What Is Agastache?

Agastache has many species that have several things in  common, and they are really beautiful, this herb attract hummingbirds,  and sphinox moths which are pollinators, they taste real good, and they are a good digestive herb.

Agastache has a personality of perennial herbaceous that grows real well in zones 5 -9.  It will grow from 1 to 3 feet tall.

Agastache's bloom traits are spikes of real bright flowers in the different shades of orange, pink, and purple and the blooms will show midsummer through late fall.

They are sun-tolerant and they prefer open areas. They will grow nicely at lower mountain elevations. Common species are Sunset hyssop, double bubblegum mint, and Coronado mint
Propagation/ Maintenance

Most of the agastache's species are easy to grow from seed. The seeds need to be sow in late winter inside a greenhouse, or the seeds need to be direct sow in the garden in late fall for spring emergence. The germination is 40 - 75 percent depending on the species, in two to three weeks. Anastassia grows in clumps and they should be spaced 12 to 15 inches apart. They use low to moderate water for them to grow and produce.

Agastache likes full sun and they will grow good in poor soils such as gravel, clay, and sand.

Agastache likes to grow in a community with lavenders, winter savory, and southern wood.
When it is time to harvest the agastache, the upper third of the plant, especially when it is flowering , by using a pair of scissors or snips.

Culinary Use
The leaves and flowers are the parts of the plants that are used in the culinary use. The leaves and the flowers range from minty root beer and licorice mint to the taste and its smells like bubblegum. The leaves and the flowers are made into cream cheese spreads, herbal honey, or they can be sprinkled into fruit salad and put it over ice cream.

The medicinal benefits of the agastaches are they support digestion and also lower fevers. A tea made from these plants can be made into a tea for a sore throat gargle.

The parts that you can use are the aerial parts,  with flowers or without flowers, either fresh or dried.

The home pharmacy uses of the agastache are infusion, syrup, traditional tincture, elixir, honey and bath herb.

Edible flowers of this herb are used in many different ways, such as, add the colored flowers to pasta salad or fruit salad for a zippy taste, add to cream cheese spreads or herb butter, or put in a pitcher of lemonade. The flowers can be used for cake decorations.

What Is Anise Hyssop?

Anise hyssop is a perennial herbaceous c which grows in zones 6 - 10. It will attract butterflies, honeybees, and hummingbirds  which is good, because they are all excellent pollinators. When it is dusk, the anise hyssop is irresistible to the hummingbird  moth. It grows up to the height of two to three feet tall. The blooms of the anise hyssop are spikes of rich purple flowers that blooms on and off all during the summer.

Anise hyssop which is like the other members of the genus Agastache likes to grow in sunny areas. In the mountains regions, the anise hyssop prefers to grow on the lower elevations of the mountains.

Propagation/ Maintenance

The seeds of the anise hyssop can be sow outdoors in late spring or the seeds can be sow early in a greenhouse and then transplant them out in the garden after  the danger of frost has passed where you live. The germination percentage of the anise hyssop is seventy to eighty percent, which will happen in about two  weeks. The anise hyssop grows as a clump. The plants need to have light to moderate water for them to grow well.

Anise hyssop grows well in poorer clay, gravelly, or sandy soils. They like  to grow in full sun and partial shade.

Chamomile, horehound, it is festive when planted next to spilanthes.

The aerial parts of the plants are the parts that are harvested preferably when the plants are in flower, and this is done by using a pair of scissors or snips.

The culinary use of the anise hyssop is using the leaves and or flowers that makes iced tea delicious. The leaves and flowers which are finely chopped can be sprinkled over vanilla ice cream, used in cream cheese spreads, or they can be added to fruit salad.



The medicinal benefits of the anise hyssop are it supports digestion, helps lower fevers and it soothes lower respiratory tract irritation.

The parts of anise hyssop that are used are flowering aerial parts and it can be used fresh or dried.

The home pharmacy uses of the anise hyssop are infusion, cider vinegar tincture, traditional tincture, bath herb, foot soak, and honey.

What Is Astragalus Chinese?

The astragalus Chinese is a perennial herbaceous and it grows well in zones 4 - 11. In the traditional Chinese  medicine it is used as an important tonic herb. It is getting to be more popular here in the western medicine  because the ability to support the immune system.

This plants grows to be three to four feet tall. This plant has pretty, pale yellow, pea flower-shaped blooms that will be from midsummer until frost comes to the area.
Astragalus, Chinese is a native to northeastern China, it seems to prefer sun to partial shade. It likes to grow in sun to partial shade. It grows in open areas or it likes to grow along the margins of treed places, often dry sandy soils.

The propagation of this herb is the seeds has to be stratify for at least three weeks before sowing. Then they have to be scarify and soak in warm water for one hour before, the seeds are planted. The seeds need to be sow directly into the ground in early spring or they can be started indoors early and transplant them outdoors at the last frost date. The plants need to be space fifteen inches apart and the plants need to be water moderately. The astragalus grows as a single plant, but it has a tendency to sprawl a  bit as it gets older.
The astragalus likes to be planted in partial shade to full well-worked soil to grow in.

Roots of the astragalus  are harvested in the fall after the plants are two years old. The average harvesting time is between the third and fifth year of their growth,  but it can vary on where you live and how much  growth has annually. The taproots will require a needle-nose spade or a fork to dig them fully and easily.

The medicinal benefits of astragalus is its ability to offer deep immune system support.


The parts of the astragalus that is used is the roots and the roots can be used either fresh or dried.
The home pharmacy uses of the astragalus are medicinal food, syrup, elixir, decoration, traditional tincture, cider, vinegar tincture, honey and powder.

Medicinal Food Use

There is one way that the astragalus root is use for immune system support and this is done by adding a small amount [about 1/4 cup of dried cut and sifted root to the soup kettle and let it simmer over low heat, for several hours. It just becomes another ingredient in the soup and doing this
regularly will keep the immune system at its best.

How To Make Baths and Soaks From Herbs?

I think that herbal bath would be great after a long day at work. I also think that a good foot soak after a rough day is so benefical to anybody.

Herbal Bath

This is how to prepare a herbal  bath. I will put in a cup of dried herbs in the center of a washcloth. Then I will pull up the corners and secure with a rubber band, this will make a bundle. Another way is to put the herbs inside a drawstring muslin bag. Then the bundle or baggets thrown into the bath water. After the bath water is at the right temperature, then get into the water and soak for at least twenty minutes or for what ever time you have for the bath. When bath is over, discard the herbs, and launder the washcloths. Some of herbs that are real good for use in baths and what each herb does to make each bath great.

Rosemary is very good at soothing, aching muscles after gardening, running, working out and so on. Roses makes everybody feel very loving and compassionate. Lavender helps with tension in the neck or from a headache . Lemon balm is very calming and relaxing which makes it a good herb to use before going to sleep.

How To Prepare A Foot Soak

Foot soaks are done in a basin. I will boil some water and when it has boil, I will place it in the basin with several different herbs which I will talk about later on in this blog. I will let the herbs steep for ten minutes. Then I will add cool water to it to get the right temperature.. Then sock your feet until the water is cool. After that, dry your feet and you might want to massage them with an herbal infused oil or a body cream.

I would like to list some herbs that are good for a therapeutic foot soaks and how each one will help the feet. California poppy is good for pain relief.

Passion flower and lemon balm helps relieves stress.

Peppermint increases circulation. Sage, enchinacea and ginger is helpful for colds and flus. Chamomile is soothing and calming. Lavender and rose helps to promotes restful sleep. Spearmint and lemon verbena lifts the spirits. Oat straw helps relieves itchy skin.

How To Make Body Cream From Herbs?

Body cream are made out of different herbs that are infused herbal oils that has solidifying agents, that are incorporated into them over very low heat, and then they whipped air into them until it comes out creamy. I am always patient in getting them transfer from a liquid state  into a cream. This process has not to be rush, because the results  maybe a disappointment.

The key to having success in making body cream is to have a real good electric mixer, because this will help make the body cream smooth. Another reason, I need to be relax on my time because the mixture has to rest in the freezer during the whipping process, to help it cool so it will be more transition to  a creamy state. I have found that, I need to prepare my body creams in the cool of the morning or on a fall or winter day when air temperatures are not so hot.

When my cream looks like  frosting, this is when I add  some pure essential oils to the blend, to give the cream its  own healthful benefits and it also gives the cream a wonderful fragrance. To me, lavender is one of the best essential oil choice, because it is good for the skin, relieves sunburn, and soothe the pain of skin rashes.

After I make my body creams, I know that they only  last for only one to two months, so I always label them with an expiration date on each one. It is better to keep your body cream in your refrigerator, because it extends their life.

Here are some luscious body creams and what can they help anybody with, such as , chamomile which is good for baby's diaper rash, lavender is used for healing to sunburn and chapped skin, calendula soothes a pregnant mom's tummy stretch marks and lemon verbena is  real good on a person's hands that is a gardeners like I am.

I always use a quart-size saucepan and I only  use this for preparing ointments and salves. I do this because it is very hard to get all of the wax out  of the pan, and I do not want it in our dinner.

Cocoa butter and beeswax make really good and effective solidifying agents to make creams, ointments, salves, and lip balms.

 ointment at one time, because it can become too firm,, and then I do not add a lot of beeswax or cocoa butter to my salve or  ointment at one time, because it can become too firm, and then  this could mean I might have to add more oil to fix the consistency. This is more efficient to proceed slowly and conservatively when the solidifying agents are being added.

For salves, I need to add approximately one ounce of beeswax or cocoa butter per cup of oil. There are no particular measurements for solidifying pigments, everybody needs to approach this took as an art, not a science. After you have done a few batches, then it will come easier to do.

These steps below is the directions on how anybody can make body cream.

1. Over a very low heat, I melt 1/2 cup cocoa butter and 1/2 cup of coconut oil into 1 cup of herbal infused oil in my saucepan.

2. I remove the blend from heat and I pour it into a Pyrex or a stainless steel bowl. Then I place the bowl in my freezer and allow the mixture to begin cooking.

3. Every several minutes, I will remove the mixture from the freezer and whip it with my electric mixer to high speed. After the mixture  is frothy, I will stop mixing and return it to the freezer. I repeat this step as often as needed, every few minutes, until the cream begins to thicken and the cream takes on a frosting like consistency.

4. When the mixture is creamy, gently fold in one teaspoon of pure essential oil  or to the amount to every body's preference.

5.  Next, I will spoon the cream into glass containers with all the ingredients listed that is in my body cream, I put the appropriate expiration date, and suggested usage guidelines. I will then set my creams in a cool or refrigerated place, because they will last longer.

What Is Cutting Celery?

Cutting celery is a biennial herbaceous and it will grow in zones 5-9.

The cutting celery is about the leafy tops. It is a celery, with all the great flavor, but you use only the cut leaves like parsley, and not used the stalks. This is an excellent seasoning herb and it is a good plant that would be good to grow on every windowsill.

The cutting celery will bloom in the second year with cluster s of white flowers during mid-to late summer.

This herb likes moist soil and partial shade and it really prefer a stream side home and the soil needs to be moderately rich. It will grows up to twelve to fifteen inches.

They are easily grown from seed, sow in early spring outdoors or they can be started indoors for transplanting into the garden in late spring. The germination is expect to be  eighty to ninety percent, which will take about two weeks. This herb grows in a clump. They need to have moderate water and they need to space the plants twelve inches apart.

Cutting celery likes to have partial to full shade and they adapt well to various soil types but they really like a moderately rich soil.

Cutting celery is a  real good addition to food gardens, along with horseradish, sorrel, and watercress. They will grow well in a containers indoors or on the patio.  

What Is Yucca?

Yucca is a herbaceous that is a perennial and it grows in zones 5 to 10.

This herb is used in many different number of ways. The leaves are made into baskets, fabric, twine, and mats. The root is the medicinal part and the flowers are delicious.

 

The Yucca will grow to fifteen inches and taller.

Yucca  likes to grow in arid regions, but they can also grow in moist areas. They like to have wide open, sunny places and the soil needs to be well drained. They can be found common for distrurbed areas.

Their blooms are large, real, pretty, cream-colored blooms that everybody will see in late spring and through the summer.

 

The propagation of the yucca is done by the seed being stratify for three months in the freezer or for putting the seeds in moist sand in the refrigerator for two weeks. Seeds can be sow d ty will need to be supply wiextra heat for optimum gerand growth. The

germination percfor treated seed,