.  Always ask your doctor before starting any herbal supplement.  Herbs need more special care when pregnant or breast feeding.  Always be aware of allergies when using or taking herbs.   

Soapwort and Shampoo DIY

Soapwort, Saponaria officinalis, is a beautiful blooming plant that is gorgeous when grown to cascade over a rock wall or ledge or free to cluster a pretty spot in the garden bed. 

These beautiful flowers come in varying hues of white, pink, lilac and purple.  Soapwort is easy to grow, gets 1-3 ft high, and makes a beautiful ground cover.  Soapwort likes sun and a fair amount of water, especially in dry seasons. Deadheading will help prolong the bloom.

The coolest thing about this plant however, is how it got its name...

Soapwort can in fact be used to create a cleansing soap. It's root and leaves are full of natural saponins, and using them as a natural, gentle cleanser is very easy. 

 

You can start with fresh or dried bits of leaves and roots

 

  Boil 1 C water and then pour it directly over a Tbsp. of the plant material.  Let it steep for 20 minutes. Strain, and use this cleansing water to wash silks and other gentle materials around the home.

 

To play with soapwort even more, you can make a mild shampoo from it.  Take pre-cautions that soapwort is toxic to ingest and some people may have sensitivities or allergies to it.  If you've never tried it before, make only a small amount to try it out first. 

 

How to make Soapwort Shampoo

 

The needs of hair care are a bit different than silks, so to make your shampoo formulated for hair, here are some things you can do:

 

Add herbs good for hair to your water:  The infusions should not be too strong, or they will leave residue in your hair.  Esp. Rosemary:

 

Rosemary (Shine, Strength, growth, dark hair, Dandruff)

Nettle (strength, dry hair, Dandruff)

Horsetail (Damaged Hair)

Chamomile (damaged hair, blonde hair, soothe scalp, Dandruff)

Lavender (Soothe Scalp, Oily Hair)

Burdock Root (Damaged Hair, Dandruff)

Elderflower (Dry Hair)

Sage (Damaged Hair

Thyme (Damaged Hair, Soothe Scalp)

Calendula (Soothe Scalp, Oily Hair)

 

Boil your herbs as chosen with your water (Let's make 16 oz.)

Add DL Panthenol at 3%  (13.60 g.) dissolve in the boiling water

 

Add your Soapwort root and/or leaves (root is better than leaves)

The typical usage is about 10%  (45.35 g.)

 

Add to the herbal water and steep for 20-30 minutes

 

Strain your shampoo, add essential oils of choice, no more than 4% total

This shampoo has a very short shelf life ... use all at once or store in fridge NO MORE than 3 days!

 

OR preserve it!  I use liquid Germall Plus or make tiny batches only when I need it and use it up in one shot

 

this consistency is just like water and using soapwort takes getting used to.  There is no lather when you wash and it does take quite a bit for long hair.

Remember.. THIS is natural cleansing, you can't compare it to chemical surfactants!

 

Pour onto scalp or hair and rub all through scalp and into hair... rub rub rub...

you won't realize it's cleaning until after you rinse

Rinse out completely, and you will feel clean hair

This may not cleanse enough for very oily or dirty hair or hair that has a lot of styling product in it... it's a very GENTLE cleanser

Follow with herbal conditioner, preferably made with BTMS and the same herbs as shampoo

 

VARIATIONS

If you want to add aloe, count it into your total water amount, but add it to the water after boil to not kill the properties.

 

You may thicken your shampoo with xanthan gum, (see picture below) but I found it made very little difference.

 

You may want to play with emulsifying your shampoo water with other ingredients and coming up with you own unique shampoo creations.

 

 

 You may find soapwort shampoo on my website at
www.naturescomfortsoap.com

Also join us for natural and herbal talk on my Facebook group, The Herbal Conservatory
https://www.facebook.com/groups/621781941240173/

 

 

 

 

 



The Love of Roses

The Love of Roses

If there is something most people know about me, it's that I love flowers.  Come to my home, and you'll see garden beds, hanging baskets, and window boxes full of colorful petals.  Look closer, and you'll see that roses are at the heart of them all.

 

 

Come inside my home, you'll see roses on plates, platters, tea cups, potpourri, books, and more.  I love everything about this amazing flower, and if you take the time to explore them with me, you'll understand why I chose them to be my signature flower, both personally as well as for my business.

 

Roses are amazing and we can start with the obvious reasons: Their beautiful looks and fragrance.  From the single petaled beauties, like wild roses and Rosa xanthine to the full double flowers of tea and damask roses, each rose has a history of beauty that is unsurpassed in the botanical realm. 

The rose has been favored by perfumists all around the world and the range of aromatic notes from species to species is just as broad as their amazing color. 

To say the least, even in the most common ways we see the rose, it's variety of beauty is overwhelming. 

You may look at the rose and think it's nothing more than an over rated garden flower, packed with thorns and is a beast to keep alive... but...  did you know that the rose is essentially, an herb? 

 

It's true.  Roses take the crown in not only beautiful garden flowers, but also, the world of herbalism.

 

 

Rose petals are packed with color, fragrance, vitamin C, and amazing healing properties that are so beneficial to both your overall beauty and your health.  Not only are roses top rated for perfume making, but also for skin care, shampoos, soaps, and more!  (It's good to note here, that when using roses medicinally, it's important to use specific species and not random hybrids.)

History:  In the 1st Century, over 30 medicinal uses for the rose were recorded.

Medieval gardens grew hundreds of roses for medicinal purpose and food more so than for beauty

Native Americans of differing tribes all knew several rose remedies for various ailments, from burns to antidepressants, to gastro intestinal problems.

Roses have been used for muscular pain, diseases of the eyes, as well as blood tonics, skin tightening, beautifying, and anti-inflammatories. 

Roses contain over 300 chemical constituents in their flowers, hips, bark, roots, and essential oil... and only about 100 have been identified.

The vast amount of medicinal and cosmetic power the rose has to offer is staggering.

Here are a few easy things you can do with rose petals (Be sure they have not been sprayed nor fed fertilizers, avoid florist roses!)

 

Make a rose petal tea and use it as a gargle to help a sore throat

 

Essential oil in a cream will dramatically help dry skin

 

Use as a natural perfume

 

A tea of petals and hips can help with painful menstruation

 

I could go on and on about all the rose has to offer.  I love how they feel on my skin when I make creams from rose water, or mix a rose and witch hazel tincture together to cleanse my face. 

 

 

There is no other ingredient I enjoy working with more than the rose, and you may see me mentioning it quite often, because the more I make with this delightful flower, the more I continue to want to create with it.  The scent, the feel, the wonderful cleansing, it all offers little captivating roles to my daily beauty routine that I can pick out and thoroughly enjoy and appreciate.

Nothing pampers my skin, mind, and soul quite like roses do.

You can find my rose products on my website

www.naturescomfortsoap.com

I'll always be adding to it and offering several styles of the products you see available there now. 

I hope this helped you gain some appreciation for roses, and if you already loved them, I hope reading this helped you to love them more! 

 

 

Check back here often for more!  I'll be sharing recipes, how to's and much much more!

You can also come join my herbal group on Facebook!  The Herbal Conservatory!

 

Thanks for reading!!!  :)

 

 

 

 



How to get great blooms from your roses

Everyone wants beautiful roses in their garden, but not everyone really knows how to care for them to get them to bloom beautifully all season.  Most people understand the basics, feed, prune, and feed some more.

Roses do like to eat, and one of the best things to give them is a good dose of bone meal or blood meal.  They also really like alfalfa, it helps the blooms.  What I do is buy the dry alfalfa cubes, the kinds you see at pet stores for pet rabbits.  I give each rose 2 cubes.  Throw them into a bucket of water and leave it for about an hour.  The cubes should be mushy and falling apart....stir them up, making sure they're all broken up.  Pour directly on the ground around your rose bushes.

direct feeding with fertilizers is also good, especially the slow release types, but it never hurts to give them a dose of your water soluble stuff too.

Pruning is very important to your roses.  Besides seasonal pruning (to be done differently for each type of rose) you should also keep your rose bushes dead headed throughout the growing and blooming seasons.  After each flower is spent, cut the stem down to the next set of leaves, be sure to make a clean diagonal cut.  This will help the stem put energy into creating a new blooming stem, rather than make seed.

The other thing to prune throughout the season are the suckers.  All roses get suckers.

These are tall, thick rose branches that grow straight up from the base of the rose bush.  Properly named, suckers suck bloom making energy from the bush.  These easy to find branches never bloom, they just grow.... cut them off as low to the ground as possible, and continually check your roses throughout the season for more of them.    The sucker in the photo was cut from my Double Delight Tea Rose.

    All roses need at least 6 hours of sunlight each day, so be sure to plant them in a sunny location.  They need adequate water, but there are a few hybrids now a days that are able to withstand droughts rather well.  Always research which roses will do the best in your area before deciding on which ones to go with.  Well drained soil is also important, as root balls do not like soggy conditions.

Early to mid summer always brings on the pests, and one of the biggest pests to roses is the Japanese Beetle.  They are the enemy of rose lovers everywhere.  These beetles arrive in droves, landing on our beloved rose bushes, devouring the leaves, blooms and even the unopened buds of every flower they can find, causing huge amounts of damage in their path.  Fighting them is not easy.

The fight begins with grub control.  The japanese beetles start life under the dirt as grubs.  Laying out grub control on your lawn begins the beetle control.  Once the adults emerge, they are ready for destruction and mating.  Keep a can of soapy water or water with ab it of vinegar in it nearby.  Japanese beetles are slow and easy to ctach, knock them into your can, they can't escape and will die in minutes.  You can also spray your roses with pesticides, but be careful, and spray only the plants that absolutely need it....remembering that pesticides will also kill beneficial insects as well as butterflies and other enjoyable types.... poison should always be a last resort, and still, only when desperation calls for it.  After a few weeks, the beetle population dies back and the fight will be over, until next year....and never place a japanese beetle trap anywhere near your garden! .... it will only lure them to come find your flowers ... traps should only be used for very large yards, and only placed far away from your garden.

Following each of these basic guidelines should keep your roses blooming from summer until frost, of course some rose types may have other requirements as well... but this sums up the basic necessities and should get you on the way to enjoying some beautiful roses in your yard.

Carpet Rose "Amber"





Hypertufa How To

       If you're looking for a creative addition to your garden, something you can make yourself, is long lasting, durable, and easy ....  you may be interested in Hypertufa.

    Hyper what?

Hypertufa is a type of man made rock, meant to resemble tufa rock... a porous precipitated limestone rock.... favorable for growing plants in.  It is easy to make, strong like concrete, but light weight and doesn't crack under extreme temperatures. 

Hypertufa is a mixture of portland cement, peat moss, and perlite.... add some water, and you are ready to mold.

But what do you use for a mold??  Look around, anything from cardboard boxes to old plant pots, to tiles, plates and tupperware can be used as molds.  Many of these items need to be lined with plastic so that the mix doesn't adhere to the surface once it's dried.  I use trash bags and shopping bags. 

Start by gathering your supplies....
Portland Cement
Peat
Perlite
Wheel Barrow (plastic)
Shovel
Hose
Molds
Plastic for lining
Large trash bags for storing
Rubber Gloves
Goggles
Mix 2 parts of the cement to 3 parts peat and perlite each.  I used a plastic milk gallon jug, cut open the top and mixed 2 gallons of cement to 3 gallons of perlite and peat each.
Slowly add water, mixing with your gloved hands as you go, until you have a consistency of oatmeal.  When squeezed, water should lightly drip between your fingers.  Make sure the mixture is thorough.

Line your mold with the plastic bags or trash bags and start pressing in the hypertufa, about 2 inches thick.  Build up the sides and keep going until you have a solid bowl shaped into the mold as shown below.... When you get to the top edges, take care to keep them even, shaping them with your thumbs as you work to keep a nice thick, flat edge.

 You'll have a lot of mix if you followed the amounts listed above, you'll use a lot of molds, and still have more, so you can shape some into rock forms, or flatten them over tiles or other similar shapes to make stepping stones.  Another popular thing to do is spread it thin over a large leaf, like an elephant ear, for a garden decoration.

Once all of your hypertufa is molded, it is ready to cure.

Place each piece carefully into a plastic trash bag.  The longer you allow the curing process, the better qaulity your tufa will be .... so be patient!!!

Set them into a shady cool place, like under a porch or in a shed, they need 2-3 days for the initial curing process.  For the first day or two when you check it, the tufa will still be soft and easily scratched with your nails.... once it is hard enough to be scratched with a screwdriver, (usually 3 days) it is ready to unmold.

Carefully unmold each piece, pulling the plastic liners away from your tufa. 

Again, they will need to cure, this time for at least 3 weeks.  Set them aside, away from sun and heat and leave them be.

Once cured, they will need to be leached of any chemicals.  Set them outside, hosing them down each day, or left in the rain....some people leave them outside all winter long to naturally leach and are ready to use them the following spring.

Your results will be a super tough potting dish that will be able to withstand almost any weather conditions thrown its way! 

As you work more and more with tufa, you can become more creative, doing larger projects, adding cement coloring, and more.

Below is a little videa that shows more detail and just how easy making hypertufa can be!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiqs_fFcPMI

August? Already?

Toad Lily

     It's amazing how fast summer seems to fly by, and with everything being so busy, it has been hard to find the time to write.  ...on top of that, Google has not been letting me sign in properly to the replies ... I have had a few people posting comments and I've replied to them all, but for some reason, they are not posting .... so to those of you commenting, I'm sorry for the lack of replies....but I do see them and appreciate them!!  I hope I figure it out.  ...Bernie, that little yellow iris photo was the iris you sent me a few years ago .... I love it!!
     So there are a few things I want to catch up on ....  We've done so much work this year ... expansions everywhere, plus a new rock garden in the front of the walkway.  I didn't really plan on this garden, but I had a large round pile of half stone and rock, half mulch and decayed branches .... this was created from the piles of mulch and rock that had been dumped here for the past couple of years for projects .... what wasn't used, was gradually piling up .... so .....  it got spread out and turned into a rock garden.

Another name for a rock garden is usually an Alpine Garden.  The plants gorwn here are usually found in rocky terrain, where delicate plants can't grow.  So you want to plant things that fit the style and can grow in your rockiest of soil....where actually, there is more rock than soil ... so you can imagine how tough these plants need to be.  Sedum is a great choice for filling in the spaces.  Also called Stone Crop, it grows in through rocks and stones, spreading out as it goes.  There are all sorts of sedum types, from sprawlers to tall flowering ones.  The more you add into your rock garden, the more interest you create.

I' ve also added some lavender, candytuft, and salvia....  and will continue to choose more plants for it as I go.  Since this photo, it has been finished with more rocks and boulders, which we've found along the rocky creek just up the road.  ...So, I will get more photos of this garden put up as it progresses.

Let's Talk Lilies!    

.... because like iris and roses, they are among my top favorites.  I've started to collect lilies, both asiatics and orientals .... but it is the orientals that capture me....big tall stalks, wide beautiful blooms, heavy floral fragrance, big showy colors ..... wow.

    Oriental lilies are a large hardy bulb.  Plant them in the spring or fall, they bloom in late July to mid August.   There are several named varieties each with brilliant colors and patterns.  They do grow tall, once established ( 2-3 years) so keep them back into your beds so they can tower up and over the other plants.

So here are some photos of some of my orientals ....

Acupulco Pink

Stargazer

Arabian Red

Tiger Woods

Oriental Lily Tree Hybrid

Tiger Lily Confusion

     Of course, there are many kinds of lilies.  But Tiger Lily is the most confused of all of them.  A lot of people call any type with spots "Tiger Lilies" .... actually, I've heard all sorts of lilies being called tiger lilies ....  but most of the time they are pointing out a day lily or an oriental with spots.  If you google "image of tiger lily", you'll see just how confused most people are .... you'll see orange asiatics, orange daylilies, etc ..... All of those orange native lilies you see growing all over the roadsides and in people's yards ..... a lot of people call these tiger lilies ....  but they are just a type of native day lily. 

 So what is a true tiger lily??  Lilium tigrinum originated from the far east and has upside down curvy petals.  It is indeed orange with black spots .... and here she is.....

Gorgeous, long, lengthy and really carrying no fragrance, this is the real thing.  I planted this one 2 years ago, it was young, and finally just got its first blooms this summer.  It was definitely worth the wait. 
So now you know the difference and next time you see someone point out a false tiger lily, you'll know!!

Asiatic lilies differ from orientals, they bloom earlier in the summer, carry no fragrance, are short and smaller and have stronger, stocky stalks with smaller leaves.  They are great for front displays in the garden or to fill in spaces through out the center.  Nothing beats them for big bold color.

Although they are different, all lilies require the same kind of care.  Sunny location, rich soil, a little fertilizer and adequate watering.....not too much.  They are reliable at coming back each year and are very low maintenance.... just cut the stalks short after blooming is done. 
Plant your bulbs in spring or fall, but I believe that fall is the best time for planting them.  This gives them a full year to adapt to their new location and be strong enough to give the best blooms.  Sometimes planting in the spring will require you to wait for the following summer to enjoy the flowers. 

I hope you enjoyed the liles~~