National Rose Month Round Up

One month doesn't seem enough to celebrate our national flower, the rose. It provides beauty, fragrance and grace to the garden through out the summer season (depending on the type of rose you have, of course).

But it is not just the harbinger of love, beauty and friendship. It is also a valuable assistant to good health and wellbeing.

Rose petals are uses in Ayurvedic treatments as a laxative, blood purifier and tonic for the digestive and reproductive organs. In fact, the Romans used rose gallica to treat over 30 conditions.

The petals are mildly astringent, providing a cooling and soothing effect. They are wonderful in summer teas.

One of my favorites is a sun tea. Put tea (green preferred), ripe raspberries and rose petals in a big glass jug of water with a top. If you don't have the top, the sweetness and lovely fragrance will attracted unwanted to proteins to the party (aka - bugs). Then put the jug in a bright sunny spot for at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours. Sweeten with some rose honey, or a dash of agave syrup. This is fragrant and so nicely cooling.

If I don't have time for that, I make up a batch of Ducky Life Rosie's Rose Melange Tea and chill. A nice hint of mint adds some extra digestive tonic power. You can also use the petals as a quick burn poultice. Just take a handful of fresh petals, mash them up well and apply to the burned area. Their cooling and antiseptic abilities will help ease the pain and redness.

Of course you can also use rose petals to make rose petal jelly, rose vinegar, infuse them in wine, dried for potpourri, or make them into beads for jewelry

That's just using rose petals! Rose hips, essential oils, waters and floral essences can also provide health and spirit lifting benefits

But do you want to know the best thing you can do to calm your nerves, raise your spirits and enjoy this month long celebration? Just stop and smell the roses.

More Rosy Goodness

The roses continue to bloom brightly, encouraging the other flowers of the garden to wake up and blossom. The bees buzz happily, doing their little bee dance in the roses, then buzzing off to the hive to make honey. Summer, June, and National Rose Month, are carrying forward.

If you have made some rose honey, or are in the process of making it, I told you I'd give you a few suggestions for using those honey laden, still sweet smelling, rose petals that you might have strained from the infusing jar. These are two of my favorites.

Honey Candied Rose Petals

You can create these little treasures either in a dehydrator or in a low oven.

Oven method:
If you are using the oven, put a silicon mat or piece of parchment on a cookie sheet. Let the oven warm to no more than 200º, then turn it off. Put the cookie sheet in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and, if you'd like, sprinkle the roses with sugar (white or colored sugar work best). Return to the oven for about 20 minutes. Test them to see if they are drying. Take them out of the oven and let them cool completely. You can put them in the refrigerator to help speed the process.

The dehydrator method is done much the same way, and it's the method I prefer. Spread the petal out on one of the fruit leather sheets. If you don't have one, put some wax paper or parchment on the regular rack. Set the dehydrator for the lowest setting. Let dehydrate for about 1 hour, then test for dryness.

Store these rosy treats in an air tight container, with layers separated by wax paper, and refrigerate. They'll keep for up to 3 months. You can also freeze them. Use them as a snack, or as decorations for cakes and cupcakes, or to float in tea or punch.

Honey Rose Face Toner

Put all of the honey macerated rose petals into a medium pot. Cover with filtered or distilled water so that there is at least 3 inches of water above the petals. Cover and simmer on the lowest setting for about 20 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for another 10 minutes, making sure that the water doesn't get so low the petals burn. It should be a very low simmer, just warming the liquid. Turn the heat off and let it sit until completely cooled. Strain the liquid into a bottle, making sure to squeeze out every bit of liquid from the petals that you can. (I use a potato ricer lined with cheese cloth to squish everything out). Store in the refrigerator. This will keep for 6 months or longer.

I use this as a delightfully refreshing toner and moisturizer. It's wonderful in the summer - cool, fragrant, softening and soothing. It feels particularly nice on sunburned skin.


Roses give us so much - beauty, fragrance, health and with that a little happiness. Stop by again soon and I'll tell you about some of the other wonders roses have to offer.

June is the time of the Rose

It's easy to believe that June is National Rose Month. I don't know about you, but my roses have been prolific since the end of May. And the garden smells fabulous for it.

Roses come in all shapes and sizes, colors and strength of scent. My favorites are Rosa Rugosa, a carefree rugged grower that doesn't need much fussing to produce beautiful fragrant blossoms and huge, juicy rose hips. I have 4 in my yard, and every year or so have to give them a hearty pruning to tame them.

I was never a rose fan until I saw these growing along the sand dunes of Normandy

Beach and Island Beach State Park here in New Jersey. They captured my heart. 2 of my rose bushes are from rose hips I picked at the shore and just stuck in a few pots to see what would happen. They are VERY happy here.

Not only are these beauties spirit lifting treasures in the garden, they have bountiful uses in the kitchen and medicine cabinet. One of my favorite things to make is Rose Honey.

Twice Kissed Rose Honey

• Large clean dry Mason type jar with lid (pint or 8 oz)
• Rose petals - untreated by any pesticides. The more fragrant the better. Enough to loosely fill the jar the first time. You'll need fresh petals in a week or so for the second fill.
• Local light colored honey

Fill the jar with the rose petals. Make sure they are dry. I like to let them sit for an hour or so to wilt slightly, removing some of the water.

Now fill the jar with the honey to just below the lid threads. Give a stir to make sure all of the petals are coated. Cover tightly and let sit for at least one week. Every few days turn the jar over (that's why the lid needs to be tight fitting).

After a week or so you could use the honey as is, even with the petals. I like to strain through a regular wire strainer. Then I add another batch of petals to the jar and recover with the honey. Cap and let sit for another couple of weeks, repeating the turning process.

Again, once the few weeks have passed you can either strain out the petals or use the honey with the petals in it. The uses? You can add the honey to tea for some extra relaxing properties, pour on pancakes, pour on ice cream over toasted pound cake, add to salad dressing or use straight over fresh fruit, or you can add it to your favorite spritzer recipe - the possibilities are endless. You could also add some to your bath, or use a little to soothe bug bites, scrapes and burns.

The scent is luscious, relaxing and evocative. Check back in a few days and I'll give you some other ideas for your roses, as well as what you can do with the strained rose petals!

You can also check out our newsletter for additional rose stories this month. To subscribe, just fill out the subscribe box to the right or drop me an email.

May your month be rosy and bright!

Spend the Day by the Beautiful Barnegat Bay

Join us this Sunday at the wonderful

Barnegat Bay Festival
Sunday, June 6, 2010
10:00 am to 4 pm, RAIN OR SHINE
Waterfront Location! Wanamaker Complex in Island Heights

The theme for this year's Barnegat Bay Festival: THANK YOU BARNEGAT BAY!

The Barnegat Bay Festival is the perfect way to truly get in to the mood for the upcoming summer season. And there's so much to do for everyone in the family:

• Scavenger hunts
• Bay Friendly Gardening Workshops
• Crafters
• Sailing and Kayaking
• Native Plant Sales
• Exhibitors including: Jenkinsons Aquarium, NJ Lighthouse Society, Master Gardeners, Tuckerton Seaport and more!
• Music
• and even more!

For all the details, check out the Barnegat Bay Estuary Programs website.

Make sure to stop by and see us. Mention this post and you'll receive a free gift!