Tag: Flowers

Rose Petals Another Small Step Towards Foraging

A few years after we planted “Papaws” climbing rose I began collecting a few petals from it. I love the smell of roses, and these had a unique smell to them. For a long time, I just used them as a potpourri. Eventually my curiosity convinced me to look up other uses for rose petals. There were so many, and it was a shame not to use them for something.

The first thing I tried was tea. Several articles I read mentioned that rose petals were high in vitamin C and antioxidants. Beginning by adding them to the tea I already made for my sons we decided to try it. I figured it certainly wouldn’t hurt to add a little vitamin C to their diet. Especially when they were under the weather. The rose petals also added a wonderful flavor to the tea, meaning they were more apt to drink all of it. Often, I now make tea with just rose petals, inhaling the steam. I not only like the taste, but I also love the smell of those roses.

To make tea all you need to do is gather the petals and steep them in boiling water just like you would a tea bag. I dry a lot of the petals and then store them in glass jars for use when the roses aren’t blooming. You can use a tea ball, or you can just use loose petals and strain your tea into another cup. If it is not sweet enough just add a little honey. 

Eventually I decided to try infusing rose petals in coconut oil. I am allergic to so many store-bought skincare items that I had begun using plain organic coconut oil on my face. It really helped my skin maintain balance, not too dry but also not too oily.  I kept reading that rose petals are good for the skin.  I have used this ever since. Last year when my husband was so sick, I let go of self-care much more than I should have to spend all my time caring for him. Although I felt it was necessary at the time, I can really tell the difference from letting myself go. So, I am getting back on track now.  The jar to the right is ready to warm and strain.

This is how I make my rose petal oil:

Rose petal infused oil 

Choose a carrier oil. I used coconut oil, but you can use olive or almond oil. Crunch rose petals into a jar and cover with oil. Add the lid then swirl just enough to coat the petals without shaking. Warming the oil will help release the scent from the rose petals. I use a coffee cup warmer or set in the sun until warm. Let it sit for 4-6 weeks in a dark cupboard. After it has sat long enough, warm the oil and then strain out all but a few of the petals. 

Gift That Blooms Every Year Miniature Rose

Since before my youngest son could talk, he has insisted on flowers for Mom every Mother’s Day. The first time he had gone to the grocery store with Dad and he saw all the flowers on display. I am not sure if he realized what they were for, but he kept pointing and insisting “for Mommy”. He picked a beautiful plant that had little purple flowers. When he was a little older, he picked a miniature rose. He had watched me take care of the different variety of roses that we had planted around the property. We planted the miniature rose beside the front door so we could see it every time we came in or out of the house.

Miniature rose on the left was early summer, on the right is today.

After that he would get me either cut roses or daisies most of the time. Once he got me bright yellow tulips. We tried planting them outside, but they never came up. One year we had a blizzard and ice storm kind of winter. My rose did not come back up that year. I was a little sad but didn’t say anything about it. Then came Mother’s Day and I had a new miniature rose. It blooms every summer, but this year it just bloomed a second time. It’s been such a gloomy year with the pandemic and everything that followed. I went out to do yard work with my husband getting things ready for winter and saw this bright red beauty soaking up the sun. Made my day a little more joyful.

Prayer Gardens

A place of peace

I discovered St. Mary’s the year my father died. The boys started school there only a few weeks before that day. The hospital is across the street from the St. Mary’s and my oldest son encouraged me to go from the hospital to the church with him and pray. He said it is the most peaceful place he has ever been, and you can’t walk in without feeling it. He was right. On the way back to the hospital I saw the prayer garden. I have always felt closest to God outside in nature, whether it be a garden, farm, woods, beach or mountains. I was fascinated with that garden. My son explained that it was a prayer garden.

 I spent many days in that prayer garden since then.  We had our pictures taken there the following spring on the day we were baptized. I often went early to pick the boys up from school, so I could spend a few moments there. School at St. Mary’s was only through middle school and then the boys were back in public school. I no longer had the daily opportunity to spend time in that garden, so I began to build my own.

It has had to change places over the years, due to changing the landscaping a bit and adding a dog that insisted on climbing my prayer tower daily. That tower is still there, and I am experimenting with different plants that will survive her daily climb. I have discovered a steppable plant that has survived this summer so hopefully it will spread thick enough to continue spreading. I have also had some Columbine from my neighbor across the street, I planted it last year and it spread throughout the front of the tower.

After we finished our front porch, I moved my prayer garden to the front porch. It makes the front entrance so much more welcoming. The glider my next-door neighbors donated, and the wicker chair my sister left me when she moved away, make it a most comfortable place to sit and relax for a while whether it be in the morning, afternoon or evening. Peaceful enough to let go of every thought and listen. Listen to the birds, crickets and other sounds of nature. I have had more answers come to me when I rest in those prayer gardens.

Last year when I went to visit my son for Mother’s Day, he took me someplace special. Knowing how much I love gardens, woods and water, he found a place that had all three. It was such a lovely day. We went to the Botanical Gardens in Virginia. It was absolutely beautiful. The flowers were such vivid colors that my photos don’t do them justice. There was a wooden walkway that led into the trees and a large area of water. We just stayed there for awhile and I did take several photos, so I am sharing the one that I like best.

Cone Flowers

Cone Flowers or Echinacea

Echinacea is an herbaceous flower commonly called coneflowers. That means they are edible. Daisies have been my favorite flower since I can remember.  Echinacea is in the daisy family and since being edible it is not harmful to pets. For this reason, I planted three flowers in my front flower bed two years ago. The flowers were ridiculously small the year I planted them, and I was not sure they would live over winter. The next year they came back and were a little bigger but still three plants.

This year they exploded all over my entire flower bed. I got so many compliments and my neighbor asked if she could get some of the seed heads for her flower gardens next summer. We trade flower starts a lot and she has given me several, so of course I gave her some. I also got a request for seeds from my sister-in-law and will be mailing them too her as soon as I am finished drying them enough to shake all of the seeds of them.

In doing some research this spring I also discovered that it is not only not harmful to pets, but some people make a tea out of it and give to their cats to boost their immune system and help with stress. I am careful with my cats, so I googled it and read many articles and they all said it was safe for cats if they nibble on it.

KitKat loving it

My sons’ cat, KitKat lives with me while he is in the Navy. She is the one that always wants to nibble at my house plants or if I bring in cut flowers. I research every house plant to make sure it safe because I know she will get into it. So, I cut one flower and put it in a vase where she could get to it jus to se her reaction. She started nibbling on the petals as soon as she set eyes on it, so all summer I have kept at least one fresh flower in that vase.

Leave your email in the comments if you would like to follow this site. I can send you an invite without publishing your email.

Christine