Apothecary·Summer
Calendula Oil & Salve
Summer flowers steeped in oil on the windowsill, then set with beeswax into a simple salve for hands and skin.
Seasons · June to September
Summer
The great gathering. Flowers at their peak, linden in bloom, cold herbal drinks, and the drying rack never empty.
Summer is when the plants are strongest and the work is fastest. Flowers have to be picked on dry mornings after the dew has gone; linden blossom lasts barely two weeks; calendula needs cutting every few days to keep it flowering. The drying rack is never empty.
The summer folk calendar is full of herbs. On Kupala night, in midsummer, plants were said to be at the height of their power, and gathering them was a ritual in itself.
In the garden
- Picking calendula every few days
- Harvesting lemon balm before it flowers
- Watering, mulching, keeping up
In the wild
- Linden blossom in early summer
- Elderflower, then later the berries
- Wild roses
In the kitchen
- Herbal lemonades and cordials
- Fresh herb salads
- Berry desserts
In the apothecary
- Starting calendula oil
- Drying flowers for winter teas
The folk calendar
- 21 JuneSummer solsticeThe longest day, and the turning point of the sun.
- Night of 6–7 JulyIvan KupalaMidsummer night: herb-gathering, flower wreaths floated on rivers, and the legend of the fern flower.
- 14 AugustMedovy SpasHoney Saviour: the first honey of the year is blessed and tasted.
- 19 AugustYablochny SpasApple Saviour: the apple harvest begins.
Recipes
Films
Plants
Plant Stories·Summer
Elder
Sambucus nigra · S. canadensis
A shrub of creek banks and old hedges, with plates of cream flowers in June and dark berries in September.
Plant Stories·Spring
Lemon Balm
Melissa officinalis
The gentlest herb in the garden: lemon-scented leaves for evening tea, lemonades, and a calm kitchen.
Plant Stories·Summer
Calendula
Calendula officinalis
The sun-coloured flower of the cottage garden, picked every few days all summer and steeped into oil for winter.
Plant Stories·Summer
Linden
Tilia cordata · Tilia americana
The tree that smells like honey for two weeks in June, and the tea that tastes like summer all winter.
Stories
Home·Summer
Drying Herbs in a Small Kitchen
No attic, no drying shed, no problem. How the harvest gets dried between the stove and the window.
Stories·Summer
Keeping the Failed Batches
Burnt syrup, mouldy oil, peel that turned to toffee. Why the mistakes go in the notebook too.
Plants·Summer
Lipa: The Tea Tree
On the linden, the most ordinary and most beloved tree of the Eastern European kitchen.