So the time came when I could no longer stand to look at the horrible crab grass any longer! The horrible stuff that just kept getting larger and definitely was a sight for sore eyes. My eyes are exhausted; along with the whole rest of me! It has been a super busy summer filled with my daughter’s softball games, summer school for a few weeks, swimming lessons for my son, oboe lessons, Wildlife Sanctuary day camps, keeping up with gathering herbs; making & straining tinctures, oil infusions, & glycerites; getting ready to sell online and in the local store, & now a rummage sale. The weeds really got out of hand this year!

Usually I am so eager to show pictures of the garden but with the dry season and things just looking unkempt; it hasn’t happened as much as it should have. Life was too demanding, but the most rewarding part–after hours of sweat, dirt, itchy skin, & LOTS of swearing at weeds, it is done now; at least mostly, & looks amazing! Maybe to you who did not get a good look at the garden before (luckily I did take some before pictures) it just looks like a garden, but to me it looks like a newly organized, rearranged, & freshly painted room.

To treat myself for all my hard work, I went to purchase some new plants yesterday. The BEST part is that they are native plants to the area as well as herbs!! What an amazing win, win=)!!

Here is a peek into the results of my hard work….

Before & After Photos;)

 

 

 

This last photo is of one of my new additions to the garden. It is Meadowsweet, a native plant in Wisconsin. It confused me at first because the leaves look very different from the current Meadowsweet I have growing on the side of the house; which was gifted to me by a friend. This intrigued me enough to research further into why these would look different. I was really glad I did!

The plant I currently had growing is actually called, Queen of the Meadow (Filipendula ulmaria) , which is an introduced herb from Europe & is actually on the invasive species list for MN. Luckily mine was planted in a shadier area with not a lot of regular watering so it is not very productive. These are the lessons learned as I continue to navigate the forest and pastures of herbal identification & knowledge.

The species I planted yesterday is actually Spiraea alba, which also has the nickname, Meadowsweet, but is native to this area and attracts lots of pollinators! Unfortunately, it does not have the same properties as the other. They are not related🙃.

As I am now realizing that this is actually not known as an herb and is just a wildflower for the bees & butterflies to enjoy, I am going to have to move it elsewhere. Since my daughter just decided to weed her garden and make it look all tidy as well, I think this will be its new destination!

Then I will dig up some roots of the Queen of the Meadow that I have and move a few to a better location in the herb garden. The aspirin effects it has for pain, due to its salicylic acid content, seems to really help for sore muscles/inflammation. This I discovered after days straight of TOO MUCH WEEDING=)!!! Now it’s time to rearrange 😌.

As this just occurred to me, that I could try transplanting some of the Queen of the Meadow to my herb garden, I went to do it & now I’m back and it is complete! The Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba) is in the children’s native flower/fairy garden & the Filipendula ulmaria now resides in the herb garden. Then the thought crossed my mind as this endeavor was in progress; why not transfer the Lavender that has such issues by the side of the house as well? Done!

Then to top it all off, my grapes are starting to ripen!! This is super exciting and something that we have been waiting on for months….

Oh, wait……there’s one more thing………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..are you ready for it???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

I had a display out during our rummage sale. Not many people showed up because we were having it in the back by the garage which is by the alley. It was super slow and we did not get rid of everything we hoped to. But I have some super exciting news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I SOLD MY FIRST TINCTURE!!!!

This made me overjoyed and felt amazing! My first customer, a woman named Tina, was so nice and asked what the ones that were on display were used for. When I mentioned that Motherwort is know to help with anxiety/panic attacks & let her know that it has helped me, she wanted some! I gave her literature, business cards, and a genuine, super excited, super grateful handshake!

I hope you are having a wonderful end to your weekend as well!!

Your Friend,

Anne(AnnesBackyardHerbal)