awwww my sweet melissa officinalis! harvested some this week and steeped 1 part of the lemon balm to 3 parts boiling water. this infusion can be strained and used for lovely teas, jellies, sorbets and other lovely things. i am just going to freeze some to use as i have the time and the inclination for using it in jellies. making lemon balm popsicle for those times when the kids are wild. lemon balm/melissa is a wonderful calming herb. humming the allman brothers song melissa all the while working with this lovely herb
raspberries are ripening daily now! washing, and then freezing them on trays to be put in bags in freezer to use later too. freezing them on the trays first keeps them from all sticking in a big clump in freezer bags. makes it convenient also, to just reach in the bag and take a handful as needed to add to fruit salads, etc. have the prince song raspberry beret flowing through my mind while harvest these berries!lol
checked the hives and found they are both ready for new honey supers. put one on the yellow hive and cobbling together the frames for the new one for the pink hive (the newest bees). the yellow hive had all their honey frames mostly capped. lovely white wax there! the pink hive honey super still hadn't finished capping their honey is why i chose to go ahead and put the prepared new box on the yellow hive. figured i still had a day or two to finish putting together this other box for the pink hive.
peeking down in between the frames i pull out i can usually get a good idea how many frames are already capped and if they are ready for a new super.
so what are you doing in your gardens dear friends? big hugs to all who visit comfrey cottages
6 comments:
Busy! Busy! Busy! Those bees are busy too! LOL! My lemon balm is already blooming! Oops! Going to have a garden of lemon balm! Your activities are inspiring as usual and maybe I'll use the lemon balm popsicles on The Herbal Husband! Big hugs for you and your family!
My FIL used to have the best raspberries! Something happened, either they got a fungus or pests infestation, I can't remember. Seeing all your wonderful berries is making me long for that old patch!
I am also dreaming of honey! What a treat! I just got stung two days ago by a ground bee. Ya-ouch! My skunk friend took care of that nest for me. I wasn't sure how I was going to relocate them.
I may have to head to my local farmers market tomorrow to see if I can buy some berries! :)
Smiles to you -
you can still harvest your lemon balm and get a second flush of new growth nancy! lol i should try on my hubby too, although he says lemon balm tea is just a weak lemonade and made a face:( hootie, why don't you start your own patch. i just have a small yard and have a nice fencerow patch! love and hugs to you both
Actually I noticed a renegade vine back in one of my forsythia plants. When I get around to taming that part of the jungle I do plan on pampering that raspberry vine. That may not happen until next year though. :)
I never tried lemon balm popsicles. What a great idea! I have loads of it this year, so now I have one more idea to try. Thanks for the suggestion.
you are welcome jane marie! oh and hootie, i always am making plans for the next year too!!! lol my raspberries actually are a bit out of hand and encrouching around my beehives and into some other places! and poison ivy is trying to take over part of the back fence. always something new and to plan for in a garden! lol hugs to you all :)
Post a Comment