Two weeks without an update, WOW how time flies when you are having fun. The beginning of the month started with writing up information about the course, herb walks, and workshops I plan to offer and looking for places to hold these events. I have picked five parks to check out for the Herb Walks. I need to get over to each of them and note what plants are there, take pictures, and note terrain and other things people might care about. I have a few thoughts on places to rent for the other offering too but again I need to get over there and check them out.
The 5th was the "foraging" class for the course I'm teaching. We met at the Greenway on Johns Island side. It was an awesome class, by the end everyone was able to identify a few plants. The plants we saw were: Japanese honeysuckle, Sarsaparilla or Greenbrier, Goldenrod, Purpletop Vervain, Sea Myrtle, Wax Myrtle, Sorrel, Dandelion, Poke, Eastern Red Cedar, Carolina geranium, Cat's Ear, Cattails, Yaupon Holly, Cleavers, Blue Star, Water Oak, Fleabane, Sea ox-eye, Switch Cane Bamboo, Pepper Plant, Spanish Needles, and Dog Fennel. It took me almost two weeks to compile the monograph information for all of these and I managed to miss the last three.
On the 9th, I went to Nana's; while I was there, we decided on a new flower bed. The back of it will be a vining trellis area so that we will have a "green wall" blocking the fire pit area from the street view. There will be yarrow, blanket flower, calendula, echinacea, one other plant I can't remember, and whatever vining plant we pick in this bed. Since she has most of these plants already in pots, we moved them to where we would like them in the ground. Over the next week or two she will watch and see if they like it here, if so, we will till the area the next time I visit.
When I came home, I had the great idea to design a dress for me to wear as my "uniform" when I teach, do workshops, do herb walks, etc. It looks great on the screen, now I need to order one and make sure it looks as good in person.
On the 11th, we (Duncan, Nana, and I) went on an Herb Walk at Hampton Park with April as our guide. We talked about Southern Magnolia, Bald Cypress, Cat's Ear, Spanish Moss, and maybe a few others. I brought home Magnolia, Gardenia, and Cypress. When we got home, I made four tinctures, Magnolia and vodka, Gardenia and vodka, Magnolia and culinary solvent, and Gardenia and culinary solvent. I also started infused oils of Gardenia, Magnolia flowers, and one of Magnolia ”pistil” maybe, it’s the part that sticks up inside the flower. The next day Nana and I cut up the Cyprus balls and divided them into three jars, vodka tincture, culinary solvent tincture, and infused oil.
On the 17th, I finally got all 20+ plants we saw during the last class looked up, information compiled, and posted to the monograph area of the website. I also managed to get the 7 baby strawberries that have come off the strawberry we got in March transplanted into gallon pots. We have 11 more babies started in the long pots, we will see in a week or so if they too can be transplanted into gallon pots.
The 19th was our 4th in-person meeting for the class I'm teaching. We started the class with a walk around the property testing to see which plants everyone remembers and talking about the ones they didn't. Then we ventured inside to discuss any questions, check in with how lessons are going for everyone, and discuss what we would be making. We made cinnamon glycerite, oxymels, elixirs, candied ginger roots, and passionflower electuaries for everyone to take home. The tinctures they had to choose from were Licorice, Nettle, and Calendula.
In the middle of all this herbal fun, our oldest graduated from college! It was a big day for all of us. In just a week or so he is off to Massachusetts for an internship over the summer then on to WVU to start his PhD.