A Walk through my Spring Garden

It's Spring here in Florida and soooo much is in bloom, so I wanted to show you all the wonders of living in Florida. Most people when they first move here or even those who have lived here for awhile but don't know much about native plants have a hard time knowing the seasons change, but I always know because things are always in bloom with my native plant landscape.

 Senna (Cassia)

 Coontie

 

Beach Verbena 

 

Black Eyed Susans and Gaillardia (Blanket Flower) 

 

Red Sage

 

My front yard is a field of Sunshine Mimosa instead of grass. It requires no water, no fertilizer, and has these beautiful pink flowers that attracts butterflies and my favorite, grasshoppers.

 

French Lavender, I harvested this morning. It's so hard to harvest because it looks so pretty but I know if I keep the blooms on there too long, they will turn brown and I won't have a nice dried bouquet or extra lavender to use in products.

 

Scorpion Tail

 

False Indigo

Well as you can see, lots in bloom right now and this wasn't even everything! Do you have any native plants in your yard, wherever you may life? Do you love them? I sure do! Have a happy spring day!

Autumn in Florida

 I'm loving the Bald Cypress pine cones forming right now and the leaf litter under the tree.

 Nature's mulch, spread naturally under the trees provides nutrients and minerals, plus it looks beautiful and helps to feed the earth.

 

One of our sweetgum trees getting ready to change colors. 

 

Who doesn't love those little delicate Rosemary flowers? Almost always in bloom here in Florida. We have Rosemary shrubs in abundance around our home.

 Goldenrod makes a brilliant fall appearance with it's golden "rods" of color. I love the old red rusty wheelbarrow in the background.

 

My new Aster plant given to me by my friend Sharon at Maple Street Natives.

 

Scorpion Tail. I love this plant, up close it's really like a scorpion's tail. From far away, the delicate white flowers looks dainty and cute. White flowers are essential in the landscape because they help light up the landscape naturally in the evening.

 

Lavender in bloom again. I enjoyed another harvest again this weekend. Who says Lavender can't grow in Florida? They were wrong.

 

I love this happy, little meadow of our Mimosa lawn. No grass, no water, no fertilizer. And still green.

 

And, lastly, a handful of acorns. Walking around in the yard I love the crunching beneath my feet and I know the trees are being fed. 

I hope you have a happy day today and enjoy some sights and sounds of native plants in your area!

A few of my Favorite Fall Things

 

No-Bake Autumn Apple Crisp made with large organic Gala apples

 

My six-year old daughter's homemade pumpkins

 

The purple hues from Florida native Muhly Grass blowing in the wind

 

Shells, seabeans, and driftwood from a family walk on the beach this past Sunday. I love all the natural colors. One day I want to use some of these natural colors to match paint to paint rooms in our home. 

When we go to the beach, we bring two bags: one for collecting beach treasures and one for collecting trash (on the walk back). The trash we pick up is almost always 99% plastic. I'm so not a fan of plastic! But, it feels so good doing little things like that for the environment, especially our friends the sea turtles.

When I served the Autumn Apple Crisp last night I included it with the main course, it's so healthy! Here's the recipe:

Colleen's Autumn Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
2 Large Apples, cored and cubed (skins left on)
1 C. Dates, pitted
1 C. Almonds
1/4 C. Honey
Cinnamon
Salt
Vanilla
Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

Directions:
1. Place 1 C. Almonds, 1/2 C. Dates, a few drops of Vanilla, pinch of cinnamon, and pinch of Salt in food processor and process until chunky. Set aside.
2. Place 1 apple (chopped), 1/2 C. Dates, 1/4 C. Honey, pinch of salt, teaspoon of Cinnamon, and few drops of Vanilla in food processor. Process until smooth. Add second apple and process until chunky.
3. Spread apple mixture on top of crust and sprinkle with unsweetened coconut flakes.

Note: if you have a dehydrator you can place this dish in dehyrator at 104 degrees to warm for an hour or so, or put it in your oven (no higher than 104 degrees) for an hour.
Enjoy! :-)

What are some of your fall favorites?

Fall DIY Skincare Recipes

Throughout history, women have been making their own handmade skincare products and pampering themselves from head to toe. Whether it's something simple like an oatmeal honey masque on a Saturday night in, or more involved such as a lip balm or face cream, crafting homemade recipes are not new. What's also not new though, is women who are so busy that they forget to take time for themselves in the way of a skincare ritual.
Did you know that pampering your skin can actually release important chemicals in your brain that help to relieve stress, anger, and unhappiness? These feel-good chemicals (endorphins) are the brain's natural pain-killer and can be 3 times more potent than morphine! You should take a few minutes at least a few times each week to do something special with your skin, and changing it up helps to keep it all fresh, fun, and exciting.

Here are some fresh ideas for skincare pampering that are in tune with the the seasonal change (autumn-inspired):

Honey Vanilla Face Cleanser
 Honey is anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial making it perfect for using on the skin. Vanilla is comforting, warming, and using fresh vanilla beans give the added benefit of a gentle exfoliation.
1 Bottle Face Petals Cleanser
Honey
Vanilla Bean or Vanilla Extract

1. To keep this cleanser fresh and easily emulsified, keep a small bowl (with lid if possible) in your bathroom near your cleanser.
2. Add 2 Tablespoons of Honey and 1 scrape of your Vanilla Bean or a Teaspoon of Vanilla extract together and mix.
3. Pump a few squirts of the Face Petals Cleanser into your small bowl and add a few drops of your honey vanilla mixture.
4. Stir to incorporate.
5. Apply a tablespoon of this mixture to the face at the same time.
6. Massage into your skin and then rinse.
(Keep this fresh mixture by your sink with a lid on the bowl for a few days. When you need more just mix up another batch.)

Coco-Avo Eye Makeup Remover
Fresh avocados are filled with vitamins and nutritive oils. Using this as an eyemakeup remover keeps the area around the eyes soft and supple.
Ingredients:
1 Avocado, pitted
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon
a few drops of Eyebright Overnight Serum

1. Mix all of your ingredients together in small bowl with lid.
2. Wipe a tablespoon of your mixture over the eye area, and follow with wiping mixture away with cotton pad or cotton ball.
Can be stored in the fridge (this is really nice when chilled) for a few days. Leftovers can also be used in a masque.

Aloe & Avocado Healthy Hair Masque
If you've spent your summer in the pool or out in the sun, this masque is wonderful for helping to revive dry or damaged hair with simple ingredients. Avocados are amazing for restoring dry hair back to health.
Ingredients:
1 Avocado (pitted)
1 Tablespoon fresh Aloe
1/4 C. Masque (you can use a basic clay or one of our fine masques, Berries & Roots makes an amazing hair masque)
1/4 C. Coconut Water

1. After mixing up your masque mixture (1 part masque powder to 1 part liquid) add a mashed avocado and your fresh aloe vera and incorporate into the mixture.
2. Apply masque to entire hair shaft and leave in for 10 minutes. Rinse and shampoo as usual. 

Don't forget to add in some relaxing music, or enjoy spending time with friends while pampering each other. Kids love these ideas too! (I have 3 little girls, trust me!)

Have you done anything special to pamper your skin, hair, or body lately? Does this post make you want to?

A Delicious Labor Day Recipe

As the summer comes to an close here in Florida (we do have a little bit of a temperature change thank goodness) Mango season is also coming to an end. Locally, we drive about 10 minutes to a local mango farm in Merritt Island, FL which happens to be one of the most ideal places to grow mangoes, and they are delicious. When we first started going to this farm, we had so many mangoes that I had to come up with lots of recipes so we could use them up. You can only have so many mango smoothies!
So, I came up with this farm fresh dish that I make just about once a week at least. Here's the recipe:

Mango Farm Salad
1 Mango (peeled and sliced)
1 Avocado (pitted and sliced)
2 Cups Fresh Spinach
1 Large Tomato, chopped
1 Cup Frozen Corn (dethawed in warm water for 5 minutes)
1 Cup Pecans
1 Lemon, juiced
1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup or Agave
2 Tablespoons Tamari
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
Pinch of Salt to taste


Directions:
Throw all ingredients into a large bowl and toss. If you have too much liquid you can strain it out. Serve immediately.

Yesterday I didn't have corn when I made this - and I usually made it with corn. But it's just as good without.
I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day and lots of relaxation time with friends and family!

Sewing Facial Pad Tutorial

Yahoo for a new shipment in of Bamboo Fleece and Hemp fabrics! The Bamboo is on the top and the Hemp on the bottom. You can see the Bamboo is a little thicker and the hemp looks just like a washcloth material. I just love creating with these two baby-soft fabrics, so it was time to make a fresh batch of Facial Pads. You don't find quality fabrics like this in stores these days, so it's so fun to have the opportunity to create something from scratch with a high quality fabric such as these.

 

To make the facial pads, I trace the circle shapes on the fabrics with an erasable marker, circling around just a basic lid. I pin the fabrics together and then cut them all out with a rotary cutter. 

 

Lots of circles!

 

Once all the circles are cut out, I pin all the layers together. Then I sew each one by hand, on my handy-dandy sewing machine. After they are sewn, I make tiny snips around the circles and wash them in my handmade soap. Then they fray nicely around the edges.

Ta da! Luxurious facial pads all ready to go! Perfect for a softening facial wash, eye makeup remover, or even deoderant applicator. These fabrics are so strong, that they wash up beautifully for many uses.

Now, if I can just decide on what else to use this fabric for, maybe a soothing aromatherapy neck wrap, or some eye pads? Hmmmm the possibilities are endless! Any suggestions?

Beautyberry Harvest

 

Recently I made another harvest of these beautiful beautyberries. They are so spectacular in the fall - their bright colors can be seen from far away. 

 

To dry them, I lay the berries on a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for two days at 105 degrees. That way, their natural enzymes aren't compromised in the process.

Then, I do two things with them: one is I use them in the Elderberry soap for more berry power, and two, I make a glycerine extract for Beautyberry Bug Banisher.

Aren't they beautiful?