As always, please follow the cutting guides presented with the plant on the yellow-dotted stick. This helps ensure the continued growth of flowers and leaves to nourish the plant and offer more cutting opportunities. Enjoy the bounty! Please email with any questions, suggestions, etc. – tina.marcus10@gmail.com.
Available this week:
Spearmint
Peppermint
Chocolate mint
Sweet mint
Field mint (Bo he)
Bronze fennel
Motherwort
Wood betony
True Comfrey
Russian Comfrey
Purple coneflower
Self heal
Holy basil (Kapoor tulsi)
Apple mint
Catnip
Lemon Balm
Lime balm
Anise Hyssop
Calendula
Moldavian Balm
Bee balm (Monarda fistulosa)
Hyssop
MOLDAVIAN BALM
(Dracocephalum moldavicum)
New to Penelope’s this year! This plant is an excellent tea herb, including iced tea. It has a lemony and minty flavor similar to lemon balm, and contains similar mood-boosting effects. Its traditional medicinal use is
for colds. Unlike lemon balm, Moldavian Dragonhead keeps its lemony flavor well when dried. It can also be
used as a culinary spice. The minty-lemony leaves and large purple flowers have long been used in a tea for reputed herbal benefits, including “lightening a discouraged heart”. A blended tea of lemon balm, Moldavian balm and apple mint carries fruity and floral qualities.
ANISE HYSSOP
(Agastache foeniculum)
Anise hyssop leaves can be used in cooking as a substitute for mint. The leaves and flowers make a refreshing addition to fresh fruit cups and summer salads. The aromatic leaves have a licorice-like (anise) scent. In addition, it is an excellent food source for local pollinators.
Infused in tea, anise hyssop can be used to relieve congestion, acting as an expectorant. A cold-infusion can be used to relieve chest pains caused by excessive coughing, and mixed with licorice. This herb may also treat respiratory infections and bronchitis. Used as a poultice, anise hyssop is said to help treat burns, and made into a salve, can be used to treat wounds. The Iroquois were said to make a wash from it used to relieve the itching associated with poison ivy. Anise hyssop is supposed to stop nightmares so add some to dream pillows to encourage sweet dreams. This is a great source for interesting recipes using anise hyssop:
https://www.healthygreenkitchen.com/anise-hyssop/
PURPLE CONEFLOWER
(Echinacea purpurea)
Open for harvest for the first time! We have a great crop of purple coneflower this year. All aerial parts of this well-known plant ally are used for teas, tinctures, and extractions. When drying, split the flower head to ensure even results. The above-ground parts of Echinacea purpurea are approved to treat colds, upper respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections and slow-healing wounds.
