Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Rose Geranium

Attar Rose Geranium drying in sugar.


Skeleton Rose Geranium drying for essential oil extraction.

Our wedding cake called for using Rose Geranium leaves during the baking process. We wanted to grow it ourselves and give the amount needed to Renata. This was in the winter so Hyams, our favorite garden spot, didn't have any plants in stock. We knew it would be close to the wedding date when they'd get some in so we turned to Lingle's Herbs, our trusted herb supplier. They are really amazing to work with but John was low on supplies so we ordered Attar Rose Geranium and Skeleton Rose Geranium. They also have a minimum order of six plants, so we tossed in a few others. Never can complain about that!

I worked in the garden this weekend to clear out much of what had taken over during the hellish summer months. The mosquitoes were so bad here that I just lost my inspiration to spend time in the garden in the late summer. I collected most of the leaves from both plants. We're drying some in sugar that we'll use for a touch of rose flavoring in baked goods and such. We'll dry the rest to be distilled into essential oil.

My favorite 'female' bath tonic contains a combination of some or all of the following:
Rose Geranium
Clary Sage
Bergamot
Basil
Jasmine
Neroli
Lavender.

It's heavenly!

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