Spring Herbal & Soap Classes with Aquarian Bath in Daytona Beach and St. Augustine

April 9th 2011 at MaggiesHerbFarm.com Saturday 10-2 Herbal Medicine Making: Tinctures, and Syrups
Location: Maggies Herb Farm 11400 County Road 13, St. Augustine, FL call to register 904.829.0722 Learn the basic methods for herbal home medicine making for your family. This is a hands on class in which you gather herbs from the farm for making tinctures and a Thyme cough syrup. We will focus on methods for making preparations, properties, of herbs used during the class including Motherwort, Yarrow, Skullcap, Holy Basil and more. Fee $35. bring a sack lunch. A hands on workshop.

April 23rd, 2011 Bath & Body Easter Basket Workshop at Hobby Lobby in Daytona Beach 1-4 pm $20 In this workshop we will make a bath & body Easter Basket. You will make:
~ Aromatherapy Bath Salts
~ a Chocolate Easter Egg Lotion Bar made with Shea Butter and Cocoa Butter
~ 1 Chocolate lips balm
~ 1 Aromatherapy lip balm
Register online or call 310-919-0220

May 14th 2011 Soap Making For Sensitive and Problem Skin Types Saturday time 10:00
AM-2:00 PM Location: Maggies Herb Farm 11400 County Road 13, St. Augustine, FL call to
register 904.829.0722 Learn to make soap from scratch using the cold process method and the specialized hot process method for sea salt spa soaps. We focus on hypoallergenic formulations for those with sensitive skin and those well loved by persons with multiple problems, including acne. Specialty herbal additives for problem skin types in formulations will be discussed. Bring lunch, safety glasses and gloves, and a small cardboard box. Fee $35

May 21st 2011 Milled Soap Making for Sensitive and Problem Skin Types in Daytona Beach
at the Hobby Lobby 1-4:30 $30In this class we will be using the gentlest type of natural soap base: Castile soap which is made with 100% olive oil in the oil phase. You will take home two types of soap for sensitive and problem skin types as well as recipes for natural and gentle milled soaps. You will also learn about various natural additives for natural soap making including essential oils, clays, herbal powders and more. The soaps that we create in class will be chosen from a range of natural ingredients and will be determined by consensus among attendees. Register Online or call 310 919 0220

Winter Soap & Herbal Classes at Maggie's Herb Farm In St. Augustine 2011

Happy New Year's to you all. Hope 2011 is treating you right so far. I have some new classes coming up for the Winter Season at Maggie's Herb Farm in St. Augustine. Hope you can join us for some of them. Please call the farm to register in advance. 904-829-0722

Soap Making For Sensitive and Problem Skin Types February 5 Saturday time 10-2
Learn to make soap from scratch using the cold process method and the specialized hot process method for sea salt spa soaps. We focus on hypoallergenic formulations for those with sensitive skin and those well loved by persons with multiple problems including acne. Specialty herbal additives for problem skin types in formulations will be discussed. Bring lunch, safety glasses and gloves, and a small cardboard box. Fee $35

Herbal Powders For Body Care March 5 Saturday time 10-2
Learn to dry and process herbs for making body powders. We will used dried herbs from the farm as well as other clays and ingredients for creating your choice of body powders from among 5 basic recipes. We will cover face masks, deodorant powders, anti-heat rash powder, baby powder, and foot powders. Bring a sack lunch and a toothbrush. You will have a chance to sample and experiment with herbal tooth powders. Fee $35 Bring a sack lunch

Herbal Valentine's Day: Herbal Love Potions Saturday February 12:
Learn about various herbs used as aphrodisiacs and tonics. We will make a passion potion (herbal syrup), heart-shaped lotion bars with aphrodisiac and calming essential oils, and a rose body butter. $40 Bring a sack lunch

Herbal Events in Central Florida this Sunday November 14th

This Sunday is a great day for herb lovers in Central Florida. I have two events to share with you whether you are in the Daytona Beach or St. Augustine area.

The first is my Salves and Balm making class at Maggie's Herb farm in St. Augustine. From 10-2 I will be teaching how to make a black drawing salve like the one pictured below from my Etsy shop. I have called the farm to confirm also that their lovely pink rose bush is in full bloom and ready for us to make a beautiful salve with. I will also be demonstrating how I make lip balms with essential oils of Sweet orange and Peppermint. There are still 6 spots available in this class so round up your friends if you would like to get in on this herbal adventure. The fee is $35 and you can call the farm to register. 904 829 0722.



The other great event that is happening on Sunday is the "A rose by any other name" fundraiser for the new Rose and Herb Garden in down town Daytona Beach. The event will be held at the corner of Orange Ave and Beach Street. My friend Ciana from Green Halloween Daytona is organzing this event. She and I had too much fun organizing and preparing for Green Halloween that we got our wires crossed and we doubled booked me for a workshop at the garden on Sunday as well. Hallogreen was great fun by the way. Here is Moira with Rae Rae, the enviropal.



Back to the Rose Garden: you are all extra lucky, because of the mix up I recruited Ralph from Deep Woods Herbal Research Inc in Daytona to come out in my place and give an herbal talk for my slot at 2 pm about herbs for cold & flu season. Ralph is a very knowlegable herbalist who learned from his father who was an herbalist as well. The fee for this workshop is only $5, it's a great deal. Or come earlier at 12 and for $5 you can also learn about quality Rose Gardening with expert Dana Venrick.

Saturday's Herb Farm Adventure

I had a lovely day Saturday at Magggie's Herb farm. The plants are coming along in the green house after a long freeze. I was happy to be able to pick up some new plants to replace the ones that I lost in January. Some of the herbs I took home included Calendula like the lovely flowering ones pictured here, Patchouli, True Rose Geranium, Tilo, and Lemon Balm.

Most of the mother plants were still recovering so we worked with dried herbs for making our tinctures during our Herbal Medicine Making class. My students chose dried Goldenrod, Motherwort, Lavender to make their tinctuers. Our honey cough and sore throat syrup came out nicely. We used a blend of thyme, yarrow, lemongrass, marjorum, and horehound for the decoction.


The big question was when are you coming back to teach? I am very happy these new students liked the class. I am not sure If I will be back there to teach there this summer, but I am hoping at latest to resume classes in the Fall. When Moira was a baby I never left her with others for long or took her out in the world with me to work as my students were suggesting. I love visiting and teaching at the farm too much to stay away though, so I'm sure we will find a good solution.

Happy New Year! Schedule of Events and Workshops for 2010

Art Walk:October
Originally uploaded by JackWhiteLandCo

The new year is almost here! Wishing a happy, healthy & prosperous new year to all of you.

I have put together my schedule of classes, workshops, and events for the first quarter of 2010 on my website at http://aquarianbath.com/events.html where you can also watch for events later in the year.

Hope to see those of you who are in the Daytona Beach or St. Augustine area soon.

January 16th workshop at the Sea Side Herb Society Meeting in Ormond Beach at the corner of Beach St. and Granada on using locally grown herbs for body care. 10:15 a.m. Saturday

February 5th vending in Daytona Beach 5-9 p.m. First Friday Art Walk on Beach Street

February 6th Natural Salve and Balm Making in St. Augustine at Maggie's Herb Farm Saturday February 6, 2010 10:30 AM- 2:30 PM Learn to make your infused herbal oils, salves and balms. We will gather fresh herbs for making a wound salve and learn to make a black drawing salve and lip balms. Learn about oil bases appropriate for balm and salve making and a variety of herbs that can be used in salves and infused oils. A hands on workshop Fee $35. bring a sack lunch Register at http://www.maggiesherbfarm.com

February 20th. Introduction to Herbal Aromatics Perfumery and Incense Saturday at Maggies Herb Farm in St. Augustine 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM Join us for an introduction to incense and natural perfumery. We will be making all natural cone incense with dried herbs and resins and solid perfume with pure essential oils. We will be working with a variety of dried herbs including those available at the farm including Lemon Verbena and Patchouli. Bring a sack lunch $35. Register at http://www.maggiesherbfarm.com

March 5th vending at the First Friday Art Walk on Beach Street in Daytona 5-9 p.m.

March 6th Herbal Medicine Making: Tinctures, and Syrups Saturday 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM Learn the basic methods for herbal home medicine making for your family. This is a hands on class in which you gather herbs from the farm for making tinctures and a cough syrup. We will focus on methods for making preparations, properties, of herbs used during the class including Mints, Holy Basil, Patchouli, Thyme and more. Fee $35. bring a sack lunch. A hands on workshop. Instructor Cory Trusty. Register at http://www.maggiesherbfarm.com

March 27th Vending at the Sea Side Herb Society's Herb Fair in Ormond Beach at the corner of Beach St. and Granada.

Pictures from my Saturday Stocking Stuffers Class

I had a very fun group of students in my class Saturday at Maggies Herb Farm in St. Augustine. I'm still recovering.



We started off making rose petal and comfrey infused oil and moved on to bath teas, herbal ornaments and corsages from fresh picked herbs from the green house. And finished up with some lip balms and a winter dry skin balm made with the rose and comfrey infused oil.



Some of the herbs we used for the corsages/ornaments included blooming pinapple sage, rosemary, vicks salve plant, pepper, yarrow, lavender and oregano. The one that I made is the second from the left.



Stay tuned I will post my upcoming classes for February and March.

Abundant Neem Harvest at the Herb Farm and What I'm Doing With All of It

I spent another Saturday at Maggie's Herb Farm in St. Augustine teaching an advanced soapmaking class for Creating Shampoo Bars and Spa/Salt Soaps. The class itself when very well. I had some mild anxiety on the way up that I had maybe not packed all the ingredients that we needed, but everything was packed and it was a very smooth class.

The last time I was at the farm I finally noticed that there was a huge neem tree in one of the large green houses. When I talked to the owner on Thursday before the class, I asked her if I could harvest some for myself. She sounded very excited about the prospect and told me have her employee help me harvest it so that the branches would no longer be threatening to poke a hole through the top of the green house. So during our lunch break Julie climbed right up the tree and took down about 15 large branches that really needed to be pruned while I assisted. After our lunch break I brought some of the branches into class and we filled up jars with neem leaves and other herbs to make an apple cider vinegar based deodorant spray. Later, my husband helped me carry the cumbersome bundle into the house, I asked him how much he thought it was. He estimated 35 pounds. The weight of it had thrown him off balance, and I actually think maybe it was even more than that.

I'm in day three of processing all the neem. Saturday night I laid out two trays of leaves to dry, put up a quart of leaf in tincture, a quart of leaf in oil to cold infuse, a basket full of bark to dry, and a basket full of twigs to dry. Today I need to strip the rest of the bark from the large branches.

This is my first neem leaf harvest, though I have been growing baby neem trees in Central Florida for the last two years and using neem oil in my products and garden. I have read that dried neem leaves are helpful for repelling insects and can be added to dried rice, beans, and other dried herbs. The neem leaf is highly medicinal and is used for a various skin conditions such as foot fungus, psoriasis, scabies, acne, allergic reactions, small pox, chicken pox, and eczema. I'm preparing the leaf tincture to use as described in Natural Medicine in the Tropics by Hans Martin Hirt, which is to mix the leaf tincture together with vegetable oil for application as an ointment. I will likely use the infused leaf oil together with the tincture. I generally prefer to infuse herbs in oil on the stove top, but from what I understand the medicinal properties of the neem leaves are best extracted cold, so I simply will let them sit in my Extra Virgin Olive oil/ Coconut oil solution for a few weeks and then strain and decant. The jar of leaves and oil was very bubbly and oozing yesterday morning. Neem bark and twigs are particularly useful in dental care for keeping gums healthy. The dried bark I plan to grind in herbal friend's hammermill for use in tooth powder, and I may even put up some bark in alcohol to make an extract for application to gums today as well. I will be cutting up the little twigs into tooth-pick sized pieced for dental care as well.

I have more classes coming up at Maggies Herb farm in November and December. You can call the farm to preregister 904-829-0722:

Herbal Aromatics! Natural Incense & Perfumery Class.
Saturday November 14th 10:00 AM-2:00 PM
Join us for an introduction to incense and natural perfumery. We will be making all natural cone incense with dried herbs and resins, as well as a room spray, cologne, and solid perfumes with pure essential oils. Learn the properties of various essential oils and how to combine them to repel pests, freshen a room, and more. We will be working with a variety of dried herbs including those available at the farm including Lemon Verbena, Lemon grass, and Patchouli. Bring a sack lunch $45

Herbal Bath & Body Holiday Stocking Stuffers Class!
Saturday December 12th 10:30– 2:30
Join us for a fun-filled day of sipping herb-mulled cider and creating herbal holiday gifts for friends and family. We will be making 4 sets of stocking stuffers with each gift bag including: 2 Peppermint and 2 Cinnamon stick lip balms in old fashioned metal slide tins, 4 Herb-infused Winter Dry Skin Shea butter balms infused with fresh picked herbs, and 4 sets of herbal bath teas. We will also make herbal decorations with fresh Rosemary to take home for ourselves! Bring a sack lunch. $40.00

Comparing Essential Oils with Chemical Fragrance Oils in Consumer Products: How and Why to Spot the Differences

Aromatherapy effects of dynamic natural plant essential oils cannot be duplicated by man-made chemical fragrance oils. Aromatherapy is a branch of plant medicine that has nothing to do with synthetic fragrances. However, because the health-promoting properties of true Aromatherapy are desirable, many companies use cheaper chemical fragrance oils that do NOT carry these benefits, but will mislead customers (knowingly or unknowingly) by using the terms aromatherapy or aroma to make it seem like they are the same thing. The most offensive promotion I have seen was an "herbal soap" made with chemical fragrance oils rather than herbal essential oils. In order for a product to have genuine aromatherapeutic properties is must be made with unadulterated plant essences, plant infused oils, or other plant based ingredients. Products labeled for example as "Lavender Fragrance Oil" you may assume are synthetic. A product made with Lavender essential oil will be labeled as such.

How can you tell if you are smelling a pure essential oil product or natural perfume? There are various ways to test an undiluted oil or essential oil for purity, but when it comes to diluted oils in body or or home fragrance products your nose is also a fine judge. When you smell a product made with pure essential oils you should feel drawn to inhale deeply. In contrast when smelling a chemical substitute you may feel like you want to immediately cease inhalation or even hold your breath. Just think of a trip down laundry or home fragrance aisle at the supermarket, which is often overwhelming for people even without chemical sensitivities. Using personal body products with chemical fragrances such as these may contribute to stress on the liver and development of chemical sensitivities over time.

In addition it is noteworthy that certain plant scents cannot be stabilized. Natural perfumery expert Mandy Aftel notes in her book Essence and Alchemy that following florals cannot be produced naturally: Freesia, Honeysuckle, Violet, Tulip, Lily, Gardenia, Heliotrope, Orchid, Lilac, and Lily of the Valley. Also you may find the following fruity 'flavor oils' in various lip balms, but I can assure you they are not essential oils. These are Cherry, Watermelon, Apple, Raspberry, etc. Citrus fruits flavors however can be condensed from collection of the essential oils from outer peel.



Lavender photo by Photo by Heron 15:46, 11 Jul 2004 (UTC). This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License.

Thyme Cough Syrup Recipe

Thyme can be used as a primary ingredient in cough syrup. Thyme likes well drained soil and can be killed easily from being inundated by daily rain storms that here occur here in Central Florida July through September. Thyme is an expectorant herb which relieves bronchial spasms to stop coughs. You can use Thyme to calm the cough and throat in cases of Bronchitis, sore throat, inflamed mucus membranes, whooping cough (Purtussis), and gas and bloating.

Mint is another helpful ingredient for cough. It can calm inflammation in the head, throat and eyes. It needs to be added towards the end of the recipe and brewed only for a short time to prevent the fragile aromatic essential oils from dissipating.

Thyme Cough Syrup Recipe:
1 oz dried thyme
1 oz dried mint
4 cups water
sugar or honey

Boil dried Thyme down to about 2.5 cups of water, then strain. Add Mint and let boil for 5-10 minutes. Strain the decoction and add it back to the pot noting the final volume. Add 2 times the volume of the strained decoction in sugar or honey. If using sugar, dissolve it into the decoction.

The suggested amount of syrup to take is 1 tablespoon up to 5 times a day for adults. For children 4-10 years the dosage is 1.5 - 2 tsp up to 5 times day depending on weight.