One of the constants in any growing season here is making Flower Essences.
In very early spring, I go through our entire inventory and get a master list of what needs to be made to keep our inventory topped up. Then I divide the list up into categories based on when each Flower blooms. I note how many quarts of Essence need to be made, but when the time comes to make the Flower Essence, I always check back in to see if we now need more. We go through a lot of Flower Essences when we make up combination remedies like Anxiety or Golden Armor, so often by end of the season we need much more of an Essence than we did in the beginning of the season when I took inventory.
Usually there is some Flower Essence we are almost out of, and this means making sure I grow the Flower. This spring our Maltese Cross was almost gone. I noticed this low inventory late last summer. At the same time, I also noticed that our Maltese Cross had somehow disappeared from the perennial garden, so I needed to source new plants. This is not a popular perennial, so I had to grow my own plants and not purchase them from a nursery. I started seeds in the hoop house in July, planted out the babies in September then celebrated when the Flowers bloomed this June before we completely ran out of Maltese Cross. While the photo above was really an attempt to capture a shot of the Yellow Mullein we grow, you can see a couple heads of Maltese Cross at the bottom of the photo. It really is a dramatic almost startling red.
Many Wildflowers grow in abundance just about everywhere. Some I have to search a bit harder for. This year Indian Pipe led me on a merry chase as the places it has always been were Indian Pipe free. Eventually I found a vast colony of this sacred plant. That is one of the lovely things about making Wildflower Essences. As I tromp our extensive woodlands, there are always unexpected discoveries. Sometimes its new patches of old friends and sometimes it is new friends that I haven’t met before.
Late summer is a particularly busy stretch for making Flower Essences. In the last week or so I have made Goldenrod, Joe Pye Weed, Queen Anne’s Lace, Vetch, Echinops, Borage, Sweet Pea, Blue Vervain, Zinnia, Bladder Campion, Bouncing Bet and Cosmos.
The Echinops, Blue Vervain, Bouncing Bet and Bladder Campion are all currently on the Additional Essence list however, the Bladder Campion and Bouncing Bet are stepping forward as helpful for the kind of climate change experiences we are having. I will sit down after the Autumn Equinox to find out more about this and get a document organized to share with you about the Angels and Elementals perspective on this time and the Flower Essences they feel will help us in particular right now. I do believe Bladder Campion and Bouncing Bet will be on this list.
I am also very excited about this year’s Venus Garden Essence as a source of support for these times. This garden has been both stunning in its beauty and powerful in its energy. I have just begun the process of making the Essence from this garden. It will be ready after the Equinox. I think the Flower Essence is going to be called The Dhuni. The Angels never set things in stone until after the balancing moment of closure of the Autumn Equinox so I will only know for certain then.
In the meantime, here’s a bit of the Dhuni this morning.
One last piece of news! We’ve just welcomed a new dog to our ranks. Staff Goddess Jen has adopted rescue pup Charlie. He is a complete sweetheart and a fan of peas!
