Magick Gardens One

More beautiful flowers @Susurrus - love the hibiscus and my favorite color :cherry_blossom:

Calendula has so many uses!! I just love working with her.
Iā€™m sure you already know the workings and information about Hibiscus, but Iā€™ve detailed it below in case thereā€™s more info you may not be aware of and also for others! :slight_smile:

Benefits:

  • Love
  • Lust
  • Passion
  • Freedom
  • Harmony
  • Independence
  • Divination
  • Psychic work
  • Prophetic and lucid dreams
  • Beauty
  • Courage

Deities: Venus, Aphrodite
Zodiac: Aquarius and Scorpio
Planet: Venus
Element: Water
Gender: Feminine
Crystals: Rose quartz, orange carnelian and garnet

This site also has a Love Jar Spell - taken from WiccaNow - Have fun!!! :hibiscus:

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These I was not aware of, so thank you! I only had a few things I would use it for because I have never gotten so many blooms from the 3 plants nevermind just from 1 :laughing: I had to use a big mason jar this year! & itā€™s still going, I may have to get a larger jar :thinking:

Thank you so much :hugs: & I will bookmark the siteā€¦ it may give me some ideas because my kids are all a bit older now & my husband & I now have a plan for time with just each other on Sunday nights together away from the house :smiling_face:

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Looks beautiful @Francisco

Chamomile tea is one of my favorites! And Calendula is amazing in salves.

I havenā€™t had any success trying to grow either of them. It was hot and dry very early this year, then we had hard freezes and so many plants died. Iā€™m going to look for plants in pots next year instead of planting seeds!

Thanks so much for sharing!

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Thank you for the beautiful pictures @Susurrus :people_hugging: and thank you :pray: @jan_TheGreenWitch for the great info on Hibiscus!

I love you both :heart:

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Oh my, Iā€™m so late with this post today :laughing: I had an appointment this morning then had to time bringing my dog out just right between barely raining & light rainā€¦ the only dog Iā€™ve ever met that is this adamant about not being around waterā€¦ I mean the beach is just completely out of the question, he wonā€™t even get on the sand from the parking lot.

Anywayā€¦ before anyone else was awake; including the sun :sun:, I found this fully open:

Apparently, something else found it before I did & got a little hungryā€¦ so I will have to keep that in mind next year when the 3 plants should be fully transplanted & doing their thingsā€¦ Iā€™m going to need more jars for them all if they all take off as this one did over the summer.

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Thank you! I just love these flowers. I have huge fat grasshoppers in my yard who take big bites out of leaves. I choose not to use poisons to kill them, and I canā€™t in good conscience kill them so I continue to live and let them live too. :smiling_face:

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I donā€™t use chemicals, but I do try to figure out what it is since itā€™s not been done to every flowerā€¦ I donā€™t think itā€™s necessarily a ā€œpestā€ that needs to be redirectedā€¦ we did have A LOT of crickets last night so Iā€™m sure between them & cicadas & grasshoppers before the light rain this morning something got snacky :laughing: Oddly enough we didnā€™t have very many inch wormsā€¦ maybe they are coming around to make up for it earlier in the year :thinking:

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Hey @marsha, to deter them you can use Garlic Spray.

Garlic Spray
To make the garlic spray, blend two bulbs of garlic with 10 cups of water then heat up the mixture until it starts to boil. Next, let the mixture sit overnight.
To use the garlic spray, fill a spray bottle with one part garlic solution and three parts water. Once ready, spray the solution onto the leaves of affected plants or potentially affected neighbor plantsā€™ leaves. Be sure to spray the undersides of the leaves as well. You can also buy grasshopper garlic spray if thatā€™s what you prefer online.
Garlic Barrier 32 oz Insect Repellent White

https://a.co/d/4JqZkw5

Happy gardening!! :woman_farmer:
*edited to include link to purchase.

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Iā€™m so sad there werenā€™t any new blooms but there are few that are going to bloom either tomorrow or the next day :smiling_face:

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Thank you so much for the information, I had never heard of using garlic spray. Anyway, I will give it a go.
Love :heart: and :hugs:

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Iā€™m really looking forward to seeing more @Susurrus.
Thank you so much, my dear friend.
With love :heart: and hugs :hugs:

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Interesting! I didnā€™t know garlic spray was useful like this. Iā€™ll have to try it next growing season! Thank you for sharing it :blush:

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@Francisco are we supposed to wait until the plant is a year old before we harvest from it?
Very Nice crop! :blossom: :sunflower:

I did plant ā€˜realā€™ Calendula this year and they are so beautiful. I use calendula mostly for salves. I ended up buying some dried flowers last year and they worked for the recipe :wink:

:butterfly:

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Thanks for the ideas!! @jan_TheGreenWitch Iā€™d love the recipe for the Calendula flower salve.

@Sarafeena_Sage and congrats on your Calendula!

Itā€™s not necessary! Any time in the summer as long as they are at full bloom. I was just saying that because Iā€™m excited that they survived the really cold winter last season. :slight_smile:

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OK. Thank you @Francisco. I have them in a pot so maybe I should plant them in the earth and see if they will make it through a winter here :star_struck: I love it when plants come back after sleeping all winter, itā€™s so amazing!
:butterfly:

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This one was facing me this morning when I walked outside :smiling_face:

This one was keeping an eye on the driveway for us :laughing:

I think there are still a couple of others getting ready to bloom too. This year I have a HUGE mason jar full of the flowers! :star_struck:

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Sure - this is what I do @Franciscoā€¦.

Calendula flower salve uses calendula infused oil as the base, so this is the recipe for the oil:

Calendula infused oil:
Ingredients:

  • Canning jar
  • dried calendula flowers, enough to fill your canning jar 1/2 way (if you have fresh calendula, you will need to go through the process of drying the flowers before this step).
  • favorite carrier oil (sunflower, coconut, sweet almond, rice bran, apricot kernel, etc)

To make it, fill a canning jar about half-way up with dried calendula flowers. Cover with about twice as much as your favorite carrier oil, or to the top of the jar, letting the oil soak in down through the flowers.

For a quick infusion: Set the uncovered jar down into a small saucepan filled with a few inches of water. Heat over a low burner for a few hours, keeping a close eye that the water doesnā€™t evaporate out. Remove from heat and strain. The quick infusion is the best way to infuse coconut oil.

For a slower, more traditional infusion: Cap the jar of calendula flowers and oil and tuck away in a cabinet or dark space for around 4 to 6 weeks, shaking occasionally. When the infusing time has passed, strain.

You could also set the jar of flowers and oil in a sunny windowsill for several days to a week to jump start the infusion. (Donā€™t store for long periods in sunlight though, as it tends to fade flowers and herbs over time and affect the efficacy of the oil/salve.)

Calendula infused oil can be massaged directly onto dry, irritated skin or used as an ingredient in recipes for salves, diaper balm, lotions, creams, soaps, and lotion bars. Shelf life of strained, infused oil is around 1 year.

Calendula Flower Salve:
Ingredients:

  • calendula infused oil
  • Beeswax
  • Heatproof jar or empty tin can
  • Tins or jars for final salve

To make it, combine 3.5 oz (100 g) of calendula infused oil made above with 0.5 (15 g) beeswax in a heatproof jar or empty tin can.

Set the jar/can down into a saucepan containing an inch or two of water. Place the pan over a medium-low burner and heat until the wax is fully melted. Pour the melted mixture into tins or jars.

Itā€™s perfect for including in your first aid kit since it helps soothe many minor skin ailments such as scratches, dry spots, diaper rash, razor burn, minor scrapes, insect bites and more. Calendula salve can be used on pets and farm animals too. Shelf life of calendula salve is around 1 year.
:blossom:

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Oooā€¦ I have Calendula & I used to have a salve recipeā€¦ goodness knows where it is right now. I do have some in a tin that I use, but itā€™s running low. This would be perfect to make up some more & use some of my jars & bottles!

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Beautiful pictures today @Susurrus
Thank you :pray: for another big smile :smiling_face: :heart:

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What great information @jan_TheGreenWitch

I would like to try this recipe, thank you :pray: :heart:
Now if I can get Calendula to grow in my yardā€¦ :rofl:
I havenā€™t had much luck with that, this spring the weather was crazy.

With much love :heart: always

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