Spring Time in the Garden

April is a wonderful month in Central Florida- warm, but not too hot. It was a great day to take some photos in the garden with my new camera. It's a HP Photosmart R827 and I am pretty happy with the close up flower shots.

This is a "vick's" plant from Maggie's Herb Farm in St. Augustine. It can be used in a steam for sinus congestion, but I like it best as a low maintenance house plant.



Lavender is not so easy to grow in Central Florida. I was lucky to get a cutting from a friend who had a good variety for our climate. I have also had success propagating it by making cuttings at the end of the summer.



This is an heirloom variety of lettuce that is starting to flower. The lettuce was delicious. Seeds were a swap from garden blogger Ink and Penstemon.



These are cucumber flowers in my garden. This is the first year I've tried growing them.



First year of fruit on my Blue Berry bushes! Yay!

Cool Animal Planet Film: Mermaids the Body Found

My husband sent me a link to this cool Animal Planet Film that aired in Japan. It hasn't been shown in the US. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. I just want to suggest you enjoy watching it with an open mind. ; ) Hope you like it. I've always been a water baby and studied marine biology and science in school, so I really loved it.

Sustainable Organic Teas Now in Recycled Newspaper Boxes at Mountain Rose Herbs

I just received a press release from my favorite Herb Supplier, Mountain Rose Herbs. I purchase lots of Organic herbs for products and for personal use from Mountain Rose. Mountain Rose has a new Tea Box for their teas made from recycled newspapers. I usually get my tea from them in bulk, by the pound (my favorite is Lapsang Souchong Tea). But I think it is pretty cool for the 4 oz sizes. Here is all the info:


It’s Sustainable:

Cardboard Tea Box

- 100% post-consumer waste recycled newspaper
- Reusable
- Recyclable
- Biodegradable / Compostable
- Printed with soy ink and water-based varnish
- Recyclable labels

Inner Tea Bag

- Non-GMO tree cellulose, an industrial bi-product from the Pacific Northwest
- 100% Compostable
- Resealable with adhesive tab for freshness

Our Tea

- 100% Certified Organic Ingredients
- Earth Kosher Certified
- IMO Fair For Life ~ Fair Trade Certified varieties
- Time-tested formulas handcrafted by us for over 20
years
- 65 green, black, red, white and herbal blends to experience


It’s Practical:

- Prevents color and nutrient leaching by light
- Offers better protection during shipping to prevent crushed and broken bags
- Local co-ops and health food stores will now be able to stock our tea in the tea aisle
- Allows us to include detailed brewing instructions and a “resources saved” report


It’s Beautiful:

- Beautifully designed to site on your kitchen shelf
- Perfect gift for tea lovers
- Embossed with full color photos of our tea printed using soy-inks and eco-friendly water based varnish

Check out the great selection of teas, herbs and oils here.

How to Give Your Hair a Fresh Start or Transitioning to Shampoo Bars

Something that I like to do for my hair once a year or so is a vinegar hair rinse. A vinegar hair rinse is a conditioning treatment suitable for hair that has not been chemically colored. Henna-colored hair is fine. A vinegar rinse helps to remove build up from shampoo and other hair care products, and helps smooth and slightly straighten the hair. I like the bounce that my hair gets from using my bar shampoos, but I recently gave my hair a treatment in between testing new shampoo bar formulas. It was a bit over due, the last time I did it was over 2 years ago. During that time I had been testing a few new shampoo bar formulas, so it was nice to have a fresh start. I suggested this treatment to a customer who was new to shampoo bars and was having trouble with the transition. She really liked the result and I have been meaning to share it. I hope if you try it you like the results. It is very simple:

Mix 2 Tablespoons of Vinegar (Apple Cider Vinegar is best) with 2 cups of warm water. Wet the hair completely in the shower, then pour the rinse completely through the hair. Allow it to sit on the hair for a couple minutes and then rinse with fresh water.

You can have more fun by making an infused herbal vinegar like the one pictured by HerbalMother.com.

Enjoy!
Cory Trusty
http://aquarianbath.com

Stop Cargill – Stop the fires in the orangutan forest

Stop Cargill – Stop the fires in the orangutan forest

Scalp Treatment for Babies and Toddlers

Babies and toddlers can often have build up on their scalp, but for different reasons. Whether build up on the scalp is from cradle crap from seborrhoeic eczema in babies, or toddlers non-compliance with thorough hair washing, a simple very simple treatment can be used. You just need two things, a small amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a narrow fine toothed comb. A baby comb or a barbers fine tooth comb work well. Simply massage the scalp with Extra Virgin Olive oil and allow it to absorb for at least 30 minutes to overnight. Then gently brush out the hair. The cradle crap will come out easily through the tines of the comb. I used to do this with my 8 year old when she was a baby with cradle crap and it worked well every time. It was necessary to repeat a few times while she was little. My two year old did not have cradle crap as a baby, but she really is resistant to having her hair washed often. (She doesn't even like plain water over her head unless it is ocean water). So this treatment was necessary recently. I followed it up with a wash with my Patchouli Hemp Oil Shampoo Bar. She was a bit cranky to have her hair washed, but her scalp is back to normal and her hair looks great.