New Home for White Sage

Harvested the last of the White Sage today and it looks beautiful drying on top of my old Herb Hutch.



When the Sage is dried I'll just lay the bunches loosely on top of each other inside the hutch. The smaller pieces will be placed in jars and used as needed.



White Sage is a sacred herb used by the Native Americans for purifying and cleaning. The leaves are burned like incense and wrapped in bundles called "smudge sticks". At our herb shop we've sold smudging herbs for years and used them in our homes as well. My White Sage is grown without chemicals and is harvested respectfully in my garden. I always give thanks to the plants and appreciate their healing qualities.



Here's a jar of Pineapple Mint on the left and White Sage on the right~
I'm considering selling some bunches of white sage on my website, I can't possibly use all of it myself :)

My RED Saltbox

I found the PERFECT red for our Saltbox house! Old Century paint makes a beautiful deep historical red called Savannah red. We're trying to get the house finished before it gets too cold~ running out of time! It actually snowed here yesterday- yikes! I took some pics today when I was doing yard work. The windows aren't finished, they will be red also and we have some hardware for the doors that was made from a local blacksmith. Here's the house so far~







This is the side of the house and the windows still need to be painted red.







When we moved here three years ago all that was growing near the back door was a few daffodils and grass. So here's my temporary "Herb Garden" that I started as soon as I got the keys to this place :) I dug the grass out and planting sages, lavenders and lots of foxgloves. It gave me the feeling of HOME and the hope of what was to come~



Outside my backdoor~ I leaned a bunch of corn stalks with the husks pulled back to expose the corn (I don't know why more people don't do that~ you get to see the golden kernels...looks so much better) and then I tucked some bittersweet in and plopped a few large pumpkins at the bottom. Very simple but looks great against the house :)



Lots and Lots of work outside this time of year. Today I was the leaf blowing queen! I love that job - it's like vacuuming outdoors and I get obsessed with it! LOL I've also been trying to keep my gardens going. I planted lettuces and swiss chard early this fall for salads and to keep the garden looking colorful as long as I possibly can. The snow didn't help my zinnias and squashes tho. They ended up in the compost today. I should have cut the zinnia blossoms a few days ago when I was tempted, but I'm throwing a birthday party for my sweety next week and I thought the zinnias would still look beautiful. Not so beautiful now :) Here's some zinnias and other flowers I am drying in my racks up in my home office. The doorway to my office is tiny and I had some shelves put in from our old barn boards to hold my drying racks. The perfect place- dark with plenty of air circulating.



Walk thru the doorway and these racks are to the right~

Sweet Annie Harvest

Today's Harvest~



This is the time to harvest the Sage, Sweet Annie, Rose Geranium, Pineapple Mint & Orange Mint. What a wonderful job~ everything smells Sooo Good!!

It's also time to Harvest the Rosehips & Bittersweet Vines.

Harvest Time!!

It's Harvest Time! What a Great Time of Year!! Everybody gets excited about Fall. My customers are coming into the shop with "Fall Fever" Time to clear out the look of Summer and bring in the rich colors of Fall. It's also about "fall cleaning" (not that any of us are excited about that), closing up the windows, bringing out the candles and simmering some SPiCE! I've been busy making new Products including Candles, Soaps & Potpourri. The Cinn-a-bun Potpourri has been a big hit! Also the Pumpkin scented soy candles and Oatmeal Soap are becoming quite Popular. All will be available on my website very soon~






PS~ It's time to Harvest the Bittersweet Vines~ I'd be happy to add a few sprigs in your Website Order for FREE~ Just mention it when your checking out! ENJOY