Just announced this week by The Herb Society of America, the 2013 Notable Native Herb is Monarda fistulosa, or commonly known as Wild Bergamot or Bee Balm. The information debuted at their annual educational conference held this year in Austin Texas, and we are honored to have been selected to be the exclusive grower and distributor for this program! Katrinka Morgan, Executive Director of the Herb Society of America, chose use because we are long term members, are dedicated to conserving natural resources and encouraging native plants, and said “This historic American farm is the perfect partner to help us bring attention to the vast selection of native herbs found in North America.”

The honor of Notable Native is bestowed on native herb plants that are found growing wild throughout the U.S. and who thrive in most any garden in every planting zone. Morgan goes on to mention that, they consider the plants versatility and usefulness as a culinary, medicinal and companion plant, as well as additional benefits like its aroma, usefulness in attracting pollinators, and longevity in the garden.

“Bee balm is used mostly today to attract butterflies and hummingbirds to the garden, but its uses are far greater. We selected it for its culinary, medicinal and aromatic values, as well as its usefulness as a companion plant,” Morgan explains. “It also performs well in most gardens throughout the US.”

We are overjoyed to be a member and partner to the HSA and hope you will visit their site to learn more, donate or become a member, too! You can visit the “Try This” section of our Bee Balm page to read more about the HSA and visit their site!

I have been absent from the office and everyone has been asking where I might be? Some of you readers may remember my notes and pictures about collecting wildflower seeds last fall. It is a yearly ritual I look forward to, each bag of seeds are sifted and cleaned before being stored for winter.

All that is great fun in the fall, but spring is here and those seeds need to be planted now. Timing is everything when planting seeds, and you never know the exact time until it is upon you. So this week I knew all conditions were right and the wildflowers needed to be planted this week, at least before the next rain.

All there is to show are slits cut in the ground by my seed drill. But as any gardener knows, nothing holds more promise than a well planted seed bed. Soon little annual flowering plants will be sprouting all up and down the slits. Later the perennial plants will emerge. And soon, just a month and a little more, I will be showing you fields of wildflowers waving in the wind!

Spring is here, stop planning and get planting!

Last fall when I first began this gardening blog, I reported on my seed collecting endeavors. Seed collecting is just the first step towards growing plants. All those ziplock bags full of seeds were carefully stored over the winter.

And now we are at the next step, which is to plant the seeds. I had collected seeds from various flowering annuals, some perennials, and a few herb plants. The goal is to plant wildflowers in all the conservation grasslands around the farm. Annual plants such as cosmos and Gomphrena will give color this year as the perennial natives establish themselves. To create a blooming prairie effect Dames Rocket and Shasta Daisies start blooming in spring and are followed by Coreopsis, Rudbeckia, Ratibida, and Echinacea in summer. A total of thirty types of flowers were planted

This year I am planting what I call “the grand finale”. Summer into fall will find Helianthus full of yellow sunflowers intermixed with the blue haze of wild Ageratum. I will have to wait until the following fall to see how it works, perennials must have time to establish. But for now we must wait and have faith that planting these seeds in the cold ground will sprout and grow in spring.

I hope everyone enjoys Thanksgiving as much as I do. Our annual family gathering measures in the high thirties, maybe even forty by now. Since marrying into this family I have seen exponential growth, a clan sized population boom. With so much fun and family mixing for a few days, there always are those little incidents that do not remind one of a Hallmark moment. Details differ, but let’s just admit that some of the time these family gatherings also gather old angst. Sitting here in my office, I couldn’t help wondering if I was carrying any of that old angst when I spotted the white sage bundle near my desk.
Is there negative energy floating around my office? I don’t feel any, but why not let the sage tell me? My brother in Colorado keeps me with a steady supply of sage wands, as they are hard to come by in Virginia. What comes next is an honest experiment, and be aware I have something at risk doing this online. Once I light the sage wand, it cannot be extinguished, it must be allowed to smoke as needed to negate positive ions and other bad vibes. So if the wand produces a lot of smoke? Then I guess I was carrying some bad vibes, maybe?
The sage is lit and the room is smudging as a column of smoke rises from the sage wand; a thin light stream, a good sign. I am sitting here watching and honestly wondering how much smoke will be needed to clear my aura. My interest is keen, and as we wait, let’s admit that no one can get under your skin like those that know you best, especially if related. So instead of wondering, I asked the sage to reveal the negative vibes around me. And as I write these words, the fire is out! Only a small quarter of an inch burned, not even to the first wrapping. My office is cleared and there wasn’t much here, and that is good to know!
Herbs are such useful plants. They can be used for so many different things. Right here, I settled a question that had been nagging me for days, if my aura is clear then my intentions must be good also, and anything that may or may not have happened over the holiday certainly was not of my doing. I have never seen “ conscious cleaning” as a property listed for white sage, but I just proved it works for that too! So, if there is some unresolved dispute still lingering, no matter how small. Ask the sage to reveal the vibes around you; just do it in private in case you burn the whole sage wand! Herbs are amazing plants; I seem to find new uses all the time.