Hi all
I'm in Sheffield, so am not very convenient for the Midlands, but I found you through a random Google search for a patchouli plant, which I'd like. I emailed Debs at the time, but there hasn't been the opp. to meet or swap so far. I see you are coming up our way on 25 July, and wonder if I could meet you then and swap (say) a liquorice for a patchouli from someone? I have one spare.

Herby greetings
Jude Warrender

I'm writing a course on growing and using herbs and am wondering exactly how other folk make tinctures. I always thought you just soaked herbs in vodka. But my Penny Ody book says that you mix water and vodka to get a mix that is 25% alcohol. So if you start with vodka at 37.5% alcohol, you add 500ml of water to every litre of vodka to get a 25% mixture.
I don't suppose it's critical as either way will get the important ingredients out of the herb and into the liquid - just that Penny's method will be less alcoholic which is probably a good thing - unless you have a really bad cold!
How do you make a tincture?

Carrie

Hi everyone

Carrie suggested it may be fun to visit each others gardens in the Summer and I think its a great idea, what do the rest of you think?

If you visit other peoples gardens this doesn't mean that you have to host a visit to your garden, but it would be an excellent excuse for a Sunday afternoon drive out with a cuppa and a herby cake or similar provided by the host/hostess?

I think it would be wonderful and I'd be happy to welcome people to my garden sometime in August (date to be arranged) should anyone wish to travel to Derby for a look at what I grow. I promise to provide a nice herby cake and tea or coffee to anyone wanting to visit. Anyone else up for it?

Debs

Hi everyone

I'm going to be at Hardwick Hall for a trip around their Herb Garden on the 25th July, if you're a National Trust member and you fancy meeting up for a wander round this lovely garden and having a picnic if the weather is nice then let me know?

This isn't an offical MHG event, but it could be, and if enough of us want to go I may be able to get the head gardener to do a tour of the garden for us.

We could also take a trip to 'The Herb Garden' which is a delightful Herb Nursery not far from Hardwick Hall which has some pretty display gardens at their best in July, as is Hardwick Hall's garden in my opinion.

Debs

That's brill Sam To be honest I'd prefer a Saturday afternoon in August, I can do the 8th, 22nd or 29th so let me know what suits you?

Debs

I would really like to go. I love lavender. A saturday or sunday would be best for me.

Hi everyone

I'm planning a trip to The Lavender Patch which is in Hilton in Derby in July or August, does anybody fancy joining me? We can either make it a Saturday or Sunday or even a weekday evening. Lavender is one of my favourite herbs and I've only just discovered that there is a place dedicated to lavender in Derbyshire. I know it may be a bit far for some of you but if you're interested let me know.

Debs

...no I'm not advocating anything illegal lol, just giving everyone the heads up that there's a new major 6 part series coming to BBC2 in March. It's aimed at showing how easy it is to make your own remedies and beauty treats from plants in your back garden.

It contains easy recipes for natural remedies and beauty treatments: Whether youre struggling with insomnia, the kids have eczema, or your partner is feeling under the weather, this programme could have the answer. The programme will also be accompanied by a BBC of the same title that will be available in early March. Airing date for the first programme is Monday March 2nd 2009, time to be announced.

James Wong, an ethno-botanist, has created a fantastically informative guide to plants and how their beneficial properties can help with minor everyday ailments. In a delicious mix of gardening, cooking, health and beauty, he devises a range of natural remedies which may help relieve the symptoms of ailments from acne to athletes foot, and winter blues to nits. He demonstrates how to make creams, cough sweets, teas, and much more from plants which can be easily grown in your window box, picked up at the local garden centre or found in the hedgerows you pass on your favourite walk.

Debs

... well it is for me I've just come in from the greenhouse with 10 aloe vera plants and 4 cardomon plants all ready for the Febuary meetings plant swap. The plants on the kitchen window have been split and refreshed and look so much happier for it and I've finally potted up a lovely yellow buddleia, that I took back in October last year and rooted in water.

Have to say I was really pleased to see that my scented geraniums are still going strong, usually by this time of year I've lost them all, the pineapple sage was if flower before Xmas and is still in flower now, lots of leaves to and the plant is huge! That's another herb that doesn't usually survive the winter for me, and I still have usable leaves on my lemon verbena plants. I'm hoping to strike some cuttings of the scented geraniums, pineapple sage and lemon verbena for the Feb meeting, if not they'll be ready for the March meeting. I got a little electric heater for the greenhouse today, so with Si's help I'll get some heat in there and be able to start early indoor sowings of a few herbs.

I've got lots of new things to try, some I've grown before, but always from bought in plants, this lot will be grown from seed: Ashwaganda, Arnica, Dyer's Chamomile, Stevia, Pleurisy Root, Skullcap, Common Hop, Lemongrass, Lemon Eucalyptus, Witch Hazel, Dittany, Indigo, Sweet Woodruff and Tea Tree. There's probably some that I've forgotten but its certainly enough to begin with. Add to those all the standard herbs like chives, basil, dill and parsley that I grow every year and the greenhouse is going to get a lot of use again this year, and that's before we start on the veggies. I bought pea and bean seeds today, and some parsnips and pumpkin seeds, still have plenty of salad and tomato seeds in that are still viable. So what's everyone else going to grow this year?

At the January MHG meeting on Herbal Detoxing and Diet we took a look sampled some Stevia powder and most people were amazed at how incredibly sweet it was. The taste wasn't so a little strange and is nothing compared to a fresh Stevia leaf. A couple of days after the workshop I came across this article that people that attended the meeting may be interested in. Stevia plant might be a sweet solution

Two interesting facts that stuck out for me is that Stevia is supposed to be hard to grow from seed, I've just bought some seeds to grow so, I'll sow them in a few weeks and let you know how I go on. The other was that it seems that aphids, grasshoppers and other pests are repelled by the plant! Maybe there is a way to make an infusion of the leaves to spray on other plants to deter aphids? Strange that aphids don't like stevia though, as they usually go for this type of tender leafy plant.