Saturday, April 20, 2013

2013 BUTTERFLY & HERB FESTIVAL


Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others,
faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms
.”
I Peter 4:10

Today was this year’s Butterfly & Herb Festival at Full Moon Natives & Herbs! The weather actually co-operated and we had a great day learning, eating and chatting.

In case you missed it, here was the schedule and some links:

10:00 – Butterfly & Hummingbird Gardening by Kevin

10:30 - Butterfly Lifecycle by Bunny Jo

11:00 - Creating Fairy Gardens by Joyce

             This was my demonstration all about fairies and fairy gardens.  In order to help everyone see the fairies, fairy thyme tea and cookies were served as usual!   Thyme is a favorite fairy plant because of its color, fragrance and habit of growth!

FAIRIE THYME TEA
1Tbs thyme
1Tbs calendula
1Tbs chamomile flowers
1Tbs spearmint
1Tbs sage
1Tbs marjoram
1Tbs lemongrass
            Mix all together and store in a cool, dry place that is not in the sun. To use, take one teaspoon of the mixture for a cup, add boiling water, and allow to steep for 3-5 minutes.  Strain tea and sweeten with honey as desired. Serve hot or cold.

FAIRIE THYME ROUNDS
            Cream 1c butter and 1c sugar, then add 1 egg, 1Tbs fresh lemon thyme and 1 tsp lemon zest and mix well.  Add 2½c flour and 1tsp baking soda, then 1tsp vanilla. Roll into two logs, wrap & refrigerate overnight.  Slice, sprinkle with sugar and bake at 350 degrees for 10 mins.

After a little trivia about fairies and information on fairy gardens, the demonstration turned to creating this year’s garden – a Fairy Condo requested by “Ginny” – a fairy that lives in one of my fairy gardens, who is having a lot of family visit this summer! 

clip_image002

It featured the following herbs to attract vacationing fairies to each of the “units”:

Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) – a great smelling fairy herb especially for lawns

Orange Mint (Mentha ×piperita ‘Orange’ or ‘Citrata’) – fairies love the fresh scent and this one has a lovely purplish tinge to the new growth

Rosemary (Rosmarius officinalis) – a great place for fairy families with babies to rock in the flowers!

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) – a place for resting and dancing on vacation!

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum ) - excellent companion plants for fairy roses and to represent grasses

Curly Parsley  (Petroselinum crispum) – attracts butterflies – yellow ones are fairy messengers – and have appealing frilly leaflets representing festivity too

Plus a “tree” in the common area:

Thai Basil (Ocimum basilicum) – a very ornamental basil which can serve as a protector in the garden

Of course the real fun always begins with the accessories that make each fairy garden unique. Each “unit” received either a patio pot or patio stone . . . 

clip_image004

 

 

 

 

 

 

. . . and of course the condo had to include a pool surrounded by stepping stones among the mossy areas under a tree for shade . . . plus a “VACANCY” sign!  Look – a couple fairies have already checked in!!

For more information about Fairy Gardens, see last year’s Butterfly & Herb Festival post and for pictures of some of my other gardens see this post on accessorizing!

 

11:30  Create your own custom Herb Infused Oil Blend by Linda

12:00 - Cooking with Herbs by Marvette & Joyce

Although Marvette was unable to demo each, she prepared all of these recipes so people who attended the festival could enjoy the tastes of herbs!  All I did was add a few tips about each of the herbs.

Thyme and Mustard Crackers
            Thyme Tip: Thyme is great for new cooks: its flavor heightenes most any food but it doesn’t overpower and dish and is a good substitute for salt

Chive Spread
            Chive Tip: Use instead of onions, scallions or garlic without the peeling, chopping and tears!

Lemon Basil Potato Salad
            Basil Tip: Basil can be frozen, dried or preserved in oil or vinegar, but the leaves are best used fresh and added only during the last few minutes of cooking

Lavender Scones
            Lavender Tip: Harvest flowers as buds and use sparingly since they are very purfumey with a hint of lemon

Lemongrass and Mint Arnold Palmer
            Lemongrass Tip: May use the leaves for vinegar & tea (needs liquid to bring out essential oils) plus the stalks/bulbs peeled and chopped in stir-fry
            Mint Tip:  Harvest only the top 3 to 5 leaves for the best flavor for cooking

Vegetable and Chervil Soup
            Chervil Tip: Also known as “gourmet parsley,” it is delicate and should be added at the end of cooking or just sprinkled on fresh before serving

12:30 Introduction to Beekeeping by Master Beekeeper Tom

 

1:00 Growing Herbs in Containers, Gardens and Landscapes by Kevin
 

                                                                                                   Joyce

1 comment:

facesintheclouds said...

Sounds super cool and fun.