Get posts by email
Savoring Summer ~ Calendula
June 29, 2011
Calendula is one of my many favorite flowers. As much as I love blossoms of interesting shapes - lady slippers, foxgloves, and lupins for example, I love the familiar daisy shape of sunflowers, calendula and rudbeckia.
These calendulas came from the farmers market. Mom's flower beds are still in their infancy here on the new property and there aren't enough blossoms to cut bouquets.
Calendula is such a pretty blossom and a very useful herb. An excellent combination for the gardener who values both form and function (kind of like me).
I took great pains (lots of packaging and securing upright) to move a jar of calendula infused oil from Maine to Nova Scotia. It sits on the laundry room window sill patiently waiting for me to make soap, lotion or maybe both.
I need to get making some body care products soon. I'm tired of buying soap (a moving compromise) and my soap is just so delicious on my skin compared to the regular "natural" soap bars I've been buying at the grocery store.
Calendula is one my favorite skin care herbs and I always have some on hand for making oils.
This is a great tutorial at Simple Organic if you want to make an Herbal Infused Oil this summer. Shoshanna, from the Bulk Herb Store, has a video tutorial with an easy and quick method for making a calendula infused oil that can be used as a base for lotion.
Here's a few calendula related posts I've written over the years:
- Easy Recommendations for the Home Herbalist
- Basic Moisturizing Skin Cream
- Calendula, Salves and an Easy Soap Recipe
Calendula is one of those things I savor during the summer and year round even when I can use the skin products I make from summer's healing bounty.
What's Savoring Summer? Read Here.
-
Jill Foley on June 29, 2011, 4:58 p.m.
Beautiful picture of beautiful flowers. I'm going to have to add those to my "garden wish list".
-
Kika on June 29, 2011, 5:32 p.m.
I haven't been able to find any calendula to plant here. We're limited but I am hoping as I visit some markets in the city over the summer I might find some - and other interesting plants for my garden that I can use in body care products/eat. My little herb garden is so pretty. I pulled my husband through there the other day to show it off and he just didn't get it :)My girls sure appreciate it, though.
-
renee on June 29, 2011, 10:23 p.m.
Damien doesn't "get" my gardens either. It's so funny, he used to come home from work after a day of me working in the garden (and making significant progress) and he would walk right past my beautiful flowers and efforts and not even notice. LOL! He always complimented it when I pointed it out to him though!
My girls, and Laurent also who has a real eye for beauty, always appreciated my gardening efforts though (without prompting).
I wish I had known that about the calendula. I gave away a bunch of seed before we moved!
I will look in my dried herbs, there are probably a few seeds with the blossoms. I'll mail them to you if I find some.
-
Kika on June 30, 2011, 3:39 p.m.
If you find some, I'd love some seed. That would be wonderful-thank you!
-
-
-
Wendy on June 29, 2011, 8:34 p.m.
I grew calendula for the first time last year, and fell in love. I'm looking forward to trying some of your calendula recipes this year.
-
Naomi on June 30, 2011, 2:03 a.m.
They are beautiful Renee! I have some very happy calendula sprouts in my garden. Can't wait!
-
renee on June 30, 2011, 10:52 a.m.
Just saw this Calendula article on Rhythm of the The Home.
-
Charity on June 30, 2011, 4:37 p.m.
I was so excited to read this post! We just got some Calendula with our Farm Share this week. Some went in a vase on the table, and now I can try a fun recipe with the rest of it! Thanks Renee.
-
Carol on July 6, 2011, 5:23 a.m.
I just ran across your calendula-loving post & wanted to agree with you & share my love too! I just wrote a post about all the fun ways to incorporate calendula's lymph & skin healing properties into our life - whether culinary, medicinal or for personal care. http://slowsimpleliving.blogspot.com/2011/06/calendula.html
You can subscribe to comments on this article using this form.
If you have already commented on this article, you do not need to do this, as you were automatically subscribed.
Shawn on June 29, 2011, 3:45 p.m.
Oh, note to self- I need to buy a new start of Black Eyed Susans! (Do you call them that too, or just by their fancy name of Rudbekia?) They are such a cheery welcome to August and make great autumn bouquets. Oddly, they grow at the neighbor's house where I gave him a baby offshoot years ago, yet where are mine? Strange! I must have dug them up in a fit of 'over-run garden' rage!
Have a wonderful day Renee!
renee on June 29, 2011, 10:25 p.m.
I usually always call them Rudbeckia because I'm always confused if they are Black Eyed Susans or Brown Eyed Susans. But I know for sure they are Rudbeckia (smile).