Today's herb is Lavender

Lavender

Tranquility and purity are in the fragrance of lavender.  Sheets which smell of lavender give one a good nights' sleep.  It's fresh, clean scent is used in bath water.  Lavender also repels insects.  It relieves headaches and generally calming.  Lavender wands wound in ribbon are pretty in a vase and freshen the air. It has antiseptic properties and can be used as incense.  My favorite uses for lavender are in potpourri, sachets, bath tea, herb pillows...Lavender oil is distilled from the oil glands embedded in the tiny star shaped hairs which cover flowers, leaves and stems. 
I grow lavender in my Eco-balanced botanical gardens. The organic lavender I use is always from the present year's crop and the fragrance will last you for years.  I love to hang door sachets so you will enjoy lavender's relaxing scent as you enter the room.  My favorite is Lavender Province because it is highly fragrant yet soothing.  To me, it makes the best lavender wands as well.

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These are a few of the styles of sachets I make.  They are also made to order.  I have various other herbs I use for herbal products, as well

Satin lavender sachet

Heart with flowers lavender sachet

Blue and gold lavender sachet with butterfly

Americana door sachet....just in time for the 4th of July season!

Shaby Chic

Shabby Chic

INTERESTING HELPFUL HERBS FOR THE DAY

  EUCALYPTUS, YARROW AND ROSEMARY

Eucalyptus

 Eucalyptus is an evergreen tree and can grow to 300 feet or more.  When mature, leaves are bluish-green and covered with oil-bearing glands.  The leaves are used in dried potpourris and are an excellent air freshener.  Eucalyptus is stimulating, antiseptic, antiviral and an insect repellent.  It is good for colds, viruses, aches and pains.  Infuse Eucalyptus leaves in boiling water and breathe in the steam to clear congestion, sinus problems.  Wrap a warm eucalyptus soaked towel around your neck to ease sore throat pain and congestion.  Soak feet in eucalyptus water and rub feet with eucalyptus oil to freshen feet or for a good sleep.  Blend it with hyssop, lavender, lemon, lemon grass, melissa, pine and rose.  I grow my own Eucalyptus in my Eco-balanced organic botanical gardens.  I keep my eucalyptus trimmed back a little.  Caution:  do not take eucalyptus internally unless under care of a licensed alternative medical care professional since it can be toxic.  Eucalyptus does not normally grow in Arkansas.  I cover mine in the winter with two or three feet of compost, which generates heat for the plant.  As you can see, it survives, but has not grown to the 300 feet it can in Australia.

Yarrow 

Yarrow is fascinating to me. It is a hardy herbaceous perennial and grows up to three feet.   This unassuming plant conceals great powers. One small leaf will speed decomposition of raw compost (I use it that way all the time); yarrow's roots secretions will activate the disease resistance of nearby plants; and it intensifies the medicinal actions of other herbs. Infuse with water, to make a copper fertilizer. It has long been considered sacred because the Druids used yarrow stems to divine seasonal weather in Europe, while in China yarrow stems were used to foretell the future. Consult a licensed alternative medical professional before ingesting yarrow.  It is edible and used as garnishes and in medicinal teas, so it is not toxic, but I do not have a medical degree; therefore I do not feel comfortable in referring ingesting any medicinal remedies to anyone other than myself!

Rosemary

Ahhh....Rosemary: the miraculous herb! The Dew of the Sea!  It has been used by apothecaries from the earliest of times. Rosemary has so many uses besides cooking.  It provides an aromatic addition to wreaths and garlands. It has antiseptic properties and is invigorating, increasing blood circulation as a bath tea. Dried stems can be used in the fire place for a "Christmas time" aroma.  The dried stems are also excellent barbecue skewers.  Rosemary repels insects, freshens the air and has many other uses. There are many types of rosemary: some grow into hedges and others creep along the ground.  Rosemary also has beautiful flowering blooms.

 I will be posting more "common lay terms" herbal knowledge from day to day, so please come back with comments and any fun herbal facts you may have.  Professionals with University Degrees are strongly welcome to comment!

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There is Still Time

 There are still places on this earth untouched...Mountain Tundra, Mountain Valleys, Deserts, the Eagles' Skies who echo voices of the Old Ones, The Ones Who Have Gone Before...Where The Wind flows Equine Spirit Wisdom of The Ages throughout ones' soul...There are still places...there is still time...

These photos are of places accessible only by extreme off road vehicles.  Then one must park and hike to the high country and view places where no human has touched.  Places for undisturbed wildlife...

Meet Sir Magnum who in 1998, up around 9,000 ft., chose me to be his human.  He is a healing horse who has an old spirit.  Born up around Burthoud Pass, CO.

Line back Dunn primitive zebra stripes on legs and withers.

Bristle Cone Pine over 5,000 years old

"Some mornin's will find us up above the timber line.  Lonesome don't seem like much once you're this high. When it's all said and done, you'll usually find..me and the eagle are of the same mind.  In my dreams there's a horse..he stands 18 hands high. He's as white as the snow and there's fire in his eyes.  He'll bear only me, though others have tried...and together we'll ride up across the divide. Some mornin's will find us up above the timber line.  Lonesome don't seem like much once you're this high.  When it's all said and done, you'll usually find...me and the eagle are of the same mind."
----from "The Horse Whisperer"

Where the Wild Things are and Eagles Soar

For The Wild Things

Horse Prayer.  Smithsonian Native American Museum

Music Pass Colorado

He traveled with me to our new home, but will one day return to CO.

Water Springs in Summer Tundra