The buds were ready to burst at the weekend, but the lovely little yellow flowers always open the week after midsummer - which shows how aptly named it is, as St John's Day is June 25th, I think.
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Midsummer
Just a little shot of the St Johns Wort bobbing in the breeze! One of my favourite plants.. I have to decide whether I have the heart to cut and use it to make an infused oil, or whether I want to enjoy it in the garden.
The buds were ready to burst at the weekend, but the lovely little yellow flowers always open the week after midsummer - which shows how aptly named it is, as St John's Day is June 25th, I think.
The buds were ready to burst at the weekend, but the lovely little yellow flowers always open the week after midsummer - which shows how aptly named it is, as St John's Day is June 25th, I think.
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5 comments:
Hi Hedgewitch....I have many hypericum in my garden.....they are beautiful, I love the small detail in the bloom.....also bees love the flowes, so that is another reason for me to love them, just that little bit more......
Hi Cheryl, I didn't know it was a bee plant ... I think I'll leave the flowers for the bees to enjoy, in that case!
You don't have to cut your SJW to make an infused oil. Gather the flowers with your fingertips as they open, put them in a glass jar and cover with sunflower oil. You can keep adding and covering in the same jar throughout the summer. Leave the jar open so the moisture can evaporate and make sure the oil covers all the plant material. Let it sit in a sunny window sill all summer i.e. 3 months. It will start turning colour in a couple of weeks. I normally strain mine in October when everything is finished. I gathered my first flowers last night and they are sitting in my windowsill. It makes me so happy to see them, I know that summer is really here. I gather in the evening so the bees have them all day and then they have the new flowers the next day.
Thank you, Sarah .. that's exactly what I'll do :-)
I only have one very small clump, so I hadn't thought to use just the flowers, but that's OK, I'll just make a very small jar of oil!
Sarah makes hers similar to mine. I use coconut oil as it can take the light and heat change without getting rancid. Did you make your little jar? I love this plant and had to leave my huge field behind when moved across country to the city. Now I'm an urban farmer.
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