Hawthorne Harvest

If there is an herb for each month, Hawthorne definitely belongs to May.
Of course Sweet Woodruff would get her knickers all in a twist about that statement, however, Hawthorne is the first one I think of this time of year.
Each May I harvest Hawthorne near May Day for the Love Potion that I will make the following year.
Hawthorne can also be added to teas and baths for heartache as well as for anxiety that is centered in your chest.
Some might say that is is good for gladdening the heart, and however true this might be, Hawthorne is kind of a bad-ass. Have you seen those thorns? I call on her for protection and healing, specifically in areas of the heart. Looking for a little gladdening? I would suggest a more happy-go-lucky plant like calendula or sweet woodruff.
Here's a little honey bee, having it's way with the pink bloom. I would love to get my hands on some Hawthorne Honey. Local Beekeepers?

I have to be honest, I don't really know the difference between the pink and the white Hawthorne flowers. You can see that the white flowers have pink stamens and the pink flowers have white centers. The trees grow in the same areas, often so close together they are like one tree. You can also graft them together so that they are on one tree. Although they grow so abundantly, to be considered weed trees to some, that I see no need in planting them. I use the pink & white blossoms (along with their leaves) all together and harvest as I am called by the trees.
I always tell folks that when they harvest they ought to be thoughtful with harvesting ethically and all that goes on with that, but to also be thoughtful of the exchange. This for that. The honoring of the offering of the plant.
Always ask yourself "what is the intention?" and "how much do I really need to harvest?"
My intention was to enjoy my day in the sun and to gather some flowers and leaves for tea, possibly a small bottle of tincture and for the Love Potion.
Even with all of those things in mind, I really
didn't need that many flowers.
I was loving the trees and enjoying my time and then it occurred to me: I hadn't brought an offering.
Some common offerings are cornmeal, tobacco, food for small animals, etc. Personally, I usually bring something shiny for the fairies. I peeked into my bag and found some copper pennies and a big, beautiful vintage shell button. I tossed them under the tree I had spent the most time with and just as I turned away I got snagged, hard, on a thorn.
"Pay attention". The tree seemed to say. "The shiny things are nice and all, but I really wanted you to notice my thorns."

The last part of this story is about Hawthorne's scent.
I'll never forget the time when my herb teacher Cascade was teaching our class about Hawthorne and she had us all smell it. I was enraptured with the scent. To me it smells like raspberries, the salty sea, green apples and hot sun. I was surprised when I pulled my nose away from the blossoms to find all of the other 20 or so students expressing disgust to the scent in varying degrees. I felt a bit embarrassed by my revelry, yet Cascade laughed and said to me "you have an old nose". Meaning my scent sensibility was not tainted by the modern lack of acceptance of anything other than what is appropriate to scent laundry soap.
I can't get enough of the sexy scent that Hawthorne emanates. I have it drying in my dining room and am loving it.
It's been almost a week and the Hawthorne is almost dry, but I'll tell you this; I still have a piece of thorn stuck in my finger and each time I feel the irritation, I am reminded again and again of my love for this feisty, insistent, strong and beautiful tree: Hawthorne.
xo

Spring Tonic Bath

Long hot baths are traditionally for me more of a winter thing, but lately, I cannot get enough of being submerged in my own bathtub. I will forgo many things in lieu of the long steamy time in the tub. I've been potion making and straining oils from herbs so that I have several bags & jars of leftover herbs to indulge in.
Most people have an excess of condiments or preserves in their fridge, where I have elixirs, tonics and many mysterious treasures.
The container of herbs that I took from the fridge last week was a mystery to me as well. I emptied it under the running hot water tap and realized it was the leftover herbs from Botany with Grade 5 from last May or June. The roses, calendula, clover & chickweed were all harvested by the children and made into a healing balm that was made outside the same day. We also made a sun tea from many of the same kinds of herbs for them to drink later in the afternoon. It was nice to remember that day from last spring and to be able to still benefit from the healing of those same herbs. They had the added benefit of having been steeped in oil, so that I had a super emollient bath as well.



If you want to make your own spring tonic bath, find some unsprayed flowers & leaves and throw them in the tub with you.
Some good choices are roses (flowers & leaves) hawthorne (flwrs & lvs, be careful of thorns), raspberry leaves, calendula flowers & leaves as well as the kitchen herbs; sage, marjoram, rosemary, thyme & fennel.
You can also use some dried herbs like lavender or chamomile.
Here's a link to a fall/winter bath.

Hawthorne

Generally speaking, I recommend harvesting Hawthorne flowers on May Day. By the calender May Day is May 1, Lunar May Day was May 5 and astrologically it was another day completely, so I figure that I have some space to expand my original intentions.
Yesterday I found a window of time and I took advantage of it.























a super close up with my fab new camera
amazing flowers, aren't they?











can you see the thorns? (haw-thorn)









I went to a favorite spot just on the outskirts of town, slipped on my sneakers and had a nice walk with the Hawthornes.






Here are the trees that grew the flowers that will be in this years Love Potion.
There were birds singing, sun shining, the scent of the flowers and their beauty, seems like May Day to me.



























sweet caterpillar


In Tracks by Louise Erdrich there is a woman whose name translates from Ojibwe
to mean something like "the place where a deer sleeps"
this picture below is one of those places.
It was under the canopy of the largest of the Hawthornes. very cool.
I had to make a choice between disturbing this beautiful place and getting
scratched to bits by last years fallen hawthorne branches.
Of course, it was an easy choice. And besides, I have plenty of healing balm.
xoxo

Purification & Protection Potion for Spring Cleaning:

The weather this week has gone from sunny to cloudy to hailstorm to rainbows then drizzle and cycling around in enough variations for anyone to see that it’s spring in Portland.

Today was a rare sunny and dry day for a May Day festival complete with ribboned May pole dancing.

I decided it must be time to do some spring cleaning.

My intention was to actually clean the floors but also to purify and protect the space in a deep cleaning spring cleaning sort of way.

I began by making a strong tea with

Rosemary for protection, for remembering what is good and for clarity

Hawthorne, very strongly protective, because of the thorns and it’s especially powerful this time of year, it is the “branch of May” from fairy tales and the scent of the flowers is old and wise, (a lot of people think it stinks)

and a bit of

Sea salt for good measure. Sea salt is the ultimate purifier.

Oh yeah, I used red roses

Roses invoke love, that’s what we want, love is all you need.

After I gathered the herbs, I brought them to a simmer in a big pot of water, then turned off the heat, covered and steeped for twenty minutes.

In the meantime, I filled a bucket with a couple tablespoons of dish soap, I use Ecover, but whatever you have will do.

If you want to try this and you don’t have all the ingredients listed, just wing it and trust your instincts.

There are a few things we say again and again in classes and especially in Herb Camp and “Wing It” is one of them. You often just have to make due with what you have. Think of it as a creative process.

Life is complicated enough, don’t stress just use some salt, parsley and rosemary from your kitchen, a blackberry leaf from the alley and some of your will.

You get the idea.

So, the recipe:

Equal parts (I used a big handful. You could use a teaspoon if you like):

hawthorne leaves and flowers

rosemary leaves

roses

and a pinch or two of salt

Put it all in a big pot of water, bring to a boil, turn off heat, cover and steep 20 minutes or longer

strain the herb mixture into your mop bucket (you can use a colander if you made a lot)

add

2 tablespoons dish soap in a bucket

Fill with warm water, set your intentions and get to work

As you mop, either old-school on your hands and knees the way my grandma taught me or the modern way, think of all that you want to be released (washed away) and all that you want to invite in.

Hum, sing, say your prayers, whatever feels right, but stay in the moment. Take your time.

Perhaps the most important thing is to dispose of the dirty water as soon as your work is done.

Pour the dirty water down the sink or in the toilet then rinse the mop & bucket and wash your hands twice. Once for the dirt and once for letting go of any last things.

Taking a shower would even be better.

Good job.

xoxo

*do a patch test to make sure this won’t stain your floors