~ Digging Roots ~

I've started to neglect this blog again , promise I'll try to update more often. I've been busy the last couple of weeks gathering roots and making tinctures. I've made dandelion , dandelion/yellow dock and echinacea root tinctures. They're sitting on my counter , hoping to get a shake each day.

I also made a chickweed tincture and still have plans to make violet leaf tincture.My stevia has sprouted out again , my plant almost dried up awhile back , but it's sprouted out again and I want to try infusing the leaves in an alcohol base and see how it turns out.

~ Greenest Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Weeds ~

~ A Weed is but an Unloved Flower. ~

---- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Food Foraging: Find and Enjoy Wild Edible Plants

Food Foraging: Find and Enjoy Wild Edible Plants

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Indian Tobacco ( Lobelia Inflata)

I've made a positive i.d. on this herb plant , it's Lobelia inflata aka Indian Tobacco . I found this website that has great photos http://www.all-creatures.org/picb/wfshl-indiantobacco.html , it was easy to i.d with these photos.

More information about Lobelia inflata .......

http://www.purplesage.org.uk/profiles/indiantobacco.htm

~ Herbal Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Fun with Herbs ~

I made this fun herbal bouquet for my niece's birthday. It has Daisy Fleabane , Self Heal , Wild Carrot/Queen Anne's Lace and another purple flower I can't identify yet. I'm enjoying my herbal adventures this year , there's so much to learn and so much you can do with them.

~ Herbal Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

*~ Check-out my new Solar Dryer ~*

I've been busy gathering Red Clover and Self Heal this week. I visited http://theessentialherbal.blogspot.com/ , she spoke about putting herbs in paper bags , then placing them in a car or truck to dry. Soooo ..... I thought I would give it a try , we have a couple of old trucks sitting in the field that DH just can't part with , the perfect new solar dryer (LOL).

~ Herbal Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

Plants I'm trying to Identify ...........

I think this plant maybe Fleabane aka Horse Weed , still researching it.
Update ~ It's Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus)

This plant has pale purple blooms.
I'm still researching this plant , but I think it's Blue Lobelia inflata. Will update again when I'm a 100% sure.

It is Lobelia Inflata aka Indian Tobacco.

This plant grows low to the ground , the flowers are white with 4 petals.
Still haven't found out anything on this plant.


This plant has yellow blooms , the flower has 5 petals.
Tansy thought this might be St. John's Wort . We've had very little rain the last few weeks and by the time I got around to trying Tansy's suggestions , the blooms had dried out , so it's hard to tell. I'm still trying to make a positive i.d. on this plant.



Purple Blooms




This plant hasn't bloomed yet , it grows in the garden.

The last 3 photos show a vine I trying to identify , the vine has small pale yellow trumpet ~ shaped flowers.

If you can identify any of these plants , please leave a comment !

~ Herbal Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Common Mullein ( Verbascum thapsus ) ~

~ Read more about mullein here ....... http://www.altnature.com/gallery/mullien.htm and http://www.herbcompanion.com/UnCategorized/HERB-TO-KNOW-Mullein.aspx ~

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

* Summer Reading , Herbal Books *

Last month a well known Herbalist , Juliette de Bairacli Levy passed away . I had been planning to buy some of her books for my herbal library , so last week I ordered Nature's Children and Common Herbs for Natural Health from Amazon.com. If you're looking to buy books , I highly recommend Amazon.com , you can find used books at great prices and shipping usually runs about 3.99 for each book.

I'm reading Nature's Children , it's a delightful book about how she raised her children the natural way. The other book " Common Herbs for Natural Health " has alot of info on what herbs are used for , there's a wealth of information in that book. I'm glad I bought them. I also bought Susun Weed's book " The Menopausal Years ~ The Wise Woman Way " , I've wanted that book for awhile. I have some great reading for Summer , now if I can just find the time to read.

~ Herbal Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Red Elderberry ( Sambucus racemosa ) ~

Check-out out this link for photos ~~~ http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=255

~ The Beautiful DayLily ~

Daylilies have always been one of my favorite flowers , I think they're so beautiful. The daylily is native to Asia and was brought here as an ornamental. In Asia , the roots are sold at the food markets. All parts of the daylily are edible , you can eat the tubers , young shoots , flower buds and the flower itself. I've been doing some research on edible daylilies , you can boil the tubers for 5-10 minutes and add a little butter , I've read they taste like water chestnuts , I plan to try some one day. Check-out the blog entry below , it has a photo of an edible bouquet , a daylily is featured in the center of the beautiful bouquet ~
http://theessentialherbal.blogspot.com/2009/06/more-june-goodness-lavender-etc.html ~.

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Herbs Identified ~ Week 6-15/21-09 ~

~Asiatic Day flower ~

( Commelina communis )

Asiatic Day flower was brought to this country from East Asia , it's a member of the spiderwort family. It has anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties , great for treating sore throats and tonsillitis.

~ Horse Nettle ~

( Solanum Carolinense L. )

I've always known this plant as nettle , it has a beautiful bloom , but its thorns feel deadly ( LOL). Hard to believe it has medicinal uses , yet it does.

~ Ladies Thumb ~

AKA

~ Red Leg ~

( Polygonum persicaria )

Ladies Thumbprint can be recognized by the dark green triangular shape on the leaves. The leaves are edible , they can be boiled for 5-10 minutes and served with vinegar or you can add the young raw leaves to salads.

~ These two photos show the dark green thumbprint ~

~ Self- Heal ~

( Prunella Vulgaris )

I want to do more research on this herb , as the name suggest it's a medicinal herb with many healing properties.

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Wild Ginger ~

I've been thinking about how I came to have an interest in herbs , this is one of the plants that brings back fond memories. I spent alot of time roaming and playing in the woods as a child , I remember picking the leaves from this plant , just because I loved the scent , it smelled wonderful , although I didn't know what it was back then. So , thinking back I guess my love of herbs started when I was very young and was the beginning of the path I would eventually follow. Over the years I had often wondered what that beautiful heart-shaped great smelling plant was. So , I guess one could say , that plant had been talking to me for along time , it just took awhile for me to hear it.
I discovered what the plant was a few years ago , we have lots of wild ginger growing around here , this is the first time I've ever seen the bloom. The bloom was actually covered with leaves , the only reason I discovered it was by digging up the root. I remember the first time I smelled ginger spice , the smell seemed so familiar , but I didn't know why , but now I do. I'm not a big fan of (Asian) common ginger , although I'm beginning to develop a taste for it. I've never ate wild ginger , there is conflicting information about the herb , so I'm not sure about it , although there are other ways to use wild ginger . I like the idea of using the dried root for incense , since I love the smell of wild ginger.

~ Warning ~

Wild ginger has a naturally occurring toxin called aristolochic acid , a toxin that may cause cancer.

Check-out these links for more info .........

http://www.altnature.com/gallery/wild_ginger.htm and http://www.naturesherbal.com/Wild_Ginger.htm

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Wild Herbs around the Yard ~

~ Wild Ginger ~

( Asarum canadense )

Roots edible / But Read Wild Ginger Post

~ Common Elderberry ~

( Sambucus canadensis )

Flower clusters /Berries are edible

~ Spiny-Leaved Sow-Thistle ~

( S. Asper )

Young leaves are edible / Remove Spines

~ Plantain ~
( Plantago spp. )

Young leaves edible

~ Yellow Goat's-Beard ~

( Tragopogon pratensis )

Young leaves / Roots are edible

~ Yellow Dock ~

( Rumex crispus )

Young Leaves edible

~ Wild Carrot , Queen Ann's Lace ~

( Daucus carota )

Roots are edible

~ Cat's Ear ~

( Hypochoeris radicata )

Leaves / Roots are edible

~ Identifying Lambsquarters ~

~ Photo of young lambsquarter , notice red hues ~

~ The new growth is mealy/fuzzy white , I think that's why it's

called lambsquarter ~

~ I tried to get a good photo of the stem , this photo isn't great , but the stem is ribbed and has reddish hues were it branches ~

~ If you turn the leaves over and rub them , you will see the mealy/powdery residue ~


~ When the leaves are washed ,

you will see the mealy residue in the water and around the bowl ~

~ Lambsquarter - Chenopodium album ~

AKA

Pigweed

The field guide I have said there are many similar species , most are edible. Flowers are small , greenish with red hues and seeds are tiny black.

Note ~ you should beware of Mexican Tea , which looks like lambsquarter , but Mexican Tea smells like varnish. There is another plant in the Chenopodium family called Jerusalem Oak which has sticky , oak type leaves and smells like turpentine. These plants aren't edible.

~ Warning ~ Information for educational purposes only , never eat or use any plant you're unsure of.

~ Herbal Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

* Herbal Spirits *

I started this blog last year , I was planning to do in depth studies of the herbs and write about them , but with keeping the grands , the garden and daily household chores , it all became to much , so I closed it , until I could give it more time.

As I was taking pics of some herbs the other day , I got to thinking , it would be great to post them so others could help me identify them or we could learn about them. I decided to open this blog again , so I hope you'll join me as I take my Herb walks and we can learn together.

~ Nature's Blessings ~

JoyceAnn