Herb Gardens

There are few things more uplifting than burying your nose into a bouquet of fresh herbs! The different flavors, textures, and smells of God's natural medicine are enough to tingle your senses deliciously!
A few weeks ago Mom and I zoomed up the hill with Ashley and Kristen Haymond, who stayed the weekend with us, and visited the lovely garden of Rosemary Nightingale. What an inspiration!




Set in the beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills, Mrs. Nightingale's garden is overflowing with herbs of every kind. As she led us through as a part of our tour, she kept us thinking with tidbits of information and folklore about each herb. Using her trusty garden sissors, Mrs. Nightingale snipped us each a stem of the herbs that were in season in her garden. By the end of our tour, we each had a bouquet of fragrant herbs to take home and dry ourselves.

Mrs. Nightingale served a delicious herb/ginger iced tea in delicate stem goblets as refreshment. She also demonstrated creative ways to use herbs in your home. It amazed me how many ways we can use God's creation in place of many chemicals on the market today.

Below, Ashley is enjoying the Russian Sage.


Stepping into the coolness of the garden Giftshop, the first thing that struck my eye was the thick bundles of lavender hung up in a row to dry.


As I looked further into the shop, my senses were stimulated by the variety of textures presented, such as the homemade soaps sitting in beds of dried herbs; cool and inviting to the touch. Her corked glass bottles of herbs sat waiting on the glass counters, anxious to have their secrets revealed. The homemade "lotions and potions and vanities in a bottle" as Max would say, sitting in another area were especially intriguing to me as I've tried my hand at making those before. Passing my sniffer across the top of the bottle, the powdery smell of lavender reached up to tickle it. Delightful!

The shop was a visual delight because on the walls and scattered throughout the garden and shop Mrs. Nightingale and her husband shared their artwork. Every corner of the shop was filled with homemade industry! Using God's creation and the bounty of nature, the Nightingales had created a paradise that they are sharing with the world.