5 TO FORAGE IN OCTOBER We’ve been so lucky this October to have some bright sunny days making it great to be outdoors. While the number of fruits, flowers and leaves to gather is reducing, it’s a good time to prep for winter months by bringing a few herbs indoors to be cared for on…
We’ve had a few blasts of on-coming winter in the past couple of weeks leaving a decidedly autumnal tinge in the air but still summer clings on and we’re able to gather ripening fruit on sunny days. There’s nothing quite like sitting outdoors stoning plums or coring apples in an effort to preserve the year’s…
5 TO FORAGE IN JULY Summer is rolling along now and most of us in the UK have at last had a sight of sun. A wet and cold June paid havoc with the early summer blooms but everything seems to be on catch up now so there’s plenty to get out and forage for…
5 TO FORAGE IN JUNE June is a fantastic month to forage for natural skincare ingredients. There are many flowers and leaves in both hedgerows and gardens. If you can, pick in full sun and then use fresh right away, or alternatively dry for later use. To dry your plant material, either hang in bunches…
Fresh skincare in April Make the most of any sunny days in April to go out for a walk and seek among the new shoots some fresh gatherings for Blend-it-Yourself skincare. Here five things to look out for and how you can use them. Daisy Daisy’s are one of those flowers that open up when…
Chamomile, apple of the earth and sun on the ground Chamomile: Matricaria recutita, also known as German chamomile or simply scented mayweed. Do you know any other names for it? A sacred herb Chamomile is one of the nine sacred herbs from Anglo-Saxon times. It was also revered above all other herbs by the Egyptians who dedicated…
Marshmallow for skincare Let’s get the picture straight right away. We don’t suggest getting a packet of fluffy sweets and pounding them into your skincare. The marshmallow we talk about is the beautiful, tall hedgerow and countryside plant. Characteristically pink, trumpety blooms. Large, rounded (slightly hairy leaves). A tall straight stem, full of the mucilage…
Limeflower – Tilia Cordata (small-leaved lime), otherwise known as the Linden tree. The lime tree (Tilia cordata) grows all over Europe. Relatively inconspicuous most of the year, despite their size, limes come into their own in July. When their flowers open against delicate bracts, sweet fragrance fills the air and bees buzz in among their branches. The…
Ten natural skincare treatments you can make with elderflower water (plus a couple of curiosities) Elderflower water was the go-to complexion enhancer on every dressing table in the past. It is widely used in skincare for its conditioning and skin lightening, properties that can be handy for reducing freckles and sunburn and for treating greying…
Midsummer Elderflowers Elderflower (Sambucus nigra) is an essential summer scent, a classic element in the hedgerow. It has been used since Roman times. The whole elder tree has uses: leaves, flowers bark and berries. Elder has been termed ‘the medicine chest of the country people’ (Ettmueller). John Evelyn wrote: ‘if the medicinal properties of its leaves,…
