St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) Family - Hypericaceae Twelve years ago, we inherited a beautiful botanical garden that is completely fenced in; with twelve very large raised beds. We have diligently cultivated and nourished this garden; enriching the soil, sowing seeds, and then enjoying various crops of botanical harvest. Our botanical garden is like a magical mystery tour. The curious thing is there are several plant species that have come up in the garden that we

Whether you have a garden or are growing potted plants, there are many ways to prepare your bountiful Autumn harvest for use throughout the year. Drying Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) & Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) Drying- for culinary use and as herbal teas. After you harvest the plant material you can either place them in a basket with a cloth or paper towel in the bottom to soak up any moisture, hang them up, or place them in a paper bag. Once well dried, put into a glas

Our botanical garden is so prolific this year! We grew German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita), Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), Cilantro/Coriander (Coriandrum sativum), Peppermint (Mentha x piperita), Rose Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens var. roseum), Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and many other herbs. We have already processed many aromatic plants into dried herbs, hydrosols, and infused oils. Whether you have a

There are many valuable herbs that are not distilled into essential oils or hydrosols. We would like to share on-going information about some herbs that we have growing in our Aroma Apothecary botanical garden this summer and have been using medicinally for many years. Evening primrose is a plant native to North America, but it grows in Europe and parts of the Southern hemisphere as well. It has beautiful yellow flowers that bloom in the evening. Evening primrose oil has been

We recently completed a hydrosol distillation of Tulsi Basil or Holy Basil (Ocimum sanctum) and then continued the process for an additional product of a spagyric. What an amazing process of herbal alchemy! A spagyric /spa-geric/ is an herbal medicine produced by alchemical procedures. The roots of the words refer first to the extraction or separation process and then to the recombining process to be used to make herbal extracts of great power and energetic force. [1] Spagyri