Chamomile/Manzanilla ... from Garden to Gift

Grow my own chamomile for tea .... checked off my bucket list! 

It took a little over four weeks from the time I planted my very first German chamomile herb to the first harvest. With direct sunlight, regular watering and a little composted fertilizer, I now have small jar of dried chamomile flowers in my pantry and more to come as the plant continues to bear flowers.

Here are some tips in collecting and drying chamomile flowers ....

To get the full flavour of chamomile, harvest the flowers as soon as they are fully open.

Collect the flowers around noon when it is hot and dry. You don't want any moisture {or dew} on the flower to prevent rotting.

Some include a bit of stem when they harvest but I prefer just the flower head which I pick one by one.

Inspect the flowers or shake carefully so that any dust or insect that may be stuck inside will be filtered out.

Place the flowers in a pan, uncovered and in a dry place and let it sit for several days.
Once dry, save the flowers in a sealed container {I saved mine in a small mason jar}.

Since there are more flowers to harvest in the coming days, I decided to share my first harvest to a dear friend who loves tea as much as I do. I took some materials from the craft room {a small piece of patterned paper, jute twine and tag} and made a nice package. And .... viola!

Who would not want to get this "gift" from the garden?


Linking with : Treasure Hunt Thursday
                      Thursday Favorite Things
                      The Scoop
                   

Memories of My {Spring} Peonies

August is just a round the corner. Summer is almost half way through. In my garden,  day lilies, phlox, daisies and coneflowers are in full bloom. The Rose of Sharon are budding telling me that the last batch of summer flowers will come very soon. It seems only yesterday that my lilacs, hyacith and irises were the star of the show. And oh, how can I forget those spring delicate peonies that smelled so sweet and heavenly! 

Still, I remember ....

.... that kind of excitement when I saw the buds starting to blossom.

.... that sigh of relief when most of the buds turned into beautiful blossoms before a heavy spring rainfall!

... that everyday I harvested blooms we can't get enough of, yes even our Muning shared our daily peony fix!

.... that almost all vases in the house were filled with peonies. It was truly a lovely spring and thanks to these gorgeous peonies.

Come September, I will start dividing and replanting some of them to make sure that next spring will once again be as gorgeous, colorful and elegant as these peonies!

Linking with : The Scoop

Many Shades of Peonies

My roses are in full bloom and so are the peonies! Just look at all these delicate shades .... so lovely! 

Lately in the Garden

The bees are back collecting nectar from my lilac tree and the climbing roses are budding! All the tomatoes we planted 2 weeks ago are flowering too ....

Although we are moving to our new place in July, we still added some columbine and Siberian bellflowers in our collection of flowering plant. We planted them in big planter so we can bring these babies with us ....

If only we can bring them all ....

It's the Time of Year ....

.... when the grass is green, the flowers are blooming and the trees are budding!

Working in the backyard in springtime is one of our favorite bonding moments. The last two weekends were no exception. We planted herbs and tomatoes, trimmed the shrubs, and pulled out weeds around the apple tree. We were also accompanied by a mama robin nesting in one of the pine trees and visited by a wild rabbit who made her hole just a few inches away from the apple tree.

This is our happy place, no doubt. But this spring is different .... there is a bit of sadness every time we spend time sprucing it  ... in less that two months, we will be in our new place in the countryside where we can plant to our hearts' desire. Although I am very excited about the move, I couldn't help the "separation anxiety" that hits me every now and then. I just hope the happy memories scattered to this space will forever feed the flowers and trees we nurtured  in this slice of paradise ..... 

Cheers!